The Research Program
Nearshore Oceanography
PISCO research at OSU begins in the nearshore ocean, with an array of oceanographic moorings. This year, we deployed 13 moorings along the central coast of Oregon; deployments in past years have included as many as 26 moorings, extending from Cascade Head in the north to Cape Blanco in the south. Our research has found that the nearshore Pacific Ocean off Oregon is characterized by intermittent, weak summer upwelling with periods of relaxation. The PISCO OSU nearshore oceanography program also includes several cruises each month during the summer of 2003 that monitor physical and biological conditions in the water. This research follows up on PISCO studies that helped to uncover a zone of low-oxygen water that killed marine fish and invertebrates along the central coast of Oregon in 2002. Scientists have rarely, if ever, recorded hypoxic conditions along the Oregon coast. PISCO research is helping to unravel the cause of this event, which likely resulted from a combination of increased phytoplankton blooms and unusual circulation patterns that brough oxygen-poor water nearer to shore than usual, and predict possible recurrences.
Because we deploy and service our moorings by boat, a research vessel is crucial to our work. PISCO, with additional support from Oregon State University's Research Office and College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences (COAS), funded a new boat for use by the OSU community. The R/V ELAKHA is a 54-foot vessel that is specially designed for oceanographic research and is ideal for studying the nearshore ocean.
Additional data gathering activities supplement the information we collect with nearshore moorings. For example, PISCO OSU collaborates with researchers at COAS to determine surface current patterns across different areas using Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) and coastal radar (CODAR). We also use a towed "Acrobat" device to quantify physical oceanographic patterns in the nearshore region. To facilitate these and other collaborations, PISCO co-sponsors the annual Pacific Northwest Oceanographic Research Meeting (PNORM).
Shoreline Research
Recruitment, Community Structure, and Ecological Interactions: As part of PISCO's investigations of recruitment patterns and the effects of nearshore oceanographic conditions, we intensively sample individuals that have settled in rocky intertidal areas at approximately 15 sites in the region from Cape Mendocino, California, to Cape Meares, Oregon. We have documented that periodic reversals in ocean currents are usually associated with barnacle recruitment events on the shore. Recruitment of invertebrates then drops sharply, not gradually, at Cape Blanco.
PISCO OSU also has expanded the consortium's surveys of shallow rocky reefs and kelp forests into Oregon. We sample subtidal communities at four locations on the central and south coast of Oregon. During these surveys, scientists measure recruitment of young fishes and characterize the community by quantifying fishes, invertebrates, and algae. These measures link patterns of population replenishment and community structure with nearshore larval supply and oceanographic conditions.
PISCO OSU leads the consortium's research into the diversity and structure of biological communities. Our quantitative assessments are unprecedented in scale, ranging from Cape Flattery, Washington, to La Jolla, California. Each year, we assess community diversity and structure at nearly 50 intertidal sites using a methodology developed by former Postdoctoral Researcher Carl Schoch. As part of our research into community diversity, we created a web-based taxonomic reference to rocky intertidal invertebrates and algae. The reference is used by PISCO as a training tool to ensure consistency in identification.
During the community diversity surveys, we observe a greater number of species in the north than in the south. However, this pattern is not evident at all sites, indicating that local factors also affect species diversity. We also are uncovering links between ecological responses and physical attributes of the nearshore environment. At large scales (e.g., 10-100 km), oceanographic processes such as nutrient upwelling, water temperature and patterns of water movement influence community structure by controlling food supply and the release and distribution of larvae. However, at small scales (e.g., 10-100 m), the hydrodynamics of the nearshore, substrate size, elevation on the shore, and biological interactions become more important in determining local distributions of coastal species. Our research suggests that physically similar habitats support similar biological communities, even when separated by long stretches of heterogeneous shoreline.
