AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Reva Gillman for the degree of Master of Science in Marine Resource Management presented on September 5, 2018. Title: Ecological Consequences of Marine DeBris: Understanding Large-Scale Species Transport on Tsunami DeBris and Research Priorities in Oregon Abstract approved: ______________________________________________________ Jessica A. Miller The release of marine deBris into the oceans and seas is a global issue of growing concern. These materials are harmful to marine environments and can also transport non-native species to novel habitats. Non-native species floating on marine litter is one of the lesser known impacts associated with marine deBris. In fact, nearly 300 living coastal marine species traveled thousands of kilometers on debris items from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami and reached the Hawaiian Archipelago and North American coast. It is unclear if marine deBris provides a novel transport vector that transports additional species or simply an assemblage similar to one transported on other known vectors, such as hull fouling, ballast water, and aquaculture. Therefore, I characterized the distributional, environmental, and life history traits of the species identified on Japanese tsunami debris with (n=36) and without (n=61) prior transport on known anthropogenic vectors to determine if there are distinct traits associated with species that are transported on anthropogenic vectors. A more detailed comparison of species traits was then completed among the four, most commonly reported prior vectors ballast water, hull fouling, aquaculture, and natural rafting and secondary spread (defined as the transport of organisms through drifting currents, where the species are directly in the water column, or traveling on floating natural rafts), to characterize traits that may make species more amenaBle to transport on specific vectors. I used Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling ordinations, Multi-Response Permutation Procedures, and Indicator Species Analyses. Species with prior anthropogenic transport were more commonly on hardpan and artificial suBstrates, in temperate reef and fouling ecosystems, at cold water temperatures, suspension feeders, had prior invasion history, and exhiBited a greater salinity tolerance than species without prior anthropogenic transport. Ballast water species were more commonly in areas with warm temperate, suBtropical, and tropical water than the species without prior ballast water transport. Species with prior aquaculture transport were in flotsam, kelp forests, occur in cold and cool temperate waters more often than the species without prior aquaculture transport. Natural rafting and secondary spread species occurred more often in pelagic, cold, and saltier waters than the species with no prior natural rafting and secondary spread. Overall, I found the species with prior anthropogenic transport have the ability to colonize on artificial suBstrates and live in fouling ecosystems, which has obvious implications for the transport potential of these species. They also have a high tolerance to environmental stressors such as a range of salinity, which can facilitate successful species transport. In this work I identified traits that may increase the tendency for coastal inverteBrates to travel on human-mediated transport vectors, and can thus increase our scientific understanding of species dispersal. Non-native species transport is only one of many recognized risks associated with marine deBris. Research on ocean deBris is ongoing, yet many of the impacts are unknown. There is a need for more research to understand the impacts of marine deBris and to encourage the prevention and reduction of marine pollution. Therefore, a survey was distributed to Oregon stakeholders with an ultimate goal to prioritize and rank marine deBris research topics relevant to Oregon. The survey was sent out to interested citizens, citizen scientists, researchers, and managers. With limited availaBle funding and the need to bridge knowledge gaps, the prioritization and ranking of marine litter research topics can help to improve research efficacy and applicability. After surveying 116 participants, three marine deBris research priorities emerged as highest priority for Oregon stakeholders surveyed: 1) marine debris impact on Oregon’s ecosystems, 2) microplastics impact on Oregon’s ecosystems, and 3) investigate Best approaches for working with industry to reduce plastic waste, especially packaging. These results highlight general concern for ecological impacts and can help to prioritize future marine debris research efforts in Oregon. In addition, research on marine deBris as a vector for non-native species was a lower priority topic, suggesting this concern may not fully Be addressed unless it Becomes a larger, increasingly documented issue. ©Copyright By Reva Gillman September 5, 2018 All Rights Reserved Ecological Consequences of Marine DeBris: Understanding Large-Scale Species Transport on Tsunami Debris and Research Priorities in Oregon by Reva Gillman A THESIS suBmitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Presented September 5, 2018 Commencement June 2019 Master of Science thesis of Reva Gillman presented on September 5, 2018 APPROVED: Major Professor, representing Marine Resource Management Dean of the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my thesis will Become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University liBraries. My signature Below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. Reva Gillman, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author expresses sincere appreciation to her academic advisor Dr. Jessica Miller for her unwavering support through every step of the process, and for her outstanding dedication of time and energy to this project. She would also like to thank her committee memBers Dr. Bruce McCune, Dr. Ana Spalding, and Dr. Steven Dundas. The knowledge and guidance of this committee was invaluaBle. In addition to the committee, the author would like to express appreciation to the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), Oregon State University (OSU), and the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS) at OSU for their financial support. Critical support with field collections of Japanese tsunami deBris Biota was provided by John Chapman, Allen Pleus, Jesse Schultz, Thomas Murphy, Ruth DiMaria, as well as many volunteers in Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. The author also wishes to acknowledge the many, many scientists who contriButed to the identification of the marine inverteBrates. The author is grateful to Jocelyn Nelson, Michio Otani, Shigeo Kawaguchi, Kiyotaka Matsumura, and Janson Wong for their assistance with the literature review and population of the species database. The author would like to express gratitude to Nir Barnea, Matthew Coomer, and the practitioners who participated in the pre-workshop survey for providing their time and data to the survey work. Sincere appreciation goes to Nir and Matt for graciously allowing the author to further distriBute the survey. The survey research would not have Been possiBle without their help. Oregon Sea Grant staff member at Hatfield Marine Science Center, Renee Fowler, also provided critical support in the distribution of the survey. Additionally, the author thanks folks in the Marine Resource Management program, the Oregon Sea Grant Volunteers, and the Hatfield Marine Science Center community, visitors, and other participants who gave their time and feedback to take the survey. The support of CEOAS and the Marine Resource Management (MRM) program has been unwavering. The author expresses heartfelt thanks to Flaxen Conway, Lori Hartline, and RoBert Allan for their investment in the author’s success. Huge thank you to Tom Hurst, Thomas Murphy, and Angie Munguia for all their feedback during lab meetings. Also, the author is grateful to Susan Rowe from the graduate writing center for all of her amazing help. The author would like to recognize her family, friends, fellow MRMers, and colleagues for additional support, Angie Munguia for lending her computer which made PC-ORD analysis possiBle in Corvallis, and Praveen Venkatachala for his moral support through every step of the author’s graduate journey, including a supply of good food. Lastly, the author would like to thank her dog, Ruby, for being her loyal thesis-writing assistant and providing much-needed breaks to go to the park. Thank you! CONTRIBUTION OF AUTHORS Jocelyn Nelson, Michio Otani, Shigeo Kawaguchi, Kiyotaka Matsumura, and Janson Wong assisted in the literature review and population of the Japanese Tsunami Marine DeBris (JTMD) species database used in Chapter 2. Previous work (Miller et al. 2018) also analyzed the JTMD species dataBase. Specifically, Miller et al. (2018) analyzed 93 JTMD species and identified traits that separate species with and without prior invasion history. Chapter 2 Builds upon Miller at al. (2018) by using a similar framework for analysis But asking different questions. In Chapter 2, my analysis focused on traits that separate species with and without prior anthropogenic transport in order to identify traits that may make species more aBle to travel on human-mediated vectors. Additionally, my analysis included 97 JTMD species (including cryptogenic species). Nir Barnea, the Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator of the NOAA Marine DeBris Program,