Anne K. Salomon, Ph.D.

Research

Anne Salomon is an applied marine ecologist and assistant professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Resource and Environmental Management in British Columbia, Canada. Along North America’s high-latitude coastlines, sea otters were eliminated from parts of their habitat range during the 18th- and 19th-century fur trade. Their subsequent recovery has caused remarkable changes to marine systems, generating shifts in kelp forest ecosystems and coastal economies and cultures. These keystone predators can cause ecosystems to flip between alternating states. When sea otters are absent, their invertebrate prey—such as crabs, clams, abalone, and sea urchins—can flourish. When otters are present, these commercially and culturally valuable shellfish are dramatically reduced, but kelp beds thrive, providing valuable habitat and an additional source of food that, in some cases, allows for the expansion of other fisheries. Consequently, sea otter recovery can create complex ecological and social trade-offs. Among coastal communities, conflicts may arise because of the economic and cultural loss associated with reduced fishing opportunities for invertebrates, as well as concerns about food security, food sovereignty, and the rights of the First Nations (the indigenous people of Canada who have lived on the coast for more than 12,000 years). In partnership with British Columbia’s coastal First Nations and the Hakai Beach Institute, Salomon’s Pew fellowship project is focused on analyzing kelp forest ecosystems, synthesizing data on sea otter-induced impacts, and documenting the evolution of social and cultural values associated with this predator’s recovery. She is also assembling working groups that have been sharing ideas on Western and traditional ecosystem-based management to help develop new strategies that address the effects of sea otter predation on coastal fisheries. Salomon and her partners are now planning to discuss their results with tribal councils, provincial and federal policymakers, nongovernmental organizations, and the public through a First Nations touring art exhibit and multimedia interactive photo-journal, aiming to implement these experimental, ecosystem-based management policies. To learn more about Salomon, visit her bio online: http://www.rem.sfu.ca/people/faculty/salomon.