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Date Permissions Signed

12-2-2019

Date of Award

Fall 2019

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department or Program Affiliation

Biology, Marine and Estuarine Science Program

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Arellano, Shawn M.

Second Advisor

Miner, Benjamin G., 1972-

Third Advisor

Love, Brooke

Abstract

Most invertebrates in the ocean begin their lives with a planktonic larval phase that is of utmost importance for dispersal and distribution of these species, especially for organisms that are sessile or otherwise mobility-limited during adult life. As larvae are particularly vulnerable to environmental change, holistic understanding of interacting climate stressors on larval life is important to predict population persistence and vulnerability of species. However, traditional experimental designs are often limited by resolution in understanding multiple stress relationships, as environmental variables in the ocean do not occur in discrete interacting levels. Here, I use a novel experimental approach to model growth rate and duration of Olympia oyster larvae and predict the suitability of habitats for larval survival in interacting gradients of temperature, salinity, and ocean acidification. I find that temperature and salinity are closely linked to larval growth and larval habitat suitability, but larvae are resistant to acidification. Olympia oyster larvae from populations in the Salish Sea exhibit higher growth rate and greater tolerance to habitats in near-future climate change conditions compared to present-day conditions in the Salish Sea, suggesting that this species will benefit from some degree of global ocean change. Using generalized linear modeling, I predict larval growth and duration in present-day and future oceanographic conditions in the Salish Sea, finding a vast decrease in mean pelagic larval duration by the year 2095. Using these data, I explore implications of these relationships for Olympia oysters across their range now and in the future.

Type

Text

Keywords

Larval Ecology, Climate Change

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

1129460872

Subject – LCSH

Pacific oyster--Larvae--Effect of temperature on--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Pacific oyster--Larvae--Effect of water quality on--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Pacific oyster--Larvae--Climatic factors--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Pacific oyster--Larvae--Ecology--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

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