Week Three: Trip to Quinault and research

This week Vanessa, Bill Lambert, and I took a trip to Quinault. There we spoke to Joe Shumacker about possible projects. We initially thought that I would study the effects of shellfish intake on the Native Indian populations. However, when we met with Joe he told us of another issue that they need help with more. There is an issue of fecal contamination up the coast, which causes many problems for the tribe. Molluscan shellfish are extremelly important to the Native Indian Tribes. It is a part of their traditional lifestyles, and it positively impacts the economy. Since molluscan shellfish are filter feeders, the quality of the water where they grow is a key factor in determining whether they are healthy to eat or not. Fecal coliform bacteria live naturally in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, including humans. The usually do not make people sick, however, if high concentrations are in the water it means that illness causing pathogens might also be present. This contamination can come from the removal of waste by warm-blooded animals, discharges from waste disposal systems on boats, leakage from poorly performing septic systems, or trasport by storm-water runoff. Even with these possiblities, the tribes are not certain which one is causing the contamination. This is where our group will come in to determine what is causing the contamination and if certain weather changes are increasing contamination as well.