Tracking biodiversity change in the Salish Sea

The Salish Sea Biodiversity Atlas brings together datasets, analyses and tools for understanding how biodiversity is changing across the Salish Sea. Building on more than a decade of research, the projects and datasets mapped here draw on Indigenous and Local Knowledge, historical collections, published records, community science observations and targeted fieldwork to establish regional baselines: documenting which historically reported species have been confirmed in recent decades, which have gone unreported and may have been lost locally, which are newly recorded, and where knowledge of the region’s biodiversity remains incomplete.

Rooted in community

Detecting biodiversity change depends on knowledge held in local communities. Our work brings community-based projects, regional non-profits and academic institutions together to develop practical, transparent methods that communities can adopt to monitor biodiversity where they live. Harnessing the bioReportR framework for interactive, map-based biodiversity reporting, together with our protocol for detecting local extinction, we aim to strengthen the community foundations of biodiversity monitoring, linking local observation with regional and national efforts to detect, understand and respond to biodiversity change.

An open and evolving atlas

This atlas is a work in progress rather than a finished account. A synthesis of results across these projects and datasets is in preparation, and new work will be added as it develops. We welcome contributions from communities across the Salish Sea, whether observations, datasets, expertise or questions worth pursuing together.

Explore the map, or browse the projects and data behind it. To contribute or propose a collaboration, contact IMERSS or open an issue.