In 2019, a multi-cohort population of the typically estuarine burrowing shrimp Neotrypaea sp., was discovered approximately 7 miles offshore of Newport, Oregon. Morphological analysis of the offshore population, microbial sediment sequencing, and species distribution modeling was conducted with this new offshore population. In order to identify Neotrypaea sp. to the...
The commercial Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) fishery is Oregon’s largest trap-based fishery. Each year, crab vessels discard millions of pounds of bait, including squid, razor clams, and sardines, into the near-coastal ocean. Although the fishery season typically runs from December 1st through August 14th, most landings occur within the first...
Macroinvertebrates constitute the backbone of megafaunal communities in benthic ecosystems around the globe. Many macroinvertebrates have vital roles in benthic ecosystems, ranging from enhancing habitat complexity to providing staple food sources for other organisms. Regardless of how familiar macroinvertebrates are to the general public, very few studies have attempted to...
Seagrass ecosystems are considered some of the most productive coastal habitats in the world. One such seagrass within estuaries of the Pacific Northwest, Zostera marina (eelgrass), is recognized to be an ecosystem engineering species that provides many important ecosystem functions and services. In 2010, construction of the National Oceanic and...
Agent-based models (ABM) are widely used in network data analysis, and due to their simple structures and sophisticated outcomes, they serve as good tools in understanding the dynamics in networks. In this thesis, we develop an agent-based dynamic network model, and show that it can replicate the expected degree distribution...
The mouth of the Columbia River (MCR) is an intersection of more than a river and ocean, but also multiple economically valuable activities including dredging to maintain a deep draft shipping channel and an active Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) fishery. More than three million cubic meters of sediment are annually...
For hundreds of years, coastal and marine ecosystems have experienced increasing threats due to the cumulative effects of increasing population growth and dependence on these ecosystems. Thus, there has been increased enthusiasm to mitigate the negative effects of human actions through the use of cleaner sources of energy, like marine...
In many scientific settings, investigators are interested in the effect of a new treatment. To have a point of comparison data is collected from patients before treatment groups are assigned. When seeking to test the presence of a significant treatment effect it may be unclear how baseline measurements should be...
The spatial distribution and abundance patterns of benthic infauna result from interactions with a host of environmental variables including sediment characteristics (percent silt-clay, grain size, total organic carbon), depth, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. This thesis focuses on the association of bivalve assemblages and species with potentially influential environmental variables along...
For the west coast of North America, from northern California to southern Washington, a habitat suitability prediction framework was developed to support wave energy device siting. Concern that wave energy devices may impact the seafloor and benthos has renewed research interest in the distribution of marine benthic invertebrates and factors...