Redfish Rocks Community Team
Nearshore Ecology, Conservation, and Interpretation
Annika Bernhardt, Gabriel Jurado, Jonah Lewis, Brendan Feely
Annika, Gabriel, Jonah, and Brendan joined the Redfish Rocks Community Team to support marine reserve monitoring, nearshore ecology research, and marine conservation communications. The team worked together as science communicators to share the latest marine reserve and conservation news at the Battle Rock Visitor's Center and community events such as the Port Orford Art Walk and Ocean Trivia night at Mr. Ed's. Each student also completed an independent research project related to the Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve and/or nearshore ecology; learn more about the team below!
Annika Bernhardt
Annika is an incoming senior at Oregon State University pursuing an Honors Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with an option in Aquatic Biology and a Certificate in Geographic Information Systems. Annika has previously participated in a Cross-Cultural Experimental Ocean Research Program through OSU where she collaborated with researchers and students at Hampton Univerisity and the University of Ghana to understand estuary health in the PNW and in Ghana. She helped organize engaging events to further science communication within Port Orford and led juvenile fish monitoring at the Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve this past summer. Read Annika's research abstract below!
Rockfish and other ground fish, some of the most commercially important species on the Oregon Coast, undergo a recruitment process settling in the near shore environment as they transition from pelagic larval to juvenile fish. The juvenile populations tend to use complex habitats such as kelp canopy during this annual recruitment phase. On the Southern Oregon coast, we have been studying and observing these patterns and trends since 2014.
This project assesses the temporal trends in settlement success and recruitment numbers from the past decade of data. In conjunction with ODFW’s SUMRF program at the Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve and the Humbug Comparison Area, we have collected, processed, and analyzed over 8,000 juvenile rockfish. In this study we focus on the three most common complexes, Olive, Yellowtail, Black rockfish (OYTB), Quillback, Gopher, Black-and-Yellow rockfish (QGBC), and Cabezon (SMAR), finding that there are statistically significant differences in the settlement trends between complexes. The analysis showed that there are pulses in settlement, for example, OYTB settles primarily in May and June, much earlier than the other complexes analyzed. There are also interannual changes in complex recruitment class, these variations may be explained by favorable oceanographic conditions, to be further analyzed. Establishing knowledge of these trends allows a baseline for future assessment of juvenile rockfish success as we continue to assess our changing coastal waters.
Jonah Lewis
Jonah is an upcoming senior at Pacific High School here in Port Orford. Jonah worked with the GEMM lab team last summer on their gray whale research and decided to come back a second year to work with the Redfish Rocks Community Team to learn more about the marine reserve and science communication! Jonah led water quality monitoring in Port Orford this summer through the Blue Water Task Force and helped inform visitor's and our community of our results! Learn more about the Blue Water Task Force below.
The Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) is a community science program organized by the Surfrider Foundation to better monitor our coastal waters for contamination. The Blue Water Task Force measures levels of bacteria found in the water at our beaches, coastal rivers, and lakes in order to advise the public on whether the water is safe to recreate in. In Port Orford, monthly sampling is conducted at 9 locations- Floras Lake, Sixes River, Elk River, Garrison Lake, Dock Beach, Battle Rock Beach, Hubbard Creek, Rocky Point, and Humbug Mountain- and results are posted to our webpage.
Over the summer, Jonah ran our BWTF lab out of the Port Orford Field Station and analyzed all of our water samples. He found 5 of our samples over the summer had moderate bacteria levels which indicates a potential health risk of recreating in those waters.
Gabriel Jurado
Gabriel is enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and is an incoming junior at Oregon State University studying Oceanography with minors in Marine Biology and Marine Conservation & Management. Gabriel has previously studied Broadnose Sevengill Sharks and went to Germany this year with OSU's ice core research lab. Sea otters are Gabriel's favorite animal, and he is inspired by the Elakha Alliance's efforts to reintroduce sea otters back to the Oregon Coast. This summer, Gabriel helped organize educational outreach events and led a research project investigating whether purple urchins on the Southern Oregon Coast are a viable food source for reintroduced sea otters. Learn more by reading his abstract below!