We are taking the lead to study the intensity of key species interactions such as predation and grazing, which influence patterns of coastal communities. We estimate predation intensity by measuring the rate of disappearance of mussels transplanted to areas with and without predators (i.e., sea stars and whelks) at six sites. We are refining a second experiment that studies herbivory. Herbivore effects of limpets and chitons are quantified by excluding grazers from experimental plots with copper-based paint, a deterrent to these organisms. PISCO's study of species interactions provides insight into how these ecological processes affect community patterns.
Physiology and Growth: OSU leads PISCO's research into the condition of individual organisms. We determine the growth potential of mussels by measuring the RNA:DNA ratio of adductor tissue. We also quantify algal condition by measuring the ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N). These methods help us to determine how an organism's survival is influenced by the environment at distinct points in time. Physiological studies evaluate the effects of environmental factors, such as temperature and desiccation, on the well-being of organisms. To measure exposure-related stress, our scientists analyze heat-shock proteins. These studies enable us to understand organisms' tolerance ranges and their responses to changes in the environment.
PISCO OSU, along with UCSB and UCSC, studies growth rates of invertebrates and fishes in rocky intertidal and shallow subtidal areas. To examine oceanographic conditions, we monitor concentrations of phytoplankton and nutrients in nearshore waters. PISCO OSU collects water samples at 30 sites four times each summer, and at 15 sites twice during winter months. Since 2000, we have sampled chlorophyll concentrations in nearshore waters on moorings at 3 to 6 locations. We determine growth rates of mussels and barnacles at nine sites either by transplanting marked individuals (i.e., mussels) to an experimental plot or by allowing recruitment (i.e., acorn barnacles) in a competition-free environment. Our surveys show that sites along the southern Oregon Coast typically have higher concentrations of chlorophyll-a than those along the central coast. Chlorophyll-a concentrations correlate with concentrations of phytoplankton, a food source for filter feeders. We have found that sites with high chlorophyll-a concentrations typically have higher growth rates of mussels and barnacles.
The Policy and Outreach Program
PISCO OSU is committed to sharing our research results not only via traditional scientific publications, but also through direct interactions with policymakers, resource managers and the general public. Our scientists regularly share information with these groups and provide scientific information to inform decision-making. For more information about the PISCO policy and outreach program, click here.
Educational Opportunities
PISCO OSU offers numerous opportunities for students and researchers at various levels of their higher education. Our educational environment for undergraduates combines training in field and laboratory techniques with formal coursework. During the consortium's first 5 years, we have trained approximately 75 undergraduates and recent graduates as summer interns who received crucial hands-on experience in ecological and oceanographic research. Several interns have remained as part of our team during the academic year. These interns are responsible for sample processing in the laboratory and performing critical maintenance on experiments. Many of the interns first learned about PISCO during OSU's Marine Biology course. This 16-credit intensive lecture and field course is led by Dr. Bruce Menge. Students live at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport during the course and participate in a wide variety of lecture, field, and laboratory activities. Acceptance to the course is competitive, thus ensuring that participants are highly qualified. We also offer volunteer positions in our laboratory to exceptional high school students.
Nearly all of our research technicians were recruited from the Lubchenco-Menge laboratory's team of undergraduates and interns. PISCO OSU provides these highly qualified post-graduates with experiential training in ecological and oceanographic research beyond their formal education. Technicians also are encouraged to participate in formal training, such as those offered by PISCO collaborators at other institutions, to learn new interdisciplinary methods.
Research by graduate students in the Lubchenco-Menge laboratory at OSU is supported by a number of sources, including PISCO, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Robert and Betty Lundeen Marine Biology Fund, the National Science Foundation, and other grants. Students design and execute their own research projects on a wide variety of subjects in marine ecology and evolution. This graduate research complements PISCO's coordinated research program. Many of our graduate students attend the summer courses and workshops about interdisciplinary research techniques, offered by Hopkins Marine Station at Stanford University. Drs. Menge and Lubchenco teach such graduate-level courses as Community Ecology, The Science of Environmental Controversies, The Science, Policy, and Management of Marine Reserves, and Marine Conservation Science and Policy.
