Jason D. Toft

University of Washington | UW · School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences

In the marine environment, greening of grey infrastructure (GGI) is a rapidly growing field that attempts to encourage native marine life to colonize marine artificial structures to enhance biodiversity, thereby promoting ecosystem functioning and hence service provision. By designing multifunctional sea defences, breakwaters, port complexes and of...

The impacts of individual restoration activities, such as the total area covered and specific actions taken, can be difficult to measure because they are typically not performed randomly or independently. In Puget Sound, Washington, United States, removal of hard armor is a primary shoreline restoration measure. The length of armor removed from a b...

Understanding the scale at which species respond to habitat characteristics can improve detection of effects from anthropogenic alterations to marine shorelines. Spatial context matters because habitat alteration may have more of an effect when prevalent throughout a region, depending on the spatial scale at which species experience changes in habi...

Invasive plants can impact ecosystem services, such as by reducing availability of nutritional resources for detritivorous arthropods that are valued for juvenile fish production. We compared invasive reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) and native Lyngbye's sedge (Carex lyngbyei) stands along the lower Columbia River, focusing on their contribu...

Coastal shorelines are a key interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and are vital for human livelihood. As a result, shorelines have experienced substantial human modifications worldwide. Shoreline “hardening” – the construction of armor including seawalls, bulkheads, or rip-rap – is a common modification that has substantial negative...

We synthesized the status of estuarine use along the West Coast for 15 focal fish and crustacean species, creating maps displaying species location, average frequency of occurrence, and average catch per unit effort, and we compared the data to presumed habitat impacts measured by estuarine stressor scores.

Humans have drastically modified marine nearshore ecosystems through shoreline armoring. Armor, in the form of seawalls and bulkheads, reduces the mean abundance of key ecological features of shoreline ecosystems, such as the amount of beach wrack, the number of beached logs, and the density of supratidal invertebrates. Armor also affects the physi...

Nocturnal distributions and habitat preferences of juvenile fish along urban shorelines are understudied relative to daytime investigations. As a case study, nocturnal distributions of juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) among ecological engineered and conventional seawall and pier habitats were characterized from May through August 2019 al...

In human-impacted coastal ecosystems, living shorelines are becoming a common restoration technique. However, we lack a comprehensive understanding of the ecological and physical benefits, and how they could inform management needs. To address this, we studied effectiveness of living shorelines at a broad spatial scale within the Washington State b...

Many nearshore ecosystems are modified by aquaculture, including bivalve culture to produce food and restore extirpated populations. Small invertebrates in nearshore ecosystems support fundamental ecological processes, but the effects of bivalve culture on invertebrates are incompletely understood. Here, we compared invertebrate assemblages from mu...

A mobile dual-frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) was used to characterize juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) daytime use of armored and eco-engineered seawall habitats along an urbanized shoreline in Puget Sound, Washington, USA. Eco-engineering included intertidal benches to elevate the seafloor, a textured seawall to provide refuge...

Urban nearshore ecosystems are built environments that differ structurally and functionally from the natural ecosystems they replace. Eco-engineering offers the ability to enhance these ecosystems by reducing the impacts of shoreline modification. Recent studies have linked shoreline armoring and pier shade—common features of modified shorelines—to...

Human population growth and accelerating coastal development have been the drivers for unprecedented construction of artificial structures along shorelines globally. Construction has been recently amplified by societal responses to reduce flood and erosion risks from rising sea levels and more extreme storms resulting from climate change. Such stru...

Human population growth and accelerating coastal development have been the drivers for unprecedented construction of artificial structures along shorelines globally. Construction has been recently amplified by societal responses to reduce flood and erosion risks from rising sea levels and more extreme storms resulting from climate change. Such stru...

Shoreline armoring is prevalent around the world with unprecedented human population growth and urbanization along coastal habitats. Armoring structures, such as riprap and bulkheads, that are built to prevent beach erosion and protect coastal infrastructure from storms and flooding can cause deterioration of habitats for migratory fish species, di...

Salmon Bay Natural Area invertebrates. Dataset of macroinvertebrates sampled in Salmon Bay Natural Area before and after armoring removal.

Cornet Bay wrack cover and log data. Dataset of wrack cover and number of logs in Cornet Bay sampled before and after shoreline armoring removal.

Epibenthos data from Olympic Sculpture Park. Dataset of epibenthos sampled in Olympic Sculpture Park before and after shoreline armoring removal.

Cornet Bay invertebrate data. Dataset of invertebrates sampled in Cornet Bay before and after shoreline armoring removal.

Powel Property dataset. Dataset of saltmarsh percentage cover and invertebrate richness from Powel Property before and after shoreline armoring removal.

Olympic Sculpture Park insect data. Dataset of insects sampled before and after shoreline armoring removal in Olympic Sculpture Park.

Seahurst Park invertebrate dataset. Dataset of invertebrates sampled before and after shoreline armoring removal at two different locations (removed in 2005 and 2014 respectively) in Seahurst Park.

