The Olympia oyster is a foundation species that increases habitat structure for associate species in estuarine systems of the Pacific Coast of North America (Kimbro & Grosholz, 2006). This oyster provides ecosystem services in the form of water filtration (zu Ermgassen et al., 2013), habitat for commercially valuable species such...
Estuaries, which provide viable habitat for a plethora of fish and invertebrate species, are being increasingly impacted by anthropogenic and natural forces. Estuaries are important nursery habitat for young-of-the-year (YOY) Pacific rockfish (Sebastes spp.). Yaquina Bay, a marine-dominated estuary on the central Oregon Coast, served as a study site for...
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...
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...
Disturbance has both direct and indirect ramifications that can influence species abundance, distribution, and ultimately the diversity found within a community. As a result, we might expect disturbance to play a particularly important role in the ability of non-native species to proliferate outside of their native range. In practice, disturbance...
A year-long field study was undertaken to investigate the influence of a number of physical and biological factors, specifically temperature, organic carbon content, and shrimp population dynamics on sediment reworking rates by the ghost shrimp Neotrypaea calforniensis. Because of its role as a structuring agent in estuaries along the West...
"Nine (9) sediment samples and 1 QC duplicate were collected from Yaquina Bay and South Beach Marina (see Figures 1) on May 31, 2000. All samples were submitted for physical analyses, with 4 samples analyzed for metals (9 inorganic), total organic carbon (TOC), pesticides/polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), phenols, phthalates, miscellaneous extractables,polynuclear...
Published June 1990. Reprinted January 1993. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the Sea Grant Catalog: http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/publications