To show that honey bees are effective biological monitors of environmental contaminants over large geographic areas, beekeepers of Puget Sound, Washington, collected pollen and bees for chemical analysis. From these data, kriging maps of arsenic, cadmium, and fluoride were generated. Results, based on actual concentrations of contaminants in bee tissues, show that the greatest concentrations of contaminants occur close to Commencement Bay and that honey bees are effective as large-scale monitors.

The fishery for Karluk Lake (Kodiak Island, Alaska) sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka has undergone a period of high production (1920s to mid‐1940s), decline (mid‐1940s to late 1970s), and recovery (late 1970s to present). We evaluated historical spawner–recruit data and recent (1980–1994) limnological data to develop an escapement goal (EG) to provide maximum sustainable yield for sockeye salmon. Ricker analysis of the spawner–recruit data explained only a small proportion of the total variation (r2 = 0.17) in loge recruit/spawner (R/S) and exhibited a significant first‐order autocorrelation (r1 = 0.68; P < 0.0001). Ricker time–polynomial regression exhibited no significant residual autocorrelation, explained 71% of the variation in loge R/S, and indicated that intrinsic productivity (α parameter) has remained fairly constant, whereas system capacity (β parameter) has been temporally unstable. Markov transition probabilities indicated that escapements between 0.8 and 1.0 million fish maximize yield. In comparison, a graphical assessment of actual spawner abundance versus predicted maximum sustained yield indicated a production threshold (about 0.8 million spawners) and revealed a temporal pattern in production related to spawner abundance. These findings suggest a positive‐feedback mechanism related to the size of the escapement, which we hypothesize is primarily due to nutrients from spawner carcasses. Sockeye salmon carcasses produce an estimated 90% of the phosphorus above baseline loading and have accounted for 40% or more of the total phosphorus in Karluk Lake. The historical trend in sedimentary δ15N shows a strong reduction in marine‐derived nutrients since the onset of commercial fishing around 1890, a pattern that roughly corresponds to the decline in sockeye salmon production and system capacity. These findings and other trophic‐level limnological analyses suggest an EG of 0.8–1.0 million fish. Our evaluations also indicated that approximately equal proportions of early‐run (before July 15) and late‐run (after July 15) spawners are needed to optimize sockeye salmon production at Karluk Lake.

Summary — Nucleus colonies (nucs) of = 4 500 honey bees (Apis mellifera L) were evaluated as an alternative to full-size colonies for monitoring pollution impacts. Fifty nucs were deployed at 5 sites along a transect on Vashon Island, Washington. This provided a gradient of exposure to arsenic and cadmium from industrial sources. After 40 d, statistically significant differences were observed among sites for mean mass and numbers of bees (P ≤ 0.01), honey yield (P ≤ 0.07), and arsenic and cadmium content of forager bees (P ≤ 0.001). These findings are discussed in terms of exposure to heavy metals and observed changes in colony dynamics, especially brood rearing and hoarding of pollen, nectar, and honey.

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