The continuity of long-term environmental datasets provided by citizen science groups has the potential to address the specific concerns of multiple audiences. We designed an analysis framework based on a 16-year dataset across 40 sites in Puget Sound, WA, USA, which citizen scientists collected by visiting beaches annually and using prescribed pro...

We examined the effects of two types of piers on composition, abundance, and diversity of small epibenthic invertebrates and on several taxa known to be important prey for juveniles of three species of Pacific salmon. Using an epibenthic pump, invertebrates were sampled under and away from piers. Piers located within a dense urban aggregation of ov...

1. Nearshore ecosystems are increasingly recognized as critical habitats for fish of cultural, ecological and economic significance. These ecosystems are often densely inhabited by juvenile fish, highly productive and refuges from predation, leading ecologists to characterize them as nurseries. However, nearshore ecosystems are being transformed gl...

Daily cycles in feeding intensity are common among fish and suggestive of ecological trade-offs and constraints. However, feeding chronologies are typically estimated from diets rather than in situ observations. As a consequence, our understanding of daily feeding patterns is often imprecise, which limits our ability to infer connections between th...

Living Shorelines: The Science and Management of Nature-based Coastal Protection compiles, synthesizes and interprets the current state of the knowledge on the science and practice of nature-based shoreline protection. This book will serve as a valuable reference to guide scientists, students, managers, planners, regulators, environmental and engin...

Shoreline armoring can impact a variety of ecosystem functions, goods and services provided by beaches. Shoreline managers struggle to balance genuine need for armoring to protect infrastructure versus unacceptable losses of ecosystem functions––whether these be in beaches, sand dunes, or marshes. We use our recent research effort in the Salish Sea...

We have a limited understanding of habitat use and behavior in nearshore fish communities because they are rarely observed in situ. Consequently, ecologists recommend a process-based conceptualization of nursery habitats, but lack knowledge of nursery processes on fine scales along shore, and studies in controlled settings suggest that context-depe...

Compared to benthic and water-column invertebrate assemblages, considerably less is known about terrestrial arthropods inhabiting estuarine wetlands despite their importance to tidal wetland biodiversity and productivity. We also need to know more about how human modification of estuaries, including efforts to restore estuarine wetlands, affects th...

During the transition of juveniles from fresh water to estuarine and coastal environments, the survival of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) can be strongly size selective and cohort abundance is partly determined at this stage. Because quantity and quality of food influence juvenile salmon growth, high rates of prey and energy acquisition during...

An important nursery function of estuaries is providing prey resources for juvenile fish. Shoreline armoring compromises epibenthic and terrestrial prey resources, but it is unclear how this affects fish feeding ecology, particularly in urban landscapes where armoring is common. In this study we sampled prey availability and diets from 3 species of...

Beach wrack is an organic subsidy that supports high intertidal and supralittoral invertebrate communities in many coastal systems. Beaches fringed with riparian vegetation accumulate wrack from both terrestrial leaf litter and marine algae/seagrasses, forming a reciprocal connection. Previous research has shown that shoreline armoring disrupts thi...

Estuarine nearshore environments are important habitats for many organisms, including juveniles of several Pacific salmon species (Oncorhynchus spp.). These habitats provide shallow water and high prey productivity, but are increasingly modified by anthropogenic activity including shoreline armoring, which disrupts connectivity between aquatic and...

Removal of shoreline armoring can potentially restore lost biological functions to intertidal beaches and increase con-nectivity between aquatic and terrestrial realms. Conceptual models are needed, as ecologists, managers, and engineers are all concerned with finding ways to restore natural aspects to shoreline features that are stable and resilie...

The ecological significance of algal and seagrass wrack subsidies has been well-documented for exposed-coast sandy beaches but is relatively unstudied in lower-energy and mixed-sediment beaches. In marine nearshore environments where beaches are fringed with riparian vegetation, the potential for reciprocal subsidies between marine and terrestrial...

Shoreline modifications, such as seawall armoring and piers, are ubiquitous along developed waterfronts worldwide, and recent research suggests that their ecological effects are primarily negative. We utilized snorkel surveys to quantify the effects of seawalls and piers on fish in nearshore habitats of an urbanized estuary in Puget Sound, Washingt...

Tidal marsh wetlands provide important foraging habitat for a variety of estuarine fishes. Prey organisms include benthic/epibenthic macroinvertebrates, neustonic arthropods, and zooplankton. Little is known about the abundance and distribution of interior marsh macroinvertebrate communities in the San Francisco Estuary (estuary). We describe seaso...

Shoreline armoring is prevalent worldwide and has resulted in substantial habitat alteration in heavily urbanized areas. The biological and physical processes associated with these shorelines have in many cases been compromised, which has led to a recent focus on how to design and implement projects to restore some of the lost or impaired functions...

