Linking Habitat and Benthic Invertebrate Species Distribu8ons in Areas of Poten8al Renewable Energy Development Sarah K. Henkel & Chris Goldfinger Oregon State University Work presented here sponsored largely by BOEM with additional support from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Oregon Wave Energy Trust and data from the U.S. EPA and U.S. ACE
Potential Environmental Effects Changes to bird behavior Lighting Cumulative Effects of Arrays Hard structures Colonization by fouling organisms Attraction of rock associated species Scour around anchors Electromagnetic Fields Changes to fish, crab behavior Noise Chemicals Reduction of wave energy Cables Entanglement Changes to sand transport and sedimentation
Objectives for Baseline Benthic Research 1. Describe the benthic habitats and communities of organisms in areas of potential marine renewable energy development in the Pacific Northwest 2. Develop an understanding of species- habitat relationships 3. Determine variation in habitat characteristics and benthic species across space in the region 4. Determine variation in benthic species over time
Spatial (and quasi- Temporal) Study Nehalem v Infaunal invertebrates in sedimentary habitats and macro-inverts in rocky habitats! ² 2010-2012! ² Northern California to central Washington! ² Federal waters only! ² Depth range of ~40 to 130 m! ² All sites approximately the same area sampled! ² Sampling intensity represents depth proportion! Cape Perpetua Siltcoos Coquille v Compare infaunal data to 2003 EPA survey! v Compare reef data to 1990s Delta surveys!
High Resolution Mapping Conducted by C. Goldfinger lab (CEOAS)! Multi-beam sonar mapping (bathymetry)! Acoustic backscatter (substrate type)!
Groundtruth with Grab Samples Goldfinger Lab, CEOAS, OSU
Water Column Sampling CTD cast at each station measures depth, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chl fluorescence, ph!
Infauna and Sediment Sampling 0.1 m 2 Grey-O Hare box core (versus van Veen in 2003)! Sieve through 1.0 mm mesh! Analyze sediment for grain size, total organic carbon! Identify infauna in the lab!
Infauna and Sediment Results Axinopsida serricata
2003 EPA-NCA stations Cluster Dendrogram of 2003 EPA-NCA Samples from Northern California to Washington (outside the NMS) Height 0 1 2 3 4 z = 64.6 m ± 18.2 OR019 OR004 OR026 OR008 OR042 OR017 OR038 OR039 OR015 OR050 OR014 OR031 OR001 OR005 CA075 OR032 CA083 CA051 CA099 WA025 WA060 OR047 WA042 OR046 OR025 WA070 OR006 OR030 OR009 OR029 WA007 WA010 WA015 OR028 OR013 OR045 WA002 WA034 WA086 WA018 WA031 WA020 WA047 OR020 OR011 OR049 CA147 CA289 CA043 CA139 CA019 CA035 OR033 OR041 OR027 OR007 OR012 OR043 WA023 WA030 OR021 OR048 WA004 WA009 WA037 WA081 OR002 OR024 OR037 OR003 OR016 OR036 OR034 OR040 OR035 OR023 OR044 OR018 OR022 Shallower, warmer, coarser, lower TOC, fewer taxa clustd hclust (bray-curtis, ward) z = 90.7 m ± 20.0 Deeper, saltier, colder, siltier, higher TOC, more taxa
2010 BOEM Benthic Stations Offshore Infauna (square root transformed) Cluster Dendrogram Npt013 Npt062 Npt093 Npt046 Npt110 Npt058 Npt078 Npt026 Npt118 Npt030 Npt042 Npt070 GH020 Neh059 Npt057 Npt102 Npt086 Npt085 Npt014 Npt094 Npt019 Npt067 Npt003 Npt010 GH076 GH165 Neh095 NSA120 NSA024 NSA064 NSA112 NSA116 NSA080 NSA096 NSA028 NSA104 NSA048 NSA016 NSA044 NSA056 NSA088 NSA108 NSA040 NSA072 NSA032 NSA012 NSA060 Eur050 Eur098 Eur054 Eur082 Eur038 Eur114 GH004 GH122 GH103 GH149 NSA100 SC097 SC029 SC128 SC005 SC033 SC073 SC021 SC134 SC069 SC009 SC150 SC017 SC037 SC001 SC065 SC077 SC041 SC105 SC136 Eur101 Eur117 Eur034 Eur074 Eur109 Eur045 Eur061 Eur002 Eur066 Eur106 Eur022 Eur090 Eur006 Eur018 GH063 GH047 GH111 Neh035 Neh055 Neh011 Neh023 Neh099 GH119 Neh115 GH221 GH084 GH092 Neh007 Neh091 Neh107 Neh051 Neh083 Neh015 Neh087 Neh079 Neh027 Neh075 Neh071 Neh031 Neh039 Neh043 Height 0 2 4 6 89-123 m 52-79 m 95-129 m d (Bray-Curtis) hclust (*, "ward")
What makes Newport so different? Mollusca (Bivalves)! 100% Proportion of major taxa 90% Percent of total organisms Percent of total 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Echiura Sipuncula Echinodermata Crustacean Cnidaria Mollusca Annelida 0% NSAF (2010) Eureka (2010) Coquille (2012) Silt Coos (2010) Cape Perpetua (2012) Sample station Newport (2010) Nehalem (2010) Grays Harbor (2010)
H Diversity of Infaunal Samples (BOEM) H' 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 y = - 0.0017x 2 + 0.3218x - 11.805 R² = 0.98179, p = 0.002 Shannon Diversity log(e) had a 2 nd degree polynomial relationship with both depth and median grain size. The relationship with depth was stronger than with MGS. 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Depth Maximum Diversity log(e) should be found at ~ 95 m and 120 μm median grain size. H' 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 H' y = - 8E- 05x 2 + 0.0209x + 2.049 R² = 0.75631, p 0.120 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 MSG
