Oregon Sea Grant

Coastal communities throughout the US West Coast and elsewhere are facing the daunting task of preparing for climate change impacts, particularly the hazards from increased flooding and erosion. With sea-level rise, changing storminess patterns, and possible changes to the frequency and severity of major El Niño events, communities are already implementing emergency responses in order to protect infrastructure, beach access, and property.

This thesis analyzes the relationship between prey capture and nematocyst distribution in the tentacles of the ambush predators, Aglantha digitale and Proboscidactyla flavicirrata, and the filter feeders, Clytia gregaria and Mitrocoma cellularia. The researcher used video observations to compare capture locations of Artemia salina nauplii relative to the bell margin of each species. Tentacle pictures were analyzed to determine if nematocyst abundance changes along their length. By analyzing behavior and morphology simultaneously, researchers found that the ambush predators A.

This study attempts to better understand how Oregon surfers perceive risk in general, and specifically tsunami risks. Furthermore, do surfers’ risk perceptions also lead to positive intent to change behavior?

Resource availability follows seasonal cycles in environmental conditions. To align physiology and behavior with prevailing environmental conditions, seasonal animals integrate cues from the environment with their internal state. One of the systems animals use to integrate those cues is the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its primary effector, glucocorticoid hormones. The HPA axis has wide-ranging effects on physiology and behavior and, in the context of a glucocorticoid stress response, is known to mediate tradeoffs between immediate survival and future fitness.

Quantification of contemporary sediment and carbon accumulation within Oregon tidal saline wetlands will: (1) fill a critical knowledge gap, and (2) naturally test without complicating variables whether sea level rise or sediment supply primarily control wetland growth. Here we measure vertical accretion rates and carbon burial rates in three Oregon estuaries – Youngs Bay, Tillamook Bay, and the Salmon River Estuary – of differing relative sea level rise rates (0.28 ± 0.44, 1.8 ± 0.4, and 2.2 ± 0.3 mm yr-1, respectively) and sediment loads (39, 160, and 24 t yr-1, respectively).

Since the Industrial Revolution, surface ocean pH has declined due to the input of anthropogenically derived carbon dioxide, termed ocean acidification. Examinations of phytoplankton physiology in the face of changing pH are becoming more important as anthropogenically-driven pH decreases in the surface ocean progress (termed ocean acidification). Previous research has shown that phytoplankton response to acidification are highly variable, with some taxa showing improvement and some showing marked deterioration.

Commercial fishing is deeply embedded in the economy and culture of many coastal communities. Recent ecological, economic, and regulatory changes impacting fisheries are likely to have important consequences for this industry and the communities it supports. The objective of this study is to improve understanding of coastal community resilience through examination of the graying of the fleet phenomenon in two fishing communities in Oregon. This phenomenon has been studied extensively in Alaska, but little is known about this trend in the Pacific Northwest.

Commercial fishing is a culturally and economically significant industry on the Oregon coast. The importance of this industry to human communities is often neglected in fisheries research, with economic and ecological data being favored by managers and decision makers. Recent observations in many coastal communities have indicated aging of fishermen and a lack of young people entering the industry, causing a “graying effect” in commercial fishing fleets.

Contaminants such as pharmaceuticals are of increasing concern due to their ubiquitous use and persistence in surface waters worldwide. Limited attention has been paid to the effects of pharmaceuticals on marine life, despite widespread detection of these contaminants in the marine environment. Of the existing studies, the majority assess the negative effects of pharmaceuticals over an exposure period of 30 days or less and focus on cellular and subcellular biomarkers.

Natural resource management and policy is ideally informed by the best available science. Natural resource researchers ideally participate in broader impacts activities to extend the reach of their best available research. However, there are many cultural, institutional, and practical barriers to participating in broader impact activities and to incorporating science into natural resource use decisions. Researcher-​stakeholder engagement is one proposed solution to overcome such barriers and to achieve both broader impact and science-based policy goals.