12/12 Liverwort, Fraser fish farms, orca DNA, slow ships, orca diet, forever chemicals, iNaturalist, Eby's biodiversity, tall trees, Cheewhat Lake, Guardian Network

Thallose Liverwort [Slater Museum]

Thallose Liverwort Marchantia polymorpha
Liverworts are primitive nonvascular plants, perhaps the most primitive true plants still in existence. There are two types. In thallose liverworts, the plant body (thallus) consists of flattened masses of cells that look leafy but show little differentiation into different cell types. A layer of photosynthetic tissue is underlain by nonphotosynthetic cells, with a final lower scaly layer that produces rhizoids, root-like structures that help hold the plant in place. Leafy liverworts look more like mosses, with obvious small leaves along a stem. But the leaves may bear marginal cilia (very rare in mosses) and never have a costa (present in most mosses). (Slater Museum)

ICYMI: Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river — Part 3: Saving wild salmon versus the net pen industry
Scores of open-water farms raising nonnative salmon along British Columbia's west coast straits and channels are facing new challenges from wild-salmon advocates who say the farms endanger Fraser River native fish runs. Eric Scigliano reports. (Salish Current)

How much of orca decline is in their DNA?
Southern Resident killer whales are beset by the threats of diminished prey, chemical pollution, loss of habitat, and underwater noise. Can DNA research help toward their recovery? Kai Uyehara reports. (Salish Current)

Captains of big ships eased up on the throttle during trial slowdown to help endangered orcas
The majority of captains of big commercial ships entering and leaving Puget Sound are cooperating with a request to slow down temporarily to reduce underwater noise impacts to the Pacific Northwest's critically endangered killer whales. The duration of the experimental slowdown – modeled on a similar project in British Columbia – will be extended into the new year, organizers announced after a status report and celebration on the Seattle waterfront Friday. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

When Chinook salmon is off the menu, what do endangered orcas eat? Here’s their buffet
By analyzing 150 prey and fecal samples collected between 2004 and 2017, the researchers found that endangered Chinook salmon was always the prey of choice but when Chinook salmon was scarce, they had to supplement their diet with other fish such as chum salmon, coho salmon, steelhead trout, and also non-salmonid species like lingcod and Pacific halibut. Elizabeth Claire Alberts reports. (Mongabay)

More ‘forever chemicals’ found in WA drinking water as cleanup costs mount
The water pumped from the ground here was once considered pure enough to mix with a little chlorine and then pipe directly to homes. Today, every gallon from two water district wells must first be flushed through six enormous tanks, each filled with 40,000 pounds of specially treated coal, to remove contaminants. This pollution, known as “forever chemicals” or PFAS, can increase health risks for certain cancers and other diseases when present in drinking water in minuscule concentrations measured in parts per trillion. Lakewood is one of more than a dozen Washington public water systems with detections above levels defined by the state to be suitable for long-term consumption — and widespread testing is just ramping up.  Hal Bernton and Manuel Villa report. (Seattle Times)

The Nicest Place Online? It Might Just Involve Identifying Sea Slugs.
As civil discourse online and off increasingly proves elusive, a website devoted to identifying plants and animals may be teaching humans how to get along. Amy Harmon reports. (NY Times)

Conservationists optimistic over David Eby's commitments to protect B.C.'s biodiversity
Land stewardship mandate letter calls for 30 per cent of B.C.’s land base to be protected by 2030. Chad Pawson reports. (CBC)

In defence of the tall and mighty
B.C.’s newest provincial park was once slated for logging. Now, advocates and the local First Nation want to expand it. Akshay Kulkarni and Camille Vernet report. (CBC) 

The keepers of Cheewaht: Restoring an ecosystem for generations to come
Restoration of streams that feed Cheewaht Lake in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is yielding results, as thousands of salmon return to spawn. Alexandra Mehl report. (Times Colonist)

Indigenous guardians connected by new national network in Canada — the first of its kind in the world
The First Nations Guardians Network will streamline funding and capacity-building opportunities for guardians — the eyes and ears of the land. Stephanie Wood and Ainslie Cruickshank report. (The Narwhal)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  256 AM PST Mon Dec 12 2022   
TODAY  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell 6 ft  at 11 seconds. 
TONIGHT  E wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft  at 11 seconds.

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