Community Analysis (SIMPER) BEST Bio- Env = 0.702: lon, z, % sand, % gravel, mgs Nehalem: 5 groups Newport: 8 groups Grays: 5 groups Siltcoos: 3 groups Eureka: 7 groups NSAF: 4 groups
Community Trends Infaunal Patterns with Depth Infaunal Patterns with Median GS H' (Diversity) / # Significant Groups (Heterogeneity) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 #InfaunaGroups y = 16.041e - 0.013x R² = 0.69877 H' Diversity y = - 0.0017x 2 + 0.3218x - 11.805 R² = 0.98179 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Depth H' (Diversity) / # Significant Groups (Heterogeneity) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 MGS #InfaunaGroups y = 0.0003x 2-0.0775x + 7.5277 R² = 0.55958 H' Diversity y = - 8E- 05x 2 + 0.0209x + 2.049 R² = 0.75631
Shelf Infaunal Densities over Time EPA National Coastal Assessment 2003 100 Percent of Abundance 80 60 40 20 100% 90% 80% 70% Miscellaneous Mollusca Crustacea Polychaeta BOEM Proportion Assessment of major 2010 taxa - 2012 0 All CA OR WA Percent of total 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Echiura Sipuncula Echinodermata Crustacean Cnidaria Mollusca Annelida 0% NSAF (2010) Eureka (2010) Coquille (2012) Silt Coos Cape (2010) Perpetua (2012) Sample station Newport Nehalem (2010) (2010) Grays Harbor (2010)
Infaunal Invertebrate Summary ² Unique invertebrate assemblages were found at each site in the PNW! ² There appears to be a break in the infaunal community at 70 80 m depth! ² Species diversity peaked at ~95 m depth and ~120 μm median grain size! ² Local spatial heterogeneity was higher at shallower sites (usually with larger grain size)! v One site cannot necessarily serve as a proxy for distant sites (or nearby sites in different depth range)! v If the depth and grain size of a site are measured, one may be able to make good predictions of the species assemblage likely to be found there, within a region! ² In central Oregon state waters, infaunal invertebrate assemblages have not varied across seasons (but may have longer term variability)! v Baseline/monitoring sampling may be conducted 1x/year!
Epifaunal Sampling Reef Surveys Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Hammerhead Used for dives in 2011 Two cameras: forward & downward Sizing lasers Equipped with CTD Equipped with navigator beam Submersible Delta Used for historic dives of the 1990s Camera attached on starboard Camera equipped with two 20 cmapart sizing lasers Equipped with sensor that measured temperature & depth every second
Epifaunal Sampling - Delta Grays Harbor 1994 6 Dives Siltcoos Reef 1995 7 Dives Coquille Bank 1993 8 Dives
Epifaunal Sampling - Hammerhead Grays Bank Siltcoos Reef Grays Bank 14 stations, Siltcoos Reef 10 stations Each station was composed of three transects, approximately 250 meters long and distributed in parallel fashion, 250 meters apart
Video Analysis Ê Each Delta dive was watched three times:! 1. Substratum Identification based on grain size class and relief! Each patch was coded with two letters first letter indicating primary (50 80% of cover) and second letter indicating secondary (20 50% of cover)! 2. Sessile Invertebrate Identification and Count! 3. Motile Invertebrate Identification and Count! Ê Ê Each ROV Hammerhead video was watched twice (steps 2 and 3 were combined for these videos)! All invertebrates 5 cm were counted and identified to lowest possible taxonomic classification!
Epifaunal Invertebrate Summary ² Two major substratum groups held different macroinvertebrate assemblages: moderate to high relief rocky habitats and low-relief fine sediment habitats! ² The majority of macroinvertebrate taxa (highest diversity) was associated with high-relief rocks! ² These taxa were further differentiated between flat versus ridge rocks! ² Low-relief fine sediment habitat was most often associated with motile invertebrates! ² Within this habitat it appeared that fine-sediment substrata mixed with mud, boulders, or gravel each yield unique macro-invertebrate associations versus those found on uniformly mud or sand substrata.! ² Latitude/temperature also were correlated with variation in assemblages, indicating regionally distinct macroinvertebrate communities along the continental shelf!
Acknowledgements Collaborator: Chris Goldfinger! Field and Lab Assistance:! ² Kristin Politano! ² Tim Lee! ² Nate Lewis! ² Stephanie Labou! ² Elizabeth Lopez! ² Danny Locket! ² Chris Romsos! ² Bob Hairston- Porter! ² The University of! Chicago Team!
OSU Test Platform Resistor banks Early stage drawing of test berth concept