NERTO Participants

The United States is embracing marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) to combat ocean acidification (OA). The chemical weathering and dissolution of the mineral olivine promotes carbon storage and is thus a promising candidate for CDR. However, little research has examined the broader impacts of enhanced olivine dissolution on the physiological and genetic responses of marine invertebrates, such as the eastern oyster— Crassostrea virginica. While increased alkalinity from olivine may benefit oysters, the effects of heavy metal release on these keystone invertebrates during olivine dissolution are poorly understood. Here, we outline a study that pairs larval health metrics with transcriptome studies to gain insight into the effects of olivine-based CDR on larval oysters.

Humpback whale populations, particularly the Mexico and Central America Distinct Population Segments (DPS), recognized as Threatened and Endangered, respectively, migrate seasonally between feeding areas on the U.S. West Coast and breeding areas in Mexico and Central America. Widespread human impacts, including vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, are thought to be responsible for the low population growth rates of these two DPSs. The study aims to address the impact of vessel strikes, vessel traffic, and entanglement in fishing gear. The research took advantage of unique opportunities to deploy long-duration satellite tags on humpbacks from both the Mexico and Central America DPS at a single study site in their breeding areas in Bahía de Banderas, Mexico, and leveraged an archive of satellite telemetry data from feeding areas off the West Coast of the U.S. The study aimed to answer several key questions regarding humpback whale habitat use and their exposure to human impacts, including: (1) How is the ship strike risk for humpback whales in Mexican waters? (2) Does small vessel traffic near human population centers pose a risk to these humpback DPSs? (3) What is the extent and nature of overlap between humpback whale distribution and vessel traffic (and thus ship strike risk) in Pacific Mexico? Our results suggest that cultural artisanal fishing and mostly vessel traffic have an impact and overlap with humpback whale distribution. Overall, this research contributes to understanding the interactions between humpback whales and vessel traffic, providing valuable insights for effective management and conservation efforts, particularly for Threatened and Endangered subpopulations in U.S. and Mexican Pacific Waters.

Pinnipeds are aquatic mammals of the order Carnivora and form one of the most widely distributed groups of mammals in oceans worldwide, with a concentration in the polar regions. The present study deals with the ecological and behavioral dynamics of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella), leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx), and Weddell Seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) related to environmental changes along the Antarctic Peninsula. Rapid warming in this area is causing a poleward shift in krill populations, an important prey for fur seals. To elaborate on long-term monitoring data, I conducted several processes and protocols by the AMLR program to obtain better insight into fur seal diet, leopard seal behavior, and predation rates. In addition, I wrote code to access and analyze data from two decades of the Weddell seal population counts. I found fluctuations in the counts between seasons and over time, likely related to climate-induced changes in sea ice and prey availability. The results show that there is still a great need for understanding these trends to support effective conservation and management strategies for these species, as indicators of ecological changes in the Southern Ocean.

Every summer NOAA conducts the Cooperative Atlantic States Shark Pupping & Nursey (COASTSPAN) surveys in the Delaware Bay with the goal of understanding the species composition and use of nursery habitats through bottom longline surveys. These surveys utilize two gear types (small and large hooks) to target juveniles and adults, respectively. In the process, certain batoid species are caught unintentionally as bycatch, including the clearnose skate, bullnose ray, and bluntnose ray. Through the analyses of this catch data in R, it was revealed that temperature, depth, and salinity are environmental factors that affect these species and their use of the bay. There are clear environmental preferences were clearnose skate catch is more significant in cooler deeper waters, while bluntnose ray catch is higher in the shallower depths. Relative abundance calculations show that in both the big and small gear, there is a decline in clearnose skates and an increase in bullnose rays through the years. Bluntnose ray relative abundance is the most stable, with a mild slope showing a very slight decline in the large gear and a small incline in the small gear. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the ecological dimensions of this estuarine ecosystem and are important in forming a truly comprehensive understanding of the factors affecting batoids in the Delaware Bay.

