K1 West Transect – 2012

Permanent Site: K1 West Transect; Depth: 6.1 Meters (19.9 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 4.5 Kilometers (2.8 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 10 months post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.13592923,-123.51082988; Site Description: This permanent transect was only established post dam-removal after it was discovered that the degree of seaweed loss was more extensive than expected at the other permanent sites. Three sites, two further east (J1, K1) and one further west (L1) of the river mouth, were set up on former random sites known to have seaweed. Pre-dam removal conditions of the K1 East area can be seen on the video ‘5SM18 West Transect – 2008’. This is a shallow site. Sediment is a gravel/sand mixture. Seaweed was abundant, as opposed to the east transect (K1 East Transect – 2012). Five species of browns were recorded: Saccharina spp. (0:07 seconds), bull kelp Nereocystis luetkeana (1:23 seconds), Alaria marginata (1:02, 1:40seconds), three-ribbed kelp Cymathere triplicata (1:14 seconds) and the perennial seaweed Pterygophora californica (0:42, 1:58 seconds). A variety of invertebrates are present but none are abundant.