Following the maritime fur trade starting in the mid 1700s, sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations were decimated along the majority of the west coast and completely eradicated in Oregon. Sea otters serve as a keystone species within their ecosystems, most notably in preserving biodiversity within kelp forest ecosystems by consuming grazer species like sea urchins, and are a culturally significant species for tribal communities along the Oregon coast. With an absence of otters along the coast, kelp forests are more prone to shifting into an urchin barren state as urchins overgraze on kelp and create large urchin filled areas with little food resources and declining biodiversity, a transition currently being seen on the southern Oregon Coast. Reintroduction of otters back into Oregon is an ongoing process that has many barriers to success to fully realize the goal; one area that still requires research is quality and availability of prey at proposed reintroduction sites.
I assessed the quality of purple sea urchins at 6 sites that have been identified as potential sea otter reintroduction sites and determined whether the gonadal index (weight of gonads/total weight of urchin) of urchin populations in the subtidal is optimal for sea otter foraging. Results show an average GI of 4.95 in Brookings, OR, 4.83 in Coos Bay, OR, and 7.92 in Port Orford, OR. This experiment aims to aid in the reintroduction of sea otters back in Oregon’s coast by establishing a baseline for prey quality measurements.
Brendan Feely
Brendan is an upcoming senior at Oregon State University studying Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Science with a focus on Marine Conservation. Brendan has previously completed research on microplastics in Salmon Sharks and assessing the impact of kelp loss on fish abundance in Oregon. Brendan joined us as a MACO summer intern and helped organize our educational outreach events and led a project analyzing data on lingcod movement within the Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve. Read his abstract below to learn more about his project!
Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) is a commercially sought after predatory fish native to the Pacific Ocean and ranges from Alaska to Baja California. Kelp forests provide critical habitat for Lingcod and their prey species and is a notable feature of Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve (RRMR) located in Port Orford, Oregon. As a result of the cascading effects of the 2014 marine heatwave known as the “blob,” kelp cover in RRMR and the surrounding areas has declined substantially. It is likely that this loss of kelp will alter Lingcod prey availability, abundance, and behavior in RRMR leading to more nuanced changes in Lingcod foraging behavior.
The goal of this project is to improve our baseline understanding of Lingcod movements and effects of predation in RRMR. In 2021 from May to November, a passive acoustic monitoring array consisting of 32 stations was deployed in RRMR and 15 Lingcod were tagged. I created multiple 95% kernel density plots from the tagged Lingcod to assess their movement behavior and seasonal patterns. The results from this showed that Lingcod exhibit homing behavior at RRMR and seasonal shifts in homing locations. These behaviors and patterns are likely influenced by the availability of prey and seasonal mating cycles; however, more research is needed to draw any further conclusions. Expanded passive acoustic monitoring at RRMR and surrounding areas is recommended to better analyze these movement patterns as well as assess the impacts these patterns have on local prey species.
Oregon Kelp Alliance- Pycno Pod
Kelp Forest Ecology & Monitoring
Faith Townsend, Karla Buitrago-Yepes, Isaac Torres
Faith, Karla, and Isaac joined the Oregon Kelp Alliance to monitor populations of the critically endangered Sunflower Sea Star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) and endangered species of abalone. The team conducted scientific scuba dives and surveyed intertidal zones along the coast from Coos Bay to Brookings to better understand 1) if the sunflower sea star is starting to recover in Oregon and 2) how populations of abalone are being impacted by declines in kelp. Read on to learn what they found!
Faith Townsend
Faith is an incoming senior at Oregon State University studying Oceanography and Environmental and pursuing a certificate in Geographic Informations Systems. Faith returned for her third summer in Port Orford to lead the Pycno Pod on scientific scuba dives and intertidal surveys on the search for sunflower sea stars and abalone! Faith also dives with Reef Check Oregon, conducting kelp forest surveys along the Oregon Coast. Utilizing the data collected by the team this summer, Faith investigated the status of abalone populations in Oregon and reflected on how Sea Otter reintroduction could impact these populations, read her abstract below!
