Sarah K. Henkel

Marine Renewable Energy and Environmental Interactions: Baseline Assessments of Seabirds, Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles and Benthic Communities on the Oregon Shelf

The wave climate along the west coast of North America presents great opportunities for the development of offshore renewable energy, yet initial assessments of the potential ecological effects of wave energy development have only just started. An enhanced regional understanding of the biological resources in the area is needed, and a key information gap is the distribution of both physical substrata and important biological communities. An initial renewable energy project targeted for Oregon is a mobile Ocean Test Facility developed by the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), led by Oregon State University (OSU), for testing wave energy converters. In addition, a number of wave and wind energy projects have been proposed for the Pacific Northwest of the US. In this chapter, an overview of the oceanographic characteristics of the region is presented, summarizing some of the interactions of concern, and highlighting baseline research projects focused on seabirds, marine mammals and benthic ecology in preparation for siting and deploying the NNMREC Ocean Test Facility and offshore renewable structures generally in the region.

Environmental and Human Dimensions of Ocean Renewable Energy Development

A number of review articles have synthesized current expert opinion regarding interactions of ocean energy generation technologies with environmental parameters and their potential effects and impacts. Fewer articles have documented such interactions, as operational devices and or demonstration sites at which to make such observations are limited. In this paper, we discuss how the perceived risk or impact of ocean renewable energy development on coastal communities (both the human and marine biological communities) is a function not only of actual physical interactions but also depends on the regulatory environment and how potentially impacted coastal resources are valued by stakeholders. In this paper, we review potential environmental effects of ocean energy, identify applicable federal regulations that address potentially affected ecological components, and highlight observations about stakeholder concerns from experiences in Oregon. Understanding the societal lens through which potential environmental effects are viewed is important for developers to move forward as it will be the regulators and local communities who will determine if projects are permitted.

REPRODUCTION AND MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA POPULATIONS OF THE LOWER INTERTIDAL KELP EGREGIA MENZIESII (LAMINARIALES)1

Intertidal Egregia menziesii (Turner) Aresch. populations were studied at three Southern California sites to determine temporal and spatial patterns of reproduction and morphology. The timing of sporophyll production and sporophyte recruitment was similar at all sites. Sporophyll production was much greater during winter periods of colder seawater temperatures and shorter day lengths. Sporophyte recruitment occurred from spring through midsummer, ∼5 months following maximal sporophyll production. Lateral blade morphologies varied in a consistent manner, suggesting a developmental mechanism for form variation in Egregia thalli. Spatulate blades dominated shorter axes and the bases of longer axes, whereas filiform laterals became abundant toward the tips of longer axes. Filiform laterals (9.8 mg O2·g−1·h−1) had higher light‐saturated net photosynthetic rates than spatulate laterals (6.8 mg O2·g−1·h−1), resulting in a 12% increase in the productivity of Egregia per meter of filiform frond.

Morphological and genetic variation in Egregia menziesii over a latitudinal gradient

Abstract This study characterized morphological variation in the kelp, Egregia menziesii, over a large geographic scale. Marked differences in rachis and lateral blade morphology were observed, suggesting local adaptation to the variable conditions of wave exposure and upwelling found across the study area. Observations of rachis type at different developmental stages indicated differential survivorship of smooth versus papillated individuals at sites with differing wave exposure. Variations in Egregia morphology have long been recognized and were previously used for discriminating species within the genus; thus, we tested the hypothesis that the different morphological forms reflect genetically distinct populations. Nucleotide sequences of the ITS regions did not reveal genetic structure among three, morphologically distinct populations providing little evidence for speciation in Egregia.

Patterns of benthic mega-invertebrate habitat associations in the Pacific Northwest continental shelf waters

As human impacts and demands for ocean space increase (fisheries, aquaculture, marine reserves, renewable energy), identification of marine habitats hosting sensitive biological assemblages has become a priority. Epifaunal invertebrates, especially the structure-forming species, are an increasing conservation concern as many traditional (bottom-contact fishing) and novel (marine renewable energy) ocean uses have the potential to displace or otherwise impact these slow-growing organisms. The differences in mega-invertebrate species assemblages between high-relief rocks and low-relief sediments are well documented and likely hold for most marine environments. In anticipation of potential development of marine renewable energy faculties off Oregon and Washington (USA), a survey of the benthic invertebrate assemblages and habitats was conducted on the continental shelf of the Pacific Northwest, using video footage collected by ROV, to more finely characterize these assemblage–habitat associations. Four main associations were found: pure mud/sand dominated by sea whips and burrowing brittle stars; mixed mud–rock (which may be further divided based on size of mixed-in rocks) characterized by various taxa at small densities; consolidated rocks characterized by high diversity and density of sessile or motile mega-invertebrates; and rubble rocks showing less diversity and density than the consolidated rocks, possibly due to the disturbance generated by movement of the unconsolidated rocks. The results of this study will help classify and map the seafloor in a way that represents benthic habitats reflective of biological species assemblage distributions, rather than solely geological features, and support conservation and management planning.

Training a New Scientist to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Environment

The transboundary nature of global environmental change demands collaborative, multiscale, interdisciplinary research [U.S. National Academy of Sciences, 2005]. This requires “a new kind of scientist” [Schmidt and Moyer, 2008]; collaborators must develop both sufficient understanding of one anothers work and the skills to integrate data sets and expertise. Although numerous interdisciplinary academic programs have emerged to address this demand, success varies widely. While many address cultural and financial impediments to interdisciplinary research [Weingart, 2000; Rhoten, 2004], there is little discussion of the skills that facilitate interdisciplinary scholarship and how to obtain them.