Friday November 4, 2022
Oregon State University —
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded Oregon State University and its research partners $4.2 million to investigate how multiple climate change-related stressors are impacting marine ecosystems off the coast of Oregon, Washington and Northern California.
The researchers will focus on two key species: Dungeness crab, which plays a significant economic and cultural role in Indigenous and other coastal communities and is considered the most valuable single-species fishery in Oregon; and krill, which are tiny crustaceans that play a critical role in the ocean’s food web and serve as a bellwether for ocean health.
Both species are facing threats from multiple stressors, including ocean acidification; low oxygen conditions, also known as hypoxia; marine heatwaves; increasing ocean temperatures; and harmful algal blooms.
The goal of the new project is to better understand the direct and indirect impacts of those stressors and help commercial fisheries and state and Tribal resource managers prepare for the changes ahead, said Francis Chan, the principal investigator. Chan is a marine ecologist and director of the Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.