Serving as crucial ecosystem engineers along the Oregon coast, kelp forests support many cultural, ecologic, and economically valuable marine organisms. In the last decade, the effects of marine heat waves, sea star wasting disease, and subsequent overgrazing by purple sea urchins have decimated kelp forests at an estimated two-thirds along Oregon’s southern coast. The environmental stressors, coupled with habitat loss and food competition from proliferated sea urchin populations, have caused significant declines in culturally important abalone, resulting in the permanent 2023 closure of the recreational abalone fishery in Oregon. Without thorough information on the roles and importance of abalone, it is challenging to support species recovery efforts properly.
Using current and historic survey data, the Oregon Kelp Alliance assessed the intertidal and subtidal presence and depth preferences of H. rufescens, H. walallensis, and H. kamtschatkana. Current data indicates a preference for shallower depths and the significant rarity of the species. New research shows that the current purple sea urchin GI is unsustainable for sea otters. Abalone serve as a favored food source for otters; therefore, reintroduction efforts may prove catastrophic for remaining abalone. Continued and more frequent monitoring will give a more comprehensive understanding of the condition and preferences of this iconic species. Monitoring will greatly inform the best route of conservation strategies to increase restoration efficacy and fully restore kelp forest ecosystems to the southern Oregon coast.
Isaac Torres
Isaac is a community college transfer student going into his third year at San Diego state university studying marine biology. His past research experiences have been looking into predator prey interactions in sea grass habitats of the San Diego bay, as well as some conservation work with black abalone in San Clemente and San Nicholas Channel Islands. Isaac joined ORKA as an NSF REU student and a newly certified scientific diver this summer to work on the Pycno Pod team. Read about his research project below!
Recent evidence suggests sun stars are important meso-predators that can exhibit top-down control over sea urchin populations in rocky reef kelp forest habitats. Sea stars were negatively impacted by the sea star wasting epidemic beginning in 2013, with one particularly important sun star, the sunflower sea star Pycnopodia helianthoides being declared functionally extinct across much of the West Coast. Observations from coastal communities along the Oregon coast suggest new populations of sunflower sea stars may be emerging. In addition to sunflower sea stars, Stimpson sea stars, Solaster stimpsoni, and Dawson sea stars, Solaster dawsoni, are 2 poorly documented species of sun star with little information known about their behavior and ecological impact on rocky reef habitats.
Early data suggests that while sunflower sea stars may be recovering in Oregon, Stimpson’s sea stars and Dawson’s sea stars are still largely absent from the state. These predatory sea stars must be observed, and their population characteristics must be documented to further the ecological preservation of these species in hopes of potentially reintroducing them into urchin barren habitats and restoring kelp forests. Using intertidal and dive surveys we acquired size and location data for these sun stars that will yield a baseline understanding of the current status of their recovering populations. These surveys showed evidence of a population of shallow-water juvenile sunflower seastars with 1 intertidal sea star at Seal Rock, OR, and 8 subtidal sea stars at Nellies Cove, OR. Supplemental data analysis using community science outlets such as iNaturlaist and public Reef Check data provided a wider range of observations for Northern Oregon on sunflower sea stars.
Karla Buitrago-Yepes
Karla is an incoming fourth-year at CSU-Monterey Bay majoring in Marine Science with dual minors in Statistics and Environmental Science. She is a scientific scuba diver and is interested in marine invertebrate ecology and the impacts that climate change will have on their roles within marine ecosystems. Karla has completed various research experiences such as with abalone revitalization efforts in southern California and working with rockfish to understand the effects of hypoxia on their reproductive aptitude. This summer, Karla worked on the Pycno Pod team with ORKA as an NSF REU student to begin developing a better understanding as to the population status of Sunflower sea stars and Abalone! Read about her research project below.
Kelp Forests sustain a myriad of economic, ecologic, and culturally significant organisms making them essential to the livelihood and historic heritage of coastal communities. Compounding environmental stressors and subsequent habitat loss have led to the decline in grazing and predatory kelp forest invertebrates. The decrease in invertebrate competition and controlling predatory pressures led to urchin proliferation and subsequent overgrazing, causing kelp forest ecosystems to rapidly decline into unproductive urchin barrens. A deficit in information regarding the role and prevalence of kelp forest invertebrates following these pressures creates challenges for species recovery efforts in historically key kelp forest hotspots.
