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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2018)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2018 Tracking salmon migration through music Northwest coastal Songs in the key of swim By COURTNEY FLATT Northwest Public Broadcasting Salmon researchers are turning to sound to learn more about the fish they’re trying to understand. There is a lot of data about salmon out there, and that data is complex and hard to process. But researchers hope setting fish migration patterns into notes and tones can make it easier to analyze. Jens Hegg with the Uni- versity of Idaho is the lead author of a study published in Heliyon. He wanted to dis- till the databases of salmon migration down to something that your brain can process more easily. “It gives us this way to really explore the data before analysis and really figure out what’s going on with the fish — in ways that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to see,” Hegg said. The human mind pro- cesses sound differently, he explained; it’s easier to hear the complicated sounds than if you had to analyze complex charts and graphs. Turning data into sound is called “sonification.” The pro- cess has been used to study data from deep space and deep in the ocean. Hegg said this is Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Adult fall Chinook salmon in the Priest Rapids Hatchery in Washington state. the first time it’s been used to study salmon migration. To make the sounds, researchers had to figure out the migration timing. They used chemical data in the sal- mons’ ears. The fish have bones in their ears called oto- liths that store chemical infor- mation about where fish are — and when they swim through each place. “It’s a temporal record. It’s their chemical record in these tree-ring-like bands inside their ear bone of the chemistry they experience,” Hegg said. Composers working at Eastern Washington Univer- sity, the University of Tampere in Finland and the University of Virginia turned that infor- mation from the ear bones and into sound. “Otolith data, that’s huge,” said Jonathan Middleton, pro- fessor of composition and department chair at Eastern Washington University. “Jens was sending me Excel sheets that were so long, I didn’t even know where I was in them.” It took quite a long time — years — and a lot of back and forth for Middleton and his grad students to finish the composed piece. Middleton has worked with data sonifica- tion since 2005 and has devel- oped software to help research- ers turn their data into sound. “There are so many areas in science to explore by hearing data, and it just requires more collaborations of this kind,” Middleton said. This project studied 45 fish. Each fish was assigned a tone. A bell rings to represent each salmon moving downstream. Layered together, the sound becomes messy as more and more fish get on the move. Toward the end of the track, the tones calm down. The last few fish left in the Lower Snake River head toward the ocean. Hegg found people were able to hear when the sounds changed. The researchers asked people if they could hear the differences in pitch and tone as they played the sonification. “People are very attuned to changes in pitch and changes in timing, and they were all able to pick out those transi- tions,” Hegg said. They found that the listen- ers as a group were more accu- rate in hearing the transitions than when they listened by themselves. People also under- stood the changes in pitch and tone better when the sound wasn’t accompanied by an ani- mated graphic. With the sonification, researchers can see changes in data over large geographies and short time periods. Hegg hopes they’ll be able to detect patterns in salmon migrations that they wouldn’t otherwise see from scanning large databases. “You can come out with some really interesting find- ings that make you question: are there better ways to do what we’re doing?” Hegg said. Maybe one day, Hegg said, this type of research could be used to figure out why wild- life moves from place to place, especially if those animals have GPS tracking collars. It could also be used in research on other animals that migrate at certain times of the year — like monarch butterflies. Oregon lawmakers seek plea bargain reform Local attorney offers written testimony By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM — Some plea bargains presented to defen- dants deprive them of fun- damental rights, say Ore- gon lawmakers who moved on Wednesday to make them fairer. Defendants are sometimes even asked to give up habeas corpus — a right, dating back centuries, under which defen- dants face their accusers in court, according to testimony presented to the House Judi- ciary Committee. Kirk Wintermute, an attor- ney from Astoria, cited a practice of authorities requir- ing defendants in misde- meanor cases to waive that right to appear at trial if they miss a court date. These waivers are coercive because they’re sought as a condition of release from jail or to stay out of jail, Wintermute said. If