The non-native tunicates Didemnum vexillum, Ciona savignyi, and Styela clava are of concern to resource managers of Puget Sound, Washington, USA because they have been shown to threaten native species diversity and shellfish aquaculture in other regions. Invasive tunicates in Puget Sound occur mainly on man-made structures such as floating docks an...

Shoreline armoring is extensive in urban areas worldwide, but the ecological consequences are poorly documented. We mapped shoreline armoring along the Duwamish River estuary (Washington State, USA) and evaluated differences in temperature, invertebrates, and juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) diet between armored and unarmored intertidal habitats...

Shoreline armoring is thought to be a major factor disrupting natural ecosystem functions in nearshore marine and estuarine environments, yet few studies have documented actual negative impacts of armoring on ecosystem health. The demand for shoreline armoring is likely to increase with heightened concerns about erosion caused by sea-level rise, an...

In Puget Sound (Washington State), the decline in abundance of numerous marine nearshore species at several trophic levels has prompted regional efforts towards nearshore habitat restoration. A key driver for these efforts is federal threatened and endangered species listings of several salmonid species including Puget Sound Chinook Salmon. Much of...

Marine shorelines worldwide are being increasingly modified with armoring as coastal populations grow and the risk of sea level rise increases. Seawalls are the least complex armoring structure, typically built of smooth vertical concrete. Compared to natural rocky intertidal shorelines they reduce surface area, lack microhabitats that provide refu...

The use of stable isotopes has recently grown in studies of trophic structure and the recruitment and migration patterns of consumers. This type of analysis allows the flow of organic matter and trophic relationships to be outlined within complex systems. Although multiple stable isotope analysis is useful in distinguishing linkages between sources...

The Duwamish estuary is an industrialized waterway located in Seattle, WA, USA. Despite a history of habitat loss, naturally produced juvenile Chinook salmon use the estuary. In addition to experiencing degraded habitat in the estuary, wild salmon growth may be affected by competition with more than three million hatchery fish released yearly into...

Puget Sound is one of the largest estuaries in the US, being home to several iconic marine species, such as Puget Sound Chinook salmon and Southern Resident killer whales. These have recently been listed as threatened or endangered under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). The park is adjacent to two reaches that have almost no development below t...

The amphipod Crangonyx floridanus and the isopods Caecidotea racovitzai and Asellus hilgendorfii were discovered in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, California, U.S.A. We applied Chapman and Carlton's (1994) criteria for determining introduced species to test whether these species are non-indigenous to the delta. The majority of the attributes sco...

We undertook the present study to explore how intertidal eelgrass (Zostera marina) landscape patterns might be influenced by natural and anthropogenic factors. The underlying concern in our focus on eelgrass habitat was with the potential effects on juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) that depend on this habitat during their seaward migration. The...

Shoreline modifications, such as bulkheads, riprap, and overwater structures, have altered many of the natural habitats in nearshore urbanized areas surrounding coastal cities, including those in Puget Sound, Washington. The effects of such structures on ecological processes are poorly known, especially those impacting juvenile salmonids Oncorhynch...

A revision of the genus Eogammarus is made based on type material and on collections from numerous localities. The following eight species are redescribed: E. kygi ( Derzhavin, 1923), E. barbatus ( Tzvetkova, 1965), E. confervicolus ( Stimpson, 1856), E. oclairi Bousfield, 1979, E. psammophilus Bousfield, 1979, E. schmidti ( Derzhavin, 1927), E. po...

This study used both standardized surveys and innovative fish tagging and tracking technologies to address whether WSF terminals alter the behavior of migrating juvenile salmon, and if so, which attributes mediate abundance patterns or behavioral changes. Results showed that juvenile salmon were observed most frequently adjacent to ferry terminals,...

Seattle Public Utilites

The South American floating aquatic plant water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) has a history of worldwide invasions, including a 1904 introduction into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California. The native pennywort (Hydrocotyle umbellata) occupies similar habitats in the Delta and is extensively used by resident invertebrates and fish. We soug...

The amphipod Crangonyx floridanus and the isopods Caecidotea racovitzai and Asellus hilgendorfii were discovered in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, California, U.S.A. We applied Chapman and Carlton's (1994) criteria for determining introduced species to test whether these species are non-indigenous to the delta. The majority of the attributes sco...

Detecting marine invasions can be challenging, especially for lesser-known taxa, and requires (a) thorough field surveys of the region of interest for members of the taxon, (b) systematic analyses to identify all species found, (c) literature searches for the worldwide distribution of these species and for previous records of the taxon in this regi...

L'Asellidae Asellus (Asellus ) hilgendorfii Bovallius, 1886 a ete decouvert dans les eaux douces de la region du delta des fleuves Sacramento et San Joaquin, Californie, USA. L'aire de vie normale de cette espece etant la Siberie orientale, la Chine et l'ensemble de l'archipel nippon, tout porte a croire qu'il s'agit d'une introduction recente, san...