Swordfish are the most widely distributed billfish species in the world and play a crucial role in commercial fisheries. The Chumash People are an indigenous tribe that have occupied the central coast of California for 20,000 years. There is currently a proposed National Marine Sanctuary that will be located within the California Current region and designated to the Chumash People if passed. The Chumash People have extensive linguistic, written, and archaeological evidence showing their important relationship with the swordfish. Despite the importance of swordfish, it is unknown how climate change will shift their habitat selection preferences. It is specifically an area of concern if climate induced stressors will result in swordfish habitat compression. Previous satellite tagging studies have been conducted to gain insight into swordfish distribution, but they have been limited in spatial and temporal resolution (Abscal et al 2010; Dewar et al 2011). More recently, a framework was developed to predict the 2 spatiotemporal distribution of swordfish globally using modeling techniques, but this framework did not consider the ecological and physiological variables that influence swordfish movement behavior (Erauskin-Extramiana 2020). Seascapes are a novel tool for classifying water masses based on sea surface characteristics and phytoplankton community composition collected from satellites and modeling. There is potential to use seascapes as a proxy for predicting pelagic habitat for certain species. My thesis aims to fill these gaps by using seascapes coupled with ecological parameters related to prey to examine the habitat compression of swordfish within the California Current. The partitioning of pelagic habitat and temporally dynamic nature of seascapes should provide unique insight on swordfish distribution in a changing climate that are not found in typical models for highly migratory species. Understanding the habitat compression of swordfish will inform the decision process for the Chumash National Marine Sanctuary. It will also provide insight on the present and future accessibility of swordfish by the Chumash People. Although swordfish are migratory and warrant tagging studies for insights into their physiology and behavior, such studies are sometimes not viable due to financial constraints, time limitations, and concerns about sample and gear reliability. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) bridge this gap by allowing managers, scientists, and policymakers to comprehend swordfish spatial distribution, blending catch data with accessible environmental information from in situ sensors and satellites. Additionally, SDMs are flexible in the parameters they use to make forecasts which makes them invaluable tools, especially in the face of escalating climate variability affecting our oceans. This also means there is potential for SDMs to be improved by incorporating seascapes which is the primary goal of this NERTO.

In response to the critical issues of shellfish depletion and overharvesting, NOAA Fisheries established the National Shellfish Initiative. The National Shellfish Initiative operates in collaboration with shellfish farmers and restoration practitioners, dedicated to its mission of bolstering the populations of bivalve shellfish within the coastal waters of the United States. Its primary objectives encompass promoting the ecosystem services attributed to shellfish, while 2 concurrently supporting the development of shellfish farming and restoration practices. The initiative’s inaugural partnership with Washington State in 2011 marked its inception, and subsequently, it has expanded to include ten additional states and regions. Despite its early promise, the National Shellfish Initiative presently faces certain limitations. Notably, it does not allocate funding, and since its initial expansion, there has been a lack of comprehensive follow-up to assess its efficacy within the participating states. In response to these challenges, this study undertook a comprehensive assessment by conducting interviews with state agency staff across the partner states. These interviews aimed to illuminate the current status of National Shellfish Initiative implementation, including the encountered challenges, successes, and potential future directions. The findings revealed that in most states, the National Shellfish Initiative largely exists as a symbolic entity, primarily due to the absence of dedicated funding. Furthermore, the states’ specific successes varied. Additionally, this study includes a field visit to the Naguabo Aquaculture Center in Puerto Rico to investigate the queen conch restoration initiative, assessing its potential applicability and the requisite steps to launch a shellfish initiative in Puerto Rico. In conclusion, the results of this investigation offer a set of recommendations to guide the next steps of the National Shellfish Initiative. These suggestions are intended to address the initiative’s current limitations and enhance its effectiveness in fostering the recovery of shellfish populations and the associated environmental benefits.