Researcher(s):
Keith Morency Max Haworth Sara Goldstein Sofia Koutzoukis
ENVS course(s): 330 Initiated: April 2015 Completed: May 2015 Go to project site
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As the concentration of anthropogenically induced atmosphere CO2 increases, oceans have begun to experience changes that stem from ocean-atmospheric interactions. One of these changes is ocean acidification, which is threatening many species, economies, ecosystems and communities today. In Willapa Bay, Washington, the oyster industry defines the community and continues to support the inhabitants economically. Willapa Bay is one of the largest national and global producers of bivalves in the world. As the oceans warm and acidify, there is concern regarding the process of shell calcification among these species, especially during periods of upwelling, where corrosive water is brought up to the surface. In previous project we are continuing, they looked at pH and upwelling during ENSO events. They found that there was a non-significant increase in pH and upwelling, but we concluded that this is unimportant for the oyster population. For our study we would like to focus on periods of seasonal upwelling that cause an undersaturation of aragonite (a chemical needed for oysters to calcify shells). We seek to identify the impact ocean acidification and seasonal upwelling have on oyster health, and translate this into effects on the industry as a whole. Many of the Willapa Bay oyster growers use hatcheries in their aqua cultural practices, which avoid the damages caused by ocean acidification. We plan to analyze these effects against the total expenditure the Washington community is allocating to the ocean acidification problem.
Our guiding questions are: At what point does ocean acidification threaten the existing bivalve aquaculture in Willapa Bay? How great is the threat to natural set bivalves compared to artificial set? How is the threat exacerbated or mitigated during periods of seasonal upwelling to natural sets? Are current efforts to mitigate ocean acidification proportionate to the actual economic damage to the oyster industry of Willapa Bay? If natural sets are at risk, should oyster farmers transition to artificial methods to maintain yields? If corrosive water is hindering bivalve growth, what local mitigation strategies may be effective at increase pH/ aragonite saturation? If the marginal damages of ocean acidification are not greater than the marginal costs, how might this translate into environmental policy in the bay?