Informing kelp forest conservation efforts through a combination of historic and current intertidal and subtidal surveying, the Oregon Kelp Alliance (ORKA) assessed the degree of presence and possible depth preferences of Pycnopodia helianthoides, Solaster stimpsoni, S. dawsoni, Haliotis rufescens, H. walallensis, and H. kamtschatkana. Preliminary data indicates possible abalone preference for shallower depths while urchin predatory P. helianthoides was commonly found at about 30ft. Sightings of P. helianthoides were limited to juveniles—raising questions about where the fecund individuals reside. A better understanding of the life cycle preferences and current conditions of kelp forest invertebrates will inform which conservation strategies may be best suited to bolster restoration efficacy to return biodiverse kelp forests to the Oregon coast.
Seabird Oceanography Lab
River Otter Predation on Storm Petrels
Luke Stuntz and Colton Veltkamp
Back for a second year of research, Luke completed his summer field season investigating river otter and mink predation on the Leach's Storm Petrel with the help of Colton. The team made trips out to nearshore rocky islands and up coastal rivers to collect data on storm petrel nesting colonies and diet information from river otters and minks. Using remote camera trapping, carcass surveys, and scat analysis, the team is able to determine if and when these predators are foraging on seabirds in order to inform future predator management decisions by the United State Fish & Wildlife Service. Read on to meet Luke & Colton!
Luke Stuntz
Luke is a second year Master's student in OSU's Seabird Oceanography Lab. Luke's thesis aims to assess the impacts of mainland carnivores on populations of near-shore seabird nesting islands, with a particular focus on Leach's Storm Petrel colonies along the south coast of Oregon. This is Luke's second and last summer of collecting data before defending his thesis!
Colton Veltkamp
Colton is an upcoming junior at Oregon State University studying Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences. Colton is a bird enthusiast with previous experience conducting bird count surveys and banding songbirds for research. He joined Luke this summer as a summer field technician to assist in his graduate research on river otter predation on island-nesting seabirds.
GEMM Lab- Team Protein
Gray Whale Foraging Ecology
Allison Dawn, Celest Sorrentino, Sophia Kormann, Oceana Powers-Schmitz, Eden Van Maren
Back for their 10th field season, the Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna (GEMM) lab at OSU completed their annual research on gray foraging ecology in Port Orford. The team spent 6 weeks rigorously tracking gray whales at Fort Point overlook and getting out on the water to sample zooplankton populations from kayaks. The group is tracking gray whales that are apart of the Pacific Coast Feeding Group, a population of about 230 gray whales that feed along the West Coast during the summer rather than heading to the productive Arctic waters. Meet the team and hear about their summer below!
Want to know what they learned this summer? Check out their presentation here!
Allison Dawn
Allison is officially a Master's alumni in the GEMM lab as of June 2023 and has been the team lead for the Port Orford gray whale foraging ecology project for the past 3 summers! She spent her last summer in Oregon co-leading the field season and training Celest to take over as project lead before heading off to Clemson University to start a PhD program.
Sophia Kormann
Sophia is an incoming senior at St. Olaf College and is joining the GEMM lab team as an NSF REU student. She is excited to join the team this summer to gain field experience and will be combining her interests and skills in biology and statistics to explore how temperature and dissolved oxygen affect zooplankton abundance in Port Orford utilizing data collected during the 2022 and 2023 field seasons.
Oceana Powers-Schmitz
Oceana is a student at Brookings-Harbor High School and is excited to gain hands-on experience in marine science. She is looking forward to learning more about field and lab research to help inform her future career plans!
Celest Sorrentino
Celest is an incoming Master's student to the GEMM Lab and taking over as project lead for the Port Orford gray whale foraging ecology project. Celest has worked with the GEMM Lab for the past two summers, and is ready to dive into her Master's and lead the team for the next few summers!
Eden Van Maren
Eden is a homeschool student who takes electives at Brookings-Harbor High School. She is looking forward to getting out on kayaks to complete field research and learn more about the world of zooplankton and whales!