Because studies of forestry effects on wetlands have been so infrequent in the Pacific Northwest, each section in this report drew heavily from studies of forestry impacts to streams and riparian zones. After assembly and synthesis, that information was extrapolated, mostly in the form of hypotheses, to the very different...
Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula) are narrow oblong bivalves that can be found in sandy habitats along the western coast of the United States, from Alaska (Aleutian Islands) to southern California (Pismo Beach). In Washington state, the razor clam fishery has been documented to be an important contributor to the...
Variations in ocean conditions influenced by climate fluctuations may impact fish populations by changing their spatial distribution, physiology, survival, and other ecological features. Somatic growth is a crucial aspect of the biology of fishes and an important contributor to biomass fluctuations. Climate variability also affects somatic growth rates along the...
The introduction of non-native species often results in fundamental changes in the structure and function of disturbed environments. In the Pacific Northwest (PNW), the introduced seagrass Zostera japonica is rapidly expanding in distribution, impacting stakeholders and public use of the intertidal. Z. japonica’s expansion has prompted a number of different...
The movement of Chinook salmon through space and time, across political boundaries, and through fisheries, creates one of the most complex marine resource management problems in the world. Information garnered from the recovery of coded-wire tags (CWTs) has been used since the 1970s to direct management decisions. Growing concern surrounding...
This document provides definitions and a general overview of streams and lakes of San Juan County (SJC) and then describes impacts to these water bodies and strategies for determining widths of buffers that protect their functions. It similarly provides definitions and a general overview of SJC upland (terrestrial) habitats, describes...
This report, required by state law under HB3543, provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of science of climate change as it pertains to Oregon, covering the physical, biological, and social dimensions. The first chapter summarizes the current state of knowledge of physical changes in climate and hydrology, focusing on...
The marine and freshwater fishery resources of West Africa are some of the most productive in the world, and hold vast potential to provide economic prosperity and food security for the developing nations of that region. Nevertheless, the realized social benefits from fishery resources to West African nations have fallen...
Despite progressive policies and continued advances in ocean management, numerous shifts associated with global changes have been observed in marine ecosystems in recent years, including warming, ocean acidification, and deoxygenation. As global change accelerates, science is needed to inform evidence-based management strategies for continued ecosystem services. Resilience management, in which...
In this thesis, I investigate the organization of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) and mesograzer communities across local and regional scales in three upwelling- influenced estuaries located along the Oregon coast, USA. Eelgrass ecosystems are an important source of primary production in estuarine systems, providing numerous ecosystem services, including nursery habitat...