Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • BCO-DMO Processing Description
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Funding

NANOOS = Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems
NVS = NANOOS Visualization System
FHL = Friday Harbor Laboratories

Data reported here are from 10 Feb. 2010 through 11 Dec 2013.  This data was downloaded from the Friday Harbor Labs weather station site, http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/wx.html.

Note: http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/wx.html is no longer viewable.  You can see a copy of what this page looked like at the Internet Archive:

Friday Harbor Laboratories (2014). FHL Weather Station (2014-01-12).  Internet Archive Wayback Machine, Retrieved Feb 3rd, 2026 from https://web.archive.org/web/20140112211537/http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/wx.html

v1 (2013-12-12):
Data ingested into the BCO-DMO (JGOFS) data system. Data were attached to the public BCO-DMO dataset page with a link to the JGOFS data system. The time and date columns were described with "local or utc??" indicating time zone was unknown.

v2 (2026-02-02):
Data were migrated to static csv files and additional changes made after correspondence with the data submitter. A static csv of the original v1 data ("FHL_ts.csv") was imported into the contemporary BCO-DMO data system as the primary table for this dataset. Additional modifications made:
* ISODate column removed which was datetime in ISO format. This was described as UTC in dataset metadata however, this was local time (as indicated by submitter correspondence).
* Columns time, year, month, day renamed with suffix "_local" for clarification.
* New column added ISO_DateTime_UTC which used the local date and time (US/Pacific PST/PDT converted to UTC).
* Site list added as a supplemental file (locations provided by submitter over email correspondence).
* Additional enhancements made to column descriptions based on submitter correspondence.
* Links to data sources added as structured "Related Datasets" with the relationship isDerivedFrom
* Data attached to BCO-DMO dataset as "473160_v2_fhl_ts.csv"

Subtidal communities in temperate geographic zones of the world are faced with changes caused by fishing, climate change, habitat alteration and invasive species, yet we know fairly little about their community dynamics. The loss of large predators (species removals), and the introduction of nonindigenous species (species additions), are likely to have immediate and large consequences for the structure, resilience and function of subtidal communities. Marine preserves have recently been established in many coastal locations, including the San Juan Archipelago of Washington State. While they are demonstrated to have positive effects on certain fish populations, effects on the rest of the subtidal community are generally not known. The benefit of marine preserves to fisheries remains to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Regardless of the benefit to fisheries, they can serve effectively as conservation zones, similar to terrestrial parks, where original species assemblages can recover in the absence of human extraction. They also provide excellent venues to study the effects of large predators in relatively intact communities, in comparison to nearby non-preserve locations.

With goals such as maintaining or increasing biodiversity, it is important to understand how the protection of large predators influences small prey and non-prey species. Determining the ecological effects of fish extraction is of prime interest in the growing body of marine protected area science. Higher level predators can decrease the abundance of their prey, but can also indirectly increase the abundance of organisms two trophic levels beneath them through a trophic cascade. Additionally, non-trophic interactions may cause species abundances to change in unpredicted ways after the recovery of large predators. The investigators in this project will explore the interaction of invasive ascidian species in the Puget Sound region, including sites where they have invaded successfully and sites where they have not. Much of this research will be conducted in (and out of) a regional network of MPAs in San Juan Co., WA, with a focus on the rocky subtidal community on these shores.

The significance of this research applies to any nearshore temperate ecosystem with rocky substrate; thus it has broad ecological relevance, particularly with regard to management of coastal ecosystems. Coastal communities are changing due to extraction, invasive species, and climate change, yet we know little about these effects in the shallow rocky subtidal zone.

The FHL Research Apprenticeship Program is a successful vehicle to provide intensive research experiences to undergraduates, and it motivates many to pursue graduate and professional training. There will also be an opportunity for summer FHL Blinks Fellows (undergraduate researchers of diverse background) and REU students to work on this project. FHL research, including that done by students, also supports citizen-driven conservation priorities. A primary connection is through the San Juan County Marine Resources Committee (MRC). This research will also provide training for several graduate and undergraduate students in current techniques in subtidal ecological research and advanced SCUBA based research and operations. They will also be encouraged to take part in FHL K-12 Outreach activities, and the new GK-12 Program at FHL (and Seattle).