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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Climate Change-Associated Declines In Water Clarity Impair Feeding By Common Loons, Walter H. Piper, Max R. Glines, Kevin C. Rose
Climate Change-Associated Declines In Water Clarity Impair Feeding By Common Loons, Walter H. Piper, Max R. Glines, Kevin C. Rose
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
Climate change has myriad impacts on ecosystems, but the mechanisms by which it affects individual species can be difficult to pinpoint. One strategy to discover such mechanisms is to identify a specific ecological factor related to survival or reproduction and determine how that factor is affected by climate. Here we used Landsat imagery to calculate water clarity for 127 lakes in northern Wisconsin from 1995 to 2021 and thus investigate the effect of clarity on the body condition of an aquatic visual predator, the common loon (Gavia immer). In addition, we examined rainfall and temperature as potential predictors …
Effects Of Warm Ocean Temperatures On Bull Kelp Forests In The Salish Sea, Braeden Schiltroth, Sherryl Bisgrove, Bill Heath
Effects Of Warm Ocean Temperatures On Bull Kelp Forests In The Salish Sea, Braeden Schiltroth, Sherryl Bisgrove, Bill Heath
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Kelp beds are marine sanctuaries, providing some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet and serving as critical habitat and refuge for many species, including juvenile salmon. Rising ocean temperature associated with climate change is a major stressor contributing to declines of kelp forests worldwide. In the Salish Sea, we identified bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana) populations growing under two different temperature regimes. Since 2011, kelp growing in the central Strait of Georgia has been exposed to sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of 15-21 °C in the summer months, which is 5-6 °C warmer than temperatures in the Strait of Juan …
Recent Conditions Highlight Regional Differences In Temperature, Salinity And Dissolved Oxygen Between Strait Of Juan De Fuca And Puget Sound Sites Under Anomalous 2014-2017 Climate Patterns, Julia Bos, Christopher Krembs, S. L. Albertson, Mya Keyzers, Allison Brownlee, Carol Maloy
Recent Conditions Highlight Regional Differences In Temperature, Salinity And Dissolved Oxygen Between Strait Of Juan De Fuca And Puget Sound Sites Under Anomalous 2014-2017 Climate Patterns, Julia Bos, Christopher Krembs, S. L. Albertson, Mya Keyzers, Allison Brownlee, Carol Maloy
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Understanding impacts of climate change on Salish Sea water quality is critical yet challenging due to the complexity, strength and diversity of influences on circulation and mixing. Different extreme climate conditions in recent years (2014-2017) include record warm temperatures with reduced snow pack in 2014-2015 followed by a few years of alternating summer droughts with record rainy seasons. These conditions influenced marine water temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen (DO) throughout the Salish Sea. Analyses reveal distinct differences in these key physical and chemical characteristics between Strait of Juan de Fuca sites and sites within Puget Sound basins. Extremely low DO …
Tipping The Balance: The Impact Of Eelgrass Wasting Disease In A Changing Ocean, Morgan Eisenlord, Colleen Amy Burge, Phoebe D. Dawkins, Reyn Yoshioka, Tyler Tran, Natalie Rivlin, Miranda Winningham, Clio Jensen, Kathy Van Alstyne, Drew Harvell
Tipping The Balance: The Impact Of Eelgrass Wasting Disease In A Changing Ocean, Morgan Eisenlord, Colleen Amy Burge, Phoebe D. Dawkins, Reyn Yoshioka, Tyler Tran, Natalie Rivlin, Miranda Winningham, Clio Jensen, Kathy Van Alstyne, Drew Harvell
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Infectious disease has the potential to cause devastating damage to valuable marine organisms and habitats. Eelgrass wasting disease (EGWD), caused by the pathogenic protist Labyrinthula zosterae (LZ), has caused mass die-offs in Zostera marina at regional and global scales. Despite this, little is known about the host-pathogen interaction or disease drivers in the Salish Sea. To determine the regional impact of EGWD, we measured summer prevalence and severity in the San Juan Islands, Padilla Bay, Hood Canal, South Puget Sound, and Willapa Bay. We used cultures and quantitative PCR to verify results, measuring LZ load in lesioned tissue from multiple …
