Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center

This project builds on a 2017 CREOi amphibian research project, and will focus on baseline monitoring for amphibian presence, diversity and abundance as well as habitat characteristics (hydrology, water quality, and vegetation) in a series of seasonal and permanent ponds and wetlands in the study area. This study area is 480 Read more

Julian Olden, University of Washington

Cryptic and difficult to find, but once discovered the Olympic mudminnow is both colorful and full of charisma.

This project is a continuation of 2017 and 2018 projects focused on improving scientific understanding of the Olympic mudminnow, and building a community of practice to enhance their conservation. Previous accomplishments include a synthesis Read more

Stillwaters Environmental Center
Since 2005, Stillwaters Environmental Center near Kingston, WA has been documenting ecological conditions in the 30+ acre Carpenter Creek estuary and salt marsh. With the recent replacement of a second undersized culvert with a bridge, natural tidal flow has been reestablished in the marsh. Our monitoring and research program addresses the complexities of Read more

Vashon Nature Center
The goal of this project is to create a robust Living with Wildlife program combining outreach, community empowerment, and hands-on science to address Vashon-Maury Island’s unique challenges. We wish to empower residents to handle the presence of wildlife (in particular, large carnivores) and keep our rich marine resources safe from overharvest. Vashon-Maury Island Read more

Samantha Bussan and Cheryl Schultz, Washington State University Vancouver
Worldwide, many butterfly species are at risk due to the loss of native grasslands. In North America, agricultural intensification, fire suppression, urbanization, and biological invasions threaten grassland butterfly habitat. Since much of the area that was formerly grassland has been converted to agriculture, it is critical to Read more

SEA Discovery Center

Liberty Bay experiences intense and episodic algal blooms, which is of concern to local residents who perceive that the blooms are ‘getting worse.’ Without a continuous record of monitoring estuarine conditions and algal bloom events, evaluating change over time is difficult. In 2017, we established a community volunteer program to conduct year-round monitoring to document: 1) frequency, Read more

Makah Tribe
The goal of this project was to document the diet of an aquatic mammal predator, the river otter (Lontra canadensis), in coastal estuaries of the Makah Reservation in Northwest Washington. We sought to understand the potential role of these predators in bio-mitigation of a recent infestation of the invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) Read more

Oceans Initiative
Many US laws and policies use “best available science” to determine when a whale or dolphin population requires protection from ship strikes or entanglement in fishing gear. These protection measures may only be triggered when the science shows that we are exceeding some allowable harm threshold, but carcasses detected on the beach reflect only Read more

Julian Olden, University of Washington
This is a continuation of a 2017 CREOi award to support assessment of mudminnow populations in Washington State.
Olympic mudminnow (Novumbra hubbsi) are Washington State’s only endemic species, and yet are subject to challenges plaguing many noncommercial freshwater species; namely the lack of consistent research and monitoring leading to knowledge gaps that limit Read more

Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center
This is a companion project to a 2016 CREOi award.
Globally, amphibians are threatened by fungal diseases, climate change, and habitat loss and fragmentation. In urbanizing areas like western Washington State, road corridors and increasing traffic may contribute to habitat fragmentation, blocking amphibian migration paths between spring breeding ponds and the upland Read more

Clint Robins, University of Washington
Humans have historically altered ecosystem structure through landscape manipulation, leaving “remnants,” or refuge patches of suitable habitat amidst inhospitable terrain. Large carnivores tend to be especially vulnerable to such habitat alterations because they often occur at low densities, have slow reproductive rates, and wide-ranging behavior necessitated by high food requirements. Multiple Read more

Vashon Nature Center
Globally, islands are special places of concern for biological diversity because they are species-rich yet also highly vulnerable. Islands make up 5% of the land area of earth but house 20% of all bird, rodent and flowering plant species and 37% of critically endangered species; they have also hosted 61% of all recorded Read more

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

This project is a continuation of a 2015-2016 CREOi award, supporting restoration of the Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida), which has played an important ecological and cultural role as Washington’s only native oyster. Since 2012, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) has been collaborating with regional partners on a long-term restoration project to reestablish, expand, and Read more