Postdoctoral researchers are an integral part of the PISCO OSU team. They coordinate, both intellectually and logistically, all aspects of the research program. Currently, our postdocs are working on a number of exciting projects supported by PISCO and others: Bottom-up and top-down forces in tidepools; The influence of nutrients, herbivores, and wave exposure on community structure; Review of community dispersal profiles and the implications for design of marine reserves; and Effects of regional variation in oceanographic processes on fish communities.
Who We Are
Principal Investigators
As principal investigators, Dr. Jane Lubchenco and Dr. Bruce Menge lead the scientific and intellectual development of PISCO OSU's research and policy programs.
Science Coordinator
Dr. Michael Webster, science coordinator, oversees PISCO OSU research activities. He also coordinates OSU's new assessments of subtidal community diversity and structure.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Francis Chan looks at comparative patterns in ecosystem structure and processes. Dr. Brian Grantham leads PISCO OSU's study of nearshore oceanography. Dr. Karina Nielsen is developing approaches to studying nutrient dynamics and the
physiology of algal communities. Dr. Tess Freidenburg is assisting with the PISCO OSU subtidal program.
Graduate Students
Graduate students design and execute their own research projects. Each of these diverse projects contributes knowledge to PISCO's interdisciplinary research program. Matthew Bracken: Small-scale differences in nutrient excretion and their effects on community structure; Elise Granek: Applied conservation research on marine community and ecosystem interactions; Anne Guerry: Effects of productive capacity on diversity of seaweed communities, and physiological indicators of nutritional status in mussels; Anthony Kirincich: Nearshore studies of physical oceanography; Christopher Krenz: Effects of upwelling and oceanographic conditions on intertidal community structure in Northern California and Oregon; Heather Leslie: Influence of larval supply on population and community-level processes, and siting of marine reserves; Laura Petes: Effects of thermal stress on the fecundity of invertebrates; Roly Russell: Effects of diversity in intertidal communities.
Policy and Outreach Coordinator
Renee Davis-Born works with PISCO researchers to communicate our findings to academic scientists, legislators and policy makers, resource managers, conservation organizations, industry groups, and the interested public.
Program Manager
Jennifer Britt oversees field logistics and sites, manages personnel and the PISCO-OSU budget, and conducts research and data analysis into the links between phytoplankton and community compositions.
Research Technicians
Research technicians carry out PISCO OSU's field and laboratory studies, including monitoring, sample processing, and data management. Melissa Foley: Studies of recruitment and ecological interactions and larval identification; Christopher Holmes: Nearshore oceanographic research; Maria Kavanaugh: Community diversity and structure surveys; inventory and analysis of Oregon marine protected areas (MPAs); Ruth Milston: Molecular and physiological studies; Tracey Momoda: Molecular and physiological studies; Matt Robart: Studies of recruitment of ecological interactions and larval identification; Wayne Wood: Studies of recruitment and ecological interactions; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); computer support.
Project Assistants
Mikal' Davis provides accounting and budget maintenance, along with administrative assistance, to PISCO OSU. Cindy Kent is Executive Assistant to Dr. Jane Lubchenco. Kathleen Norris provides travel assistance and accounting support to PISCO OSU.
Interns
Several recent graduates and undergraduates are interns who assist with PISCO OSU's research: Cara Benfield, Tiffany Boehland, Erin Breck, Cari Cardoni, Renee Catullo, Dylan Digby, Sarah Dyrdahl, Khoi Lam, Robert Laport, Benjamin Miller, Sean Mix, Mae Noble, Shannon Oda, Jeremiah Osborne-Gowey, Morgan Packard, Erin Richmond, Amy Ryerson, Sarah Thompson, Deborah Topp, Litzy Venturi, Branwen Williams, and Thom Young.
Link to Lubchenco-Menge Lab website
Link to OSU