Chinook Habitat Restoration Decision Support Tool- Identifying Chinook Salmon Habitat Restoration Effectiveness Based On Temperature, Flow, And Bioenergetics Models, Andrew Spanjer, Patrick W. Moran, Robert Black
Chinook Habitat Restoration Decision Support Tool- Identifying Chinook Salmon Habitat Restoration Effectiveness Based On Temperature, Flow, And Bioenergetics Models, Andrew Spanjer, Patrick W. Moran, Robert Black
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Stream restoration projects focus on improving habitat for Pacific Salmonids in watersheds throughout the Pacific Northwest. Currently, few comprehensive tools are available for managers to mechanistically predict the improved fish growth that comes with restoration actions, such as riparian acquisitions, riparian planting or levee setbacks. Therefore, managers need tools that can predict salmonid growth potential given different decision scenarios. One approach to address the Puget Sound Partnership’s regional chinook recovery goals would be a linked stream temperature, flow, and fish bioenergetics model that predict chinook growth benefits of different remediation strategies. Considered strategies will include changes to riparian habitat and …
Is Local Adaptation A Factor In Planning Eelgrass Restoration? Initial Assessment Of Responses To Temperature By Eelgrass Growing Across A Stressor Gradient, Kate Buenau, Celia Thurman, John Vavrinec, A. B. (Amy B.) Borde, Ronald M. Thom
Is Local Adaptation A Factor In Planning Eelgrass Restoration? Initial Assessment Of Responses To Temperature By Eelgrass Growing Across A Stressor Gradient, Kate Buenau, Celia Thurman, John Vavrinec, A. B. (Amy B.) Borde, Ronald M. Thom
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Large-scale eelgrass restoration in an environment as complex as the Salish Sea requires estimating the effects of a wide range of environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, salinity, turbidity) on the effectiveness of restoration actions in different locations. We have developed a spatial model of eelgrass growth in response to environmental drivers, based on physiological data collected in Sequim Bay, WA, to aid in identifying restoration sites. However, field tests suggest that the model underestimates the capability of eelgrass to grow in conditions more stressful than Sequim Bay. A critical uncertainty is the extent of localized genotypic and/or phenotypic adaptations by eelgrass …
Using Ferry Monitoring Data To Explore The Importance Of Isotherms On The Winter Survival Of Northern Anchovy In Puget Sound, Suzan Pool, Christopher Krembs, Julia Bos, S. L. Albertson
Using Ferry Monitoring Data To Explore The Importance Of Isotherms On The Winter Survival Of Northern Anchovy In Puget Sound, Suzan Pool, Christopher Krembs, Julia Bos, S. L. Albertson
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The Salish Sea displays strong seasonality in water temperature which can impose physiological limits on temperature sensitive species. Puget Sound, in winter, relies on ocean water as a heat source whereas in summer, the gradient is reversed. The dynamic exchange of Puget Sound with coastal water dictates the spatial and temporal patterns of isotherms that are relevant to temperature sensitive species. Recent winters with increased water temperature may expand the range of certain species to be able to survive in Puget Sound over the winter. Northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) are pelagic spawners and survive in between 8 and 25 °C …
Impact Of Temperature Increase On Freshwater Fish Species: Energetics And Muscle Mechanics Of Two Centrarchids, Israt Jahan
Impact Of Temperature Increase On Freshwater Fish Species: Energetics And Muscle Mechanics Of Two Centrarchids, Israt Jahan
Masters Theses