the defense attorney doesn’t know why his client is absent or hasn’t had con- tact, the attorney is required to withdraw from the case, Wintermute said. A trial then proceeds with no one at the defense table, with a guilty verdict being inevitable, Wintermute told the commit- tee in a letter. “Once the court’s war- rant is served a defendant is brought back to court for a sentencing hearing, but does not have the opportunity to face his accusers in court, cross examine witnesses, or present a defense,” the law- yer said. The House unanimously passed a bill on Wednesday that prohibits a release agree- ment from jail from being linked to a defendant’s waiver of appearance at trial. It would also prohibit a plea agreement from being linked to a former law that was superseded by a legislation passed in 2017 that reduced sentences for certain crimes. “I believe it is our job as legislators and policy mak- ers to ensure we safeguard individual liberties and pro- tect the basic rights of all our citizens,” said House Major- ity Leader Jennifer William- son, the chief sponsor of the bill, in a statement after the vote. The bill now goes to the Senate. Williamson said more needs to be done to remedy plea agreements. In an example of a plea agreement she cited that shows other problems, prosecutors in Portland offered to drop two of four charges against a woman, but only if she agreed to waive her rights to due pro- cess, to challenge the convic- tion if exculpatory evidence was later found, to challenge a sentence as unconstitution- ally cruel and unusual, and the right to file a writ of habeas corpus. The bill was endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union and opposed by the Oregon District Attorneys Association. wetlands won’t survive high sea level rise By JES BURNS Oregon Public Broadcasting Over the next century, sea level rise is expected to wreak havoc on the U.S. coastlines — and a new analysis shows that the Northwest is not immune. Nearly all coastal wet- lands in Oregon, Washing- ton state and California will be swamped at the highest predicted sea level change. Sea level rise is a byproduct of climate change. It happens as the world’s oceans warm and physically expand. Melt- ing glaciers and ice sheets are also contributing. New research from the U.S. Geological Survey gives the first ever insight to how specific bays, marshes and harbors will fare. “We wanted to col- lect data and build models at a smaller spatial scale. Really the scale of deci- sion making,” said ecolo- gist Karen Thorne. “Like, ‘I’m a refuge manager and I want to know what’s going to happen to my wetlands’ or ‘I live in this town.’” Coastal wetlands are important for wildlife and nurseries for fisher- ies. They filter water and provide flood and ero- sion protection to coastal communities. Thorne said under the lowest predictions of sea level rise — about 5 inches over the next century in the Northwest — wetlands will remain relatively stable. But in higher scenarios that range anywhere from 2 to 6 feet, big changes are in store. “You increase the water levels to a point that the plants start to die because they’re flooded too often. So when the plants start to die, you start to lose the ability to build or maintain the elevation of these wet- lands,” Thorne said. This starts off a negative feedback loop. What once was marsh becomes a mud flat. The new models predict that many of the most pro- foundly affected wetlands in Oregon and Washington state won’t be able migrate inland to higher eleva- tions. Their path has been blocked by human develop- ment and the natural topog- raphy of the rocky coast. Wetlands at Bandon Marsh, Coos Bay and Siletz Bay in Oregon are expected to disappear entirely if the higher projections for sea level rise hold. Port Susan, Nisqually and Skokomish in Washington state will lose more than half their vegetation. Even at mod- erate rates of sea level rise, most of the coastal wet- lands will look and func- tion very differently. But there are a few spots on Washington’s coast that are expected to weather this symptom of climate change better than elsewhere. Notably, wetlands in Wil- lapa Bay and Grays Harbor are expected to survive. “Thankfully, Willapa Bay is one of those estu- aries that are in a better place than some of the oth- ers,” said Jackie Ferrier, manager of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. “Because it’s so influ- enced by the river, there’s a large amount of sediment accretion that happens within the bay.” The sediment buildup continually raises the ele- vation of the wetlands and is projected to allow the marshes to keep pace with sea level rise. Ferrier said the new information is helpful because of how localized it is. But she says the ref- uge will continue to rely on a range of predictive mod- els to make decisions going forward. The Willapa refuge is already taking action to improve the quality of the coastal area. The refuge is in the middle of a massive habitat restoration project that is expanding the salt- water wetland footprint. “I think our restoration