Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Related Publications
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Funding

This dataset reports water quality data and Olympia oyster abundance counts from depth-specific sampling collected by boat in Fidalgo Bay, WA, during July 2017. These data were published in the following Masters Thesis: McIntyre, Brooke A., "Vertical Distribution of Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) larvae in Fidalgo Bay, WA" (2018). WWU Graduate School Collection. 694. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/694

We measured larval abundance, chlorophyll-a, temperature, and salinity from four depths at one location in Fidalgo Bay, WA, by boat each day from July 11 to July 14, 2017. Each day, we completed eleven sampling events. During each sampling event, we collected samples from four depths in the water column: surface (0.5 m below surface), bottom (0.5 m above seafloor), and two mid-depth samples, which evenly split the depth between surface and bottom samples. We planned each sampling event to begin at specific times relative to the predicted low tide with the goal of collecting approximately equal numbers of samples during ebb and flood tide.

To collect each larval sample, we used a modified bilge pump to filter 100-liters of water from our targeted depths through a 102-µm mesh plankton net to ensure retention of Olympia oyster larvae. Each sample was stored on ice while in the field and then preserved in 70% ethanol. At the end of filtering each 100-L sample, we collected 60-ml of bulk seawater from the pump for measurement of chlorophyll-a. We filtered the 60-ml of seawater through a glass microfiber filter (WhatmanTM GF/F). The foil-wrapped filters were held on ice in the field and then stored them at -80°C for later extraction. We measured chlorophyll-a concentration from each filtered sample by extracting the chlorophyll-a pigment using 90% acetone for 24 hours in the dark at -20°C and then reading fluorescence of each sample with a Turner Trilogy Fluorometer (Parsons et al. 1984; Welschmeyer 1994). We also programmed a Hach Environmental Company HydroLab DS5 water quality multiprobe instrument to collect temperature and salinity measurements at the same times and depths as our pump sampling. A Hach Hydras 3 Pocket instrument enabled us to calibrate, program, and retrieve data from the HydroLab.

This dataset includes unprocessed data and simple data calculations accomplished with R (Version 3.3.2).

We programmed a Nortek 1MHz Aquadopp acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) to record velocity measurements in 0.3 meter vertical bins every 60 seconds. We then attached the ADCP instrument with sensors facing skyward to steel cross-bar frame and deployed it on the seafloor in Fidalgo Bay’s main channel for four days. We utilized Nortek AS software AquaPro version 1.27 to program and retrieve current velocity data from the Aquadopp instrument. This dataset includes these raw unprocessed data.

BCO-DMO Processing Notes:
- added conventional header with dataset name, PI name, version date
- modified parameter names to conform with BCO-DMO naming conventions
- reformatted and renamed date_time_UTC to ISO_DateTime_UTC
- removed from display columns MDY and time
- reduced precision of current_velocity_m_s, chla_ug_L, temp_c, and salinity from 9 to 2 decimal places

In the face of climate change, future distribution of animals will depend not only on whether they adjust to new conditions in their current habitat, but also on whether a species can spread to suitable locations in a changing habitat landscape. In the ocean, where most species have tiny drifting larval stages, dispersal between habitats is impacted by more than just ocean currents alone; the swimming behavior of larvae, the flow environment the larvae encounter, and the length of time the larvae spend in the water column all interact to impact the distance and direction of larval dispersal. The effects of climate change, especially ocean acidification, are already evident in shellfish species along the Pacific coast, where hatchery managers have noticed shellfish cultures with 'lazy larvae syndrome.' Under conditions of increased acidification, these 'lazy larvae' simply stop swimming; yet, larval swimming behavior is rarely incorporated into studies of ocean acidification. Furthermore, how ocean warming interacts with the effects of acidification on larvae and their swimming behaviors remains unexplored; indeed, warming could reverse 'lazy larvae syndrome.' This project uses a combination of manipulative laboratory experiments, computer modeling, and a real case study to examine whether the impacts of ocean warming and acidification on individual larvae may affect the distribution and restoration of populations of native oysters in the Salish Sea. The project will tightly couple research with undergraduate education at Western Washington University, a primarily undergraduate university, by employing student researchers, incorporating materials into undergraduate courses, and pairing marine science student interns with art student interns to develop art projects aimed at communicating the effects of climate change to public audiences

As studies of the effects of climate stress in the marine environment progress, impacts on individual-level performance must be placed in a larger ecological context. While future climate-induced circulation changes certainly will affect larval dispersal, the effects of climate-change stressors on individual larval traits alone may have equally important impacts, significantly altering larval transport and, ultimately, species distribution. This study will experimentally examine the relationship between combined climate stressors (warming and acidification) on planktonic larval duration, morphology, and swimming behavior; create models to generate testable hypotheses about the effects of these factors on larval dispersal that can be applied across systems; and, finally, use a bio-physically coupled larval transport model to examine whether climate-impacted larvae may affect the distribution and restoration of populations of native oysters in the Salish Sea.