Fishes have evolved physiologically to live within a specific range of environmental variation and existence outside of that range can be stressful or fatal. These ranges can coincide for fishes that evolved in similar habitats. This study investigates physiological processes limiting thermal tolerance, specifically how changes in water temperature affect the swimming energetics and muscle mechanics in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). I focused on the impact of temperature change at the muscle level in these two species and the capacity to adapt to rapid changes in the environment. Fish were housed at …
Experimental Impacts Of Climate Warming And Ocean Carbonation On Eelgrass Zostera Marina, Richard C. Zimmerman, Victoria J. Hill, Malee Jinuntuya, Billur Celebi, David Ruble, Miranda Smith, Tiffany Cedeno, W. Mark Swingle
Experimental Impacts Of Climate Warming And Ocean Carbonation On Eelgrass Zostera Marina, Richard C. Zimmerman, Victoria J. Hill, Malee Jinuntuya, Billur Celebi, David Ruble, Miranda Smith, Tiffany Cedeno, W. Mark Swingle
OES Faculty Publications
CO2 is a critical and potentially limiting substrate for photosynthesis of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In addition to being a climate-warming greenhouse gas, increasing concentrations of CO2 will dissolve in the oceans, eliciting both negative and positive responses among organisms in a process commonly known as ocean acidification. The dissolution of CO2 into ocean surface waters, however, also increases its availability for photosynthesis, to which the highly successful, and ecologically important, seagrasses respond positively. Thus, the process might be more accurately characterized as ocean carbonation. This experiment demonstrated that CO2 stimulation of primary production enhances …
El Nino Southern Oscillation (Enso) Enhances Co2 Exchange Rates In Freshwater Marsh Ecosystems In The Florida Everglades, Sparkle L. Malone, Christina L. Staudhammer, Steven F. Oberbauer, Paulo Olivas, Michael G. Ryan, Jessica L. Schedlbauer, Henry W. Loescher, Gregory Starr
El Nino Southern Oscillation (Enso) Enhances Co2 Exchange Rates In Freshwater Marsh Ecosystems In The Florida Everglades, Sparkle L. Malone, Christina L. Staudhammer, Steven F. Oberbauer, Paulo Olivas, Michael G. Ryan, Jessica L. Schedlbauer, Henry W. Loescher, Gregory Starr
Biology Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Non-Lethal Effects Of Climate Change On The Territoriality Of Lottia Gigantea, Tracey Gunanto, Christina Chavez, Jessica Martinez, William G. Wright
The Non-Lethal Effects Of Climate Change On The Territoriality Of Lottia Gigantea, Tracey Gunanto, Christina Chavez, Jessica Martinez, William G. Wright
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
The intertidal zone has been described as ground zero for global warming. Here, the owl limpet, Lottia gigantea, adapted to the cool ocean temperatures, must withstand a few hours of baking sun during day-time low tides. This hardship is predicted to increase in frequency and severity in the future as the globe warms. Our research hypothesized that heat events compromise territorial behavior of L. gigantea. All observations and experiments were performed at Inspiration Point near Newport Beach, California. We measured the natural radiant temperature of tagged limpets during day-time low tides using a field-calibrated infrared “thermogun”. We also …
Nursing Females Are More Prone To Heat Stress: Demography Matters When Managing Flying-Foxes For Climate Change, Stephanie T. Snoyman, Jasmina Munich, Culum Brown
Nursing Females Are More Prone To Heat Stress: Demography Matters When Managing Flying-Foxes For Climate Change, Stephanie T. Snoyman, Jasmina Munich, Culum Brown
Ecological Impacts of Climate Change Collection
Determining the underlying mechanisms responsible for species-specific responses to climate change is important from a species management perspective. The grey-headed flying-fox, Pteropus poliocephalus, is listed as vulnerable but it also a significant pest species for orchardists and thereby presents an interesting management conundrum. Over the last century, the abundance of the grey-headed flying-fox, P. poliocephalus, in Australia has decreased due to a variety of threatening processes but has increased in abundance in urban areas. These flying-foxes are highly susceptible to extreme heat events which are predicted to increase in the future under climate change scenarios. Exceptionally hot days result in …