puts us in an even bet- ter place because it does increase that resilience to sea level rise,” she said. The results of the new research were published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. State Senate passes ‘Equifax bill’ to help counter data breaches Bill aimed at consumer protection By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — The state Sen- ate has unanimously passed a bill to protect consumers when hackers steal their per- sonal information from credit reporting bureaus and other companies. The legislation requires companies to notify consum- ers within 45 days after dis- covering a data breach of their personal information and prohibits companies from charging consumers for a secu- rity freeze. A security freeze is one of the best ways to secure a breached account and stop identity theft, according to the Oregon Department of Justice. Under Senate Bill 1551, consumers would be entitled to place a credit freeze with each credit reporting agency free- of-charge at any time for any reason. Companies also would be prohibited from charging for removal of a freeze, or a temporary lifting of a freeze. “Consumers protecting themselves when their per- sonal data is compromised should be as easy and inex- pensive as possible,” said state Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eu- gene, who carried the bill on the Senate floor Wednesday. “When there is a data breach, credit freezes should be granted right away, at no cost, to help people protect them- selves from financial hardship due to identity theft.” Dubbed the “Equifax bill,” the legislation — along with a nearly identical proposal in the state House — responds to a mass cyber theft at the Atlanta-based credit report- ing agency last September. The data breach compromised private information, such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers, of 145 mil- lion consumers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. About 1.7 million Social Security numbers were jeopardized in Oregon alone, according to the Department of Justice. Equifax discovered in July that cyber thieves had accessed consumers’ names, addresses, birthdates, Social Security numbers and driver license information, but the breach wasn’t reported to consum- ers until September, according to media reports. A letter this month to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, showed that addi- tional consumer information was exposed, including tax identification numbers, email addresses and additional driv- er’s license information. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Like the House bill, the proposal passed by the Sen- ate Wednesday would require companies to reveal a breach within 45 days unless law enforcement determines doing so would impede a criminal investigation. Prozanski and Rep. Paul Holvey, another Democrat from Eugene, co-sponsored both pieces of legislation. Companies would have to report all data breaches to the state Department of Justice. Oregonians reported losses of $12.8 million from cyber- crimes in 2016, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Com- plaint Center. Data breaches fuel those crimes, according to the state. Equifax offered free credit monitoring services to affected consumers but by accepting the offer they were forced to accept arbitra- tion and a waiver of any law- suit connected to the breach. “They and other credit report- ing agencies steered consum- ers away from credit freezes, and into other pay-per-month type services,” according to testimony from the state Department of Justice. Freezing credit is one of the best preventative measures a consumer can take to pro- tect their credit from fraudu- lent uses, but ordering a freeze required a fee. “No company should be able to make money by help- ing someone protect them- selves because that company didn’t adequately protect the consumer’s data,” Prozanski said. “This bill will ensure consumers have adequate tools and protections in place in the unfortunate circum- stance that this type of mas- sive breach happens again.” Oregon has had its own share of data breaches. In January, Oregon’s State Accident Insurance Fund Corp. revealed that it may have inadvertently exposed confidential information of more than 1,750 people. The information, includ- ing the individuals’ names and Social Security numbers, was compromised in November when a hacker gained access Clatsop Post 12 Taco Salads with all the Trimmings Friday Feb. 23 rd 4 pm until gone $ 6. 00 6PM “Karaoke Dave” ASTORIA AMERICAN LEGION Clatsop Post 12 1132 Exchange Street 325-5771 • Hot Chocolate • Italian Soda • Creamosa • Steamers • Real Fruit Smoothies to a SAIF auditor’s email account. That account con- tained emails which included personal information on employees for six companies who get their workers’ com- pensation insurance through the quasi-public agency. Among those affected are some substitute teachers and school classified workers in the Portland area. The bill now heads to the House for consideration. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group.
