PhD Candidate in Geography, University of Victoria
MSc Geography, University of Victoria
BSc Biology, University of Victoria
In summer 2016, we acquired two satellite images covering Cowichan Bay and the Gulf Islands, at the same time that three groups of volunteers from Pender Island Conservancy, Mayne Island Conservancy, and Cowichan land trust led by Leanna Boyer from Sea Change mapped the exact location of kelp beds using kayaks and GPS. From this data we are able to ground truth what we define as kelp in the satellite images.
In the spring and summer of 2017, in situ surveys of kelp beds were conducted to understand how juvenile salmon from the Cowichan River use kelp bed habitats as they migrate north.
Snorkel survey and remote underwater video was used to compare the use of kelp beds to adjacent no kelp habitat.