Southern Resident Orca Recovery
Researchers employ Atlantis ecosystem modeling to evaluate the ecosystem-level effects of the Southern Resident orca recovery actions and external threats in the marine ecosystem of Puget Sound.
Hem Nalini Morzaria-Luna, Long Live the Kings
Elizabeth Fulton, CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere
Chris Harvey, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Isaac Kaplan, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Melissa Knox, Department of Economics, University of Washington
Heidi Pethybridge, CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere
Javier Porobic, CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere
Michael Schmidt, Long Live the Kings
In light of the recent high-level efforts to recover Southern Resident orcas in the Salish Sea, the research team carried out an evaluation of ecosystem-level and economic impacts of recovery actions aimed at enhancing orca population growth and long-term sustainability. They focused on future cumulative impacts on the orcas from oil spills and climate change using Atlantis models, which simulate whole ecosystems.
The team made significant refinements to the Atlantis Model for Puget Sound (AMPS) and the Salish Sea Atlantis Model (SSAM). In particular, the team made refinements related to salmon group behavior in the AMPS model and collaborated on developing a contaminant submodel for the SSAM model. These advances make the modeling tool more useful for future regional projections.