Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) used to exist along coastlines throughout much of the North Pacific Ocean. During the Maritime Fur Trade, sea otters were extirpated from much of their historic range, including Oregon. There is renewed interest in reintroducing sea otters to Oregon. Managers seek improved understanding of the potential...
Coral reef ecosystems are the oceanic equivalent of tropical rainforests, in terms of biodiversity. The estimated 1,037,000 square kilometers worldwide of reef provide
habitat for over one million species of plants and animals (Hinrichsen, 1997). Coral reefs are important to the economy of coastal nations because of the fisheries and...
This project examined a watershed council sponsored volunteer estuary water quality monitoring program, from initial implementation to program status five years later. In addition, literature research and interviews with estuarine experts were conducted in an attempt to devise strategies to strengthen estuary water quality monitoring programs within the state of...
Marine bivalves are globally recognized as ecologically and commercially valuable species and, for over a century, researchers have been studying their feeding, digestion and other related physiological processes. These studies have shown that marine bivalves have complex feeding and particle processing behaviors to maximize growth in dynamic environmental conditions. Additionally,...
This dissertation investigates the context-dependency of species interactions between seagrass and macroalgae in upwelling-influenced estuaries. In all coastal systems, nutrient loading is multidirectional, resulting from mostly freshwater and marine inputs. The directionality of nutrient inputs may affect the rate of supply of organic matter to the system. In systems where...
The severity of carbonate chemistry changes from ocean acidification is predicted to increase greatly in the coming decades, with serious consequences for marine species- especially those reliant on calcium carbonate for structure and function (Fabry et al. 2008). The Northern California Current Ecosystem off the coast of US West Coast...
As societies we face many environmental issues that need to be addressed through sound management. Whether in the terrestrial or marine environment, effective management techniques from natural resource management (NRM) agencies must be used continually to address these issues. Law enforcement has been used as one approach and an extension...