C. Vynne, Osprey Insights
photo credit: WSU and Osprey Insights
This project is a continuation of a 2016-2017 CREOi award to assess presence and density of Canada lynx in the Kettle River Mountain Range, an important east-west bridge for meta-populations of lynx and other wide-ranging species that occupy both the Cascades and Rocky Mountains. Based on camera trap Read more

C. Vynne, Osprey Insights
This project was a continuation of a 2016 CREOi award. Canada lynx, one of three wild cat species native to Washington State, depend on large pristine tracts of boreal forest habitat with ample snowshoe hare and persistent deep snow. In Washington, lynx populations steeply declined due to trapping and habitat degradation and Read more

Julian Olden, University of Washington
Cryptic and difficult to find, but once discovered the Olympic mudminnow is both colorful and full of charisma.
Olympic mudminnow (Novumbra hubbsi) are Washington State’s only endemic fish species, and yet are subject to challenges plaguing many noncommercial freshwater species; namely, the lack of consistent research and monitoring, leading to knowledge gaps Read more

Joseph K. Gaydos, The SeaDoc Society
Figure 1. Preliminary impressions from these 100 surveys suggest that leather sea stars (shown here at Hick’s Bay Wall on 9/20/16) continue to be abundant after the sea star wasting disease outbreak.
For three years, SeaDoc has been working with REEF Environmental Education Foundation to use trained recreational SCUBA divers to Read more

B.J. Dittbrenner, University of Washington/Beavers Northwest
This project was a continuation of a 2015 CREOi award investigating the impacts of reintroduced beavers on ecosystem resilience. Beavers are both ecosystem engineers and keystone species. As ecosystem engineers, they modify their environment through dam building to create wetland systems that reduce their predation risk and increase growth of preferred food types. Their role Read more

Western Wildlife Outreach

Since mid-2015, Western Wildlife Outreach (WWO) has been working to create, launch, implement and coordinate a new program, Bear Smart King County, in order to reduce the number of conflicts between humans and black bears in the eastside communities of King County. These encounters can result in property damage and injury or Read more

Northwest Straits Foundation

Of the 23 species of large brown algae native to Puget Sound, bull kelp is the largest (Nereocystis luetkeana). Reaching a canopy height of 60’ or more, this species provides an array of ecosystem services and holds great cultural and economic value to communities around the region. Aerial and dive surveys have been conducted by state Read more

C. Vynne, Osprey Insights
Canada lynx, one of three wild cats native to Washington State, depend on large pristine tracts of boreal forest habitat with ample snowshoe hare and persistent deep snow. In Washington, lynx populations steeply declined due to trapping and habitat degradation and they were afforded Federal protection under the Endangered Species Act in Read more

Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center
Common yellowthroat in field-edge grasses. Photo courtesy of Dr. John Marzluff
In 2016, CREOi provided Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center with a grant to study bird diversity and habitat use on the 240 acres of agricultural and forest land managed by Oxbow.  Data were collected from point counts, spot mapping and mist Read more

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

This project is a continuation of a 2015 CREOi award.
Historically, Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) played an important ecological and cultural role as Washington’s only native oyster. In 2012, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) and regional partners began a small-scale Olympia oyster restoration effort on the Reservation’s tidelands with the intention of Read more

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) recently began a restoration project to establish, expand, and research Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) populations on Reservation tidelands. Olympia oysters are the only native oyster to the Puget Sound region and they traditionally played an important role in tribal culture. Yet, due to overfishing, pollution, and Read more

B.J. Dittbrenner, University of Washington/Beavers Northwest
Beavers are both ecosystem engineers and keystone species. As ecosystem engineers, they modify their environment through dam building to create wetland systems which reduce their predation risk and increase growth of preferred food types. Their role as keystone species results from their ability to transform a stretch of single-thread stream Read more

