Agency helping fight invaders from the sea

By Ian Ith
Seattle Times staff reporter

GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES Dave Beauchamp, left, a fish ecologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, and Mark Parsley, a research fisheries biologist, lower a hydro acoustic probe to listen for fish.

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Fans of crime dramas would immediately identify the fancy gizmo as the first step in state-of-the-art DNA testing. But Rodriguez, a fisheries biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Seattle, is trying to catch a different kind of crook.

It is hoped that by cataloging the DNA of aquatic organisms big and small, from Puget Sound and some day the rest of the world, he may be able to develop a system to catch invasive species in ship ballast water before they are unleashed into the Sound to choke out native species and disrupt delicate ecosystems.

It's only one of dozens of ground-breaking research projects under way at the USGS laboratory at Sand Point.

All focus on protecting and restoring the ecosystems of Puget Sound.

This weekend, the scientists are throwing their lab doors open to the public to show off some of their methods and perhaps educate people on the ways government technology is being used to help things as simple but important as eelgrass and herring.

"We think there are a lot of new tools and technology that can make a lot of contributions," said Anne Kinsinger, a USGS biologist. "And we want to give the public a chance to see what we're all about."

Open Saturday The U.S. Geological Survey's Western Fisheries Research Center open house is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The lab is at 6505 N.E. 65th St., between Sand Point Way and Magnuson Park.

The open house is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The public can tour the labs, check out artificial streams and tanks full of growing salmon, and watch demonstrations of how biologists use acoustics and radio waves to track fish schools.

The lab, perched behind a fence on a knoll near Magnuson Park, is a maze of research spanning virtually all stages of Puget Sound ecology.

In one room, a scientist analyzes video of eelgrass dancing in the tides of the San Juan Islands, hoping to discover how the underwater plants help prevent erosion.

Down a short corridor, another scientist is searching for parasites that might be adding to the troubles of Northwest salmon.

In still another alcove, a technician dissects a young salmon, looking for a tiny organ behind its brain to slice up and study under a microscope for signs of ill health.

Rodriguez is only getting started on a DNA library of Puget Sound's life. The logistical problems of sampling millions of gallons of ship ballast for dangerous foreign organisms are many. Still, he sees a need for such an effort.

Before making their way into the Sound, many ships dump their old ballast at sea and fill up on deep-ocean water, which is presumably free of imported creatures, Rodriguez said.

"But there isn't a system in place to validate that claim" he said.

Ian Ith: 206-464-2109 or iith@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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