Dr. Lorenzo Ciannelli's 2012-2014 Oregon Sea Grant-supported research project, "Predicting Habitat Quality of Juvenile English Sole and Dungeness Crab in Coastal and Estuarine Nursery Grounds"

1. PREDICTING HABITAT QUALITY OF
JUVENILE ENGLISH SOLE AND
DUNGENESS CRAB IN COASTAL AND
ESTUARINE NURSERY GROUNDS
Lorenzo Ciannelli (OSU CEOAS),
Cliff Ryer (NOAA, HMSC)
Morgan Bancroft (OSU CEOAS)
• Experimentally determine effect of water
temperature and dissolved oxygen on
English sole and Dungeness crab body
growth
• Based on experimental rates, predict the
potential for growth in coastal and
estuarine habitat types, from field
measurements and model predictions of
water temperature and dissolved oxygen

2. Soft sediment habitats are highly dynamic, biologically diverse,
subject to multiple uses and poorly known
Highly dynamic Biologically rich Multiple uses
Courtesy of Jack Barth

3. Nearshore and estuarine habitats are intertwined
Estuarine AND coastal nursery areas

4. Objectives and approaches
• Experimentally determine effect of water temperature and dissolved oxygen on English
sole and Dungeness crab body growth
• Based on experimental rates, predict the potential for growth in coastal and estuarine
habitat types, from field measurements and model predictions of water temperature and
dissolved oxygen
20-40 mm
Experimental design
- 4 temperature 5-12oC
- 3 DO (0.5-6.0 mll-1)
- 2 replicates
- 30 days trial
Diagram: courtesy of Morgan Bancroft
30-55 mm -Two-year study

5. Why an experimental approach?
1. DO and temperature are often
correlated: hard to disentangle
2. Need to define rates in order to
make predictions
Estuary and coast DO vs Temp

6. Why are we excited about this and why it matters?
1. Quantify the additive and interactive effects of water temperature and
dissolved oxygen on English sole and Dungeness crab body growth
- Disentangle confounding effects of water temperature and DO
2. Predictions of ‘habitat quality’ over contrasting years
- Disentangle role of estuarine vs coastal nurseries
3. Study aligns with ongoing efforts for Coastal Marine Spatial Planning by
providing information on habitat characteristics and impact of
environmental stressors
- MPAs, Wave energy development, disposal sites of dredge sediment
4. Study focuses on commercially important species for OR coastal fisheries
- Oregon Dungeness crab commission:
‘Projects that may provide a better understanding of the impacts linked to the recurring
hypoxic events along the coast would be valuable to the crab industry’
‘work related to ‘habitat quality’ is very timely in the face of proposed wave energy
development in areas considered to be some of the most productive for Dungeness
crab’

7. Opportunity for coordination, outreach, and
stakeholders involvement
1. Integrate results from Dr. Lerczak model to generate scenarios of habitat characteristics
2. Plan research activities and share results with Oregon Dungeness crab commission (Nick
Furman)
3. Develop visual and text displays at the visitor center of the HMSC on the relevance of
estuarine and coastal nursery areas (Bill Hanshumaker)