M.E. Becherucci
Undaria pinnatifida is an aggressively invasive macroalgae originating from northeast Asia. It was accidentally introduced to numerous regions worldwide including, in 2011, the coast of Mar del Plata, Argentina. U. pinnatifida has been used since ancient times where it is native, and it is currently cultivated and harvested in many countries around the Read more

R. Cajade
Paraje Tres Cerros are three rocky outcrops (maximum height 180 m above sea level) found in Corrientes Province, Argentina. The outcrops constitute true geologic “islands” immersed in the vast Corrientes plains. They also represent unique ecosystems where flora and fauna have experimented with evolution, isolated in their own singular combination of environmental conditions Read more

K. Cockle
Hundreds of species of birds in South America require tree-cavities for nesting, and many of these species are threatened by selective logging and clearing of forest for farms. Our objectives were to examine variation in cavity supply among bird species and habitats, and to encourage conservation of tree cavities for nesting birds.
Our field Read more

C.C. Ng’weno
Wildlife in human-occupied landscapes can be conserved if management is based on some understanding of mechanisms by which humans and livestock influence ecological processes. One such process critical to wildlife conservation is predator-prey dynamics. Our main management objective is geared towards maintaining diverse ungulate species populations such as hartebeest (Alcephalus busephalus jacksonii) while Read more

M.P. Porrini 
This project focused on the parasitism by Nosema ceranae on honeybees in Argentina, including an analysis of virulence and the physiological effects of different strains isolated from different regions of the country. Apiculturists have enthusiastically collaborated with the study, providing samples across wide-ranging biogeographic areas of the country. This was achieved through a “National Read more

R.D. Crego 

Invasive species are the second most significant driver of biodiversity loss. Islands are the most vulnerable regions to invasions because the evolutionary isolation generally results in a lack of behavioral responses to predation by the local biota. The American mink (Neovison vison) is a mustelid native to North America that was recently introduced in Read more

Snow Leopard Trust 
The endangered snow leopard is one of the least studied of the big cats.  Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation (Mongolia) and its partner Snow Leopard Trust (USA) launched the first ever long-term ecological study of snow leopards in 2008 in the South Gobi desert of Mongolia. An important component of this study is tracking Read more

M. Gowland-Sainz 
The Patagonian Sea is a globally important ecosystem given its high species diversity and endemism, large biomass and high abundance of apex predators. However, the Patagonian Sea is not pristine and there are many threats to its biodiversity and economic potential, such as invasive species, pollution, overfishing, and bycatch. While there are universities in Read more

N. Greenhawk 
The area of Icaco Valley, Hormiga Valley and the mountain ridge separating them have never been systematically surveyed for amphibians, and have not been accessed by humans in nearly 60 years. Previous scouting confirmed the presence of Eleutherodactylus cooki (IUCN: Vulnerable; US Endangered Species List: Threatened), E. wightmanae (IUCN: Endangered), and E. richmondi (IUCN: Read more

S. Wasser
Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs) frequent the Salish Sea, and their population was heavily harvested by the aquarium industry during much of the 1960’s. The harvest significantly impacted the reproductive/age structure of the population along with the ability to reproductively recover from population declines following harsh years. The population then experienced an unexplained Read more

F.P. Kacoliris 
The Somuncura Plateau is a priority conservation area given its unique biology, geology and anthropology. This area is home to three species that are internationally recognized as high conservation priorities: the Somuncura frog (Pleurodema somuncurensis), the Laguna Raimunda frog (Atelognathus reverberii) and the naked characin (Gymnocharacinus bergii). The objective of this project was to Read more

R. Cajade 
Paraje Tres Cerros is comprised of three outcrops that rise above the Corrientes plains and constitute true rocky “islands”. Until this project, the herpetofauna of the site were unknown. The primary objectives of this project were to survey the herpetofauna and use the results as a tool for educating the regional population and contributing Read more

J. Calkins
This study was a necessary component of a larger study examining the varying response of species in the quail genus Callipepla to environmental change. In particular, researchers were testing the hypothesis that elegant quail (C. douglasiiare) of Sonora, Mexico are less behaviorally flexible and therefore more susceptible to environmental change than California quail (C. Read more