September 10 2024
By Tiffany Woods
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon Sea Grant, a cooperative program of research, extension, and education supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Oregon State University has awarded $1.22 million to researchers at Oregon State University, Portland State University, and Oregon Health and Science University for projects over the next two years.
The funding will support six coastal and marine research projects that focus on the movements of Pacific spiny dogfish to reduce their risk of becoming bycatch; methods to prevent the release of microplastics into household wastewater; increasing the data available to inform management of groundfish that live on Oregon’s rocky reefs; understanding how and if coastal dunes may protect communities from a tsunami; developing inclusive community preparation practices for natural disasters; and the impacts of harmful algal blooms on Oregon communities.
Oregon Sea Grant receives congressionally appropriated funds that it awards – via a competitive process – to researchers at Oregon universities who are studying ocean and coastal issues that align with Oregon Sea Grant’s goals. The projects funded are the following:
Addressing Overlap and Uncertainty in Assessment of a Critical Bycatch Species
Alexandra McInturf, a shark researcher in the Big Fish Lab at OSU’s Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, will lead a team that will tag Pacific spiny dogfish caught off Oregon. Although not commercially valuable themselves, these dogfish are of concern because they are inadvertently caught by economically important fisheries. The aim of the research is to understand and model dogfish movements and the fish’s response to environmental factors to determine their risk of being caught by fishing vessels. The findings will be used to generate an improved assessment of their population and inform management strategies for fisheries critical to Oregonians. Partners on the research are OSU, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The project is in response to an assessment published in 2021 that indicated that the Pacific spiny dogfish population off Oregon had declined to the point where mitigation measures might be needed to prevent further bycatch. The assessment, however, didn’t include data about the dogfish’s movements, which are unknown. Consequently, the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s scientific and statistical committee recommended a new assessment that incorporates movement data to ensure that Oregon’s fisheries stay productive and healthy.
Microplastics Science Optimizing Solutions (MP-SOS): Testing Strategies for Oregon
Elise Granek, a marine ecologist at PSU, will lead a multipronged project with an overarching goal of identifying feasible, cost-effective strategies to reduce microplastics in coastal watersheds. Six catch basin filters will be installed in stormwater drains in two coastal towns to determine their efficacy in trapping microplastics. Filters will also be installed on about 200 washing machines across two coastal towns to quantify the amount of microplastics they capture over the course of a year. Additionally, mesh bags will be installed on dryer vents to measure the amount of microfibers emitted from them compared with amounts from washing machines. Through surveys, researchers will assess any challenges households might have had with the washing machine filters and whether they affected the amount of water and electricity used.
The project aims to fill several information gaps. As the first study to evaluate the effectiveness of catch basin filters in trapping microplastics, the findings will be useful to wastewater management utilities considering such an intervention. Additionally, the study will provide data to legislators involved in discussions about requiring filters on washing machines. And because information about microfibers generated by dryers is limited, the project will provide data about the efficacy of mesh bags in trapping airborne fibers so the fibers don’t end up in stormwater.
As an outreach component, the project will educate the public about microplastics through a podcast, social media, activities for 6th-12th graders, and an exhibit at Oregon Sea Grant’s public education wing of the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.
Multi-Species Species Distribution Mapping of Oregon Nearshore Rocky Reefs
Susan Piacenza, a marine ecologist in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at OSU, will lead a team that plans to map the populations and locations of groundfish along the rocky reefs in Oregon’s nearshore and continental shelf waters. The scientists will look at video footage that the Oregon Department of Fisheries Wildlife has been collecting since 2009 as well as environmental data, such as sea surface temperature and ocean currents. They’ll use this footage and data to build models that predict the distributions and density of kelp greenling, lingcod and the following types of rockfish: yelloweye, quillback, copper, black, vermilion, blue and deacon.
The results are expected to help guide the management of protected areas and improve assessments of fish stocks. Fishermen will be able to use the maps to optimize their catches of species that have higher limits and to try to avoid yelloweye rockfish. The National Marine Fisheries Service declared yelloweye rockfish overfished on the U.S. West Coast in 2002; a rebuilding plan is in place. Collaborators on the project are Leif Rasmuson, a marine fishery research project leader at the Oregon Department of Fisheries Wildlife, and Aaron Berger, a research mathematical statistician with National Marine Fisheries Service.
To What Degree Will Oregon Coastal Dunes Mitigate the Impact of a Cascadia Tsunami?
Scientists at OSU and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries will lead a project that will run simulations to estimate the potential for Oregon’s dunes to shield six communities in Clatsop, Tillamook and Lincoln counties from a tsunami based on their height, width and vegetation cover. The scientists will also model how a tsunami might change the form of dunes in these communities. The team will also identify infrastructure, places and populations in these communities that could be more vulnerable to a tsunami because of changes in the dunes.
The research is necessary because original modeling by the state treated the coastline as an unerodable surface. If a tsunami does in fact erode dunes, then loss of life could be greater than initially expected. The researchers aim for their findings to be used to update tsunami flood maps and to help state and local governments focus their emergency preparedness efforts. Outcomes will include an exhibit at Hatfield and a workshop about research on and management of dunes. Collaborators on the project are Meagan Wengrove, a coastal engineer in the College of Engineering at OSU; Carly Ringer, a graduate student in OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences; and Jon Allan, a coastal geomorphologist at the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.
Co-Creating a Community Participatory Resilience Model for Oregon Coastal Hazards
Jenna Tilt, a social scientist with OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, will lead an interdisciplinary team from OSU that will use multiple research methods, including individual and focus group interviews and a survey, to understand how Latine, 2SLGBTQ+ and Indigenous communities in Tillamook and Lincoln counties are impacted by, and adapt to, natural hazards. The researchers aim to identify community engagement practices that can be adapted for other underrepresented communities, hazards and geographical areas. The engagement approaches and findings will be featured in a public-facing guide for hazard-planning practitioners and researchers. The guide will include topics such as equitable and respectful communication and relationship-building with underrepresented groups in hazard-prone coastal zones.
Systems Mapping to Identify Broader Impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms for Oregon Communities
Tawnya Peterson, an environmental public health scientist and biological oceanographer at Oregon Health and Science University, will lead a team that aims to better understand and communicate the shellfish industry’s vulnerability to harmful algal blooms along the Oregon coast. The researchers plan to create systems maps that will describe the scope of the problem and identify and connect interested parties. Systems maps are a visual representation of the relationships and interactions between entities, individuals, issues or trends. Other deliverables will include presentations, a website, and a white paper to share with Oregon legislators. The goal is to inform policies that bolster community resilience and mitigate threats to residents, particularly underserved communities.
Find additional information about the projects under the tab “Oregon Sea Grant 2024-26 Biennial Projects."