{"id":405,"date":"2025-05-29T13:14:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T20:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/whatspastcooperpoint\/?page_id=405"},"modified":"2025-05-29T13:14:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T20:14:13","slug":"ocean-ecosystems","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/whatspastcooperpoint\/ocean-ecosystems\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean Ecosystems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The section of my assigned subject (Ocean Ecosystem) that I decided to focus more on is what could potentially be consequences for the sudden ending of human intervention to keep the ecosystems healthy. To this end, I\u2019ve decided to specifically look at invasive species, focusing specifically on the Atlantic Salmon, and the European Green crab. The Atlantic Salmon has been brought to Washington because of their use in Salmon Farms, and thus could potentially be released after a disaster on the scale within the game world. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), on their page on the Atlantic Salmon, do point out that there is no evidence currently that indicates they would be a threat to the native fish in the area though. The European Green crab, however, will certainly have a negative impact on the ecosystem. They are known to significantly harm not only other crab populations, but also shellfish such as clams and oysters. Specifically, they can eat up to 40 young clams per day, and hunt for young oysters, since they cannot crack the shells of adult ones. They are also a known threat that is currently being monitored, as can be seen in the European Green Crab Quarterly Progress Report for the Winter 2024 period published by the WDFW, which states that during winter 2024, around 372,631 European Green crabs have been removed, totaling around 1,696,190 crabs since January 2022, with them still being an issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sources:<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/wdfw.wa.gov\/publications\/02580<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/wdfw.wa.gov\/species-habitats\/invasive\/carcinus-maenas<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/wdfw.wa.gov\/species-habitats\/invasive\/salmo-salar<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/kingcounty.gov\/en\/dept\/dnrp\/nature-recreation\/environment-ecology-conservation\/wildlife\/biodiversity\/invasives<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

After the disaster (working title) occurred, the priorities of the governmental bodies and many of the civilians shifted, leaving environmental conservation abandoned.\u00a0 Invasive species began to quickly reproduce and overtake the original organisms within the ecosystem, even with the rapid adaptation that happened as a result. The European Green crab quickly pushed out its competitors, fighting with young Dungeness crabs resulting in less reaching maturity, decimating the oyster and clam populations, and causing harm to the important Eelgrass. With the loss of much of the Eelgrass, fish such as the Pacific herring and the many species of Salmon native to the Puget Sound have less area to spawn or for their young to grow. Additionally, with the salmon farms no longer being managed, many Atlantic salmon are able to escape into the waters, causing more competition for these fish that are already at risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another section of environmental conservation that is left behind are those trying to keep pollutants in check. The acidification of the ocean is worsened, making the shells and skeletons of many aquatic species reliant on calcium within the ocean to be significantly weaker, including shellfish and plankton, which even further strains the food available to the entire ecosystem. Shockwaves from the disaster resulted in oil spills, creating an even more hostile environment for the oceanic organisms, especially young ones that have not yet fully developed processes for detoxification. While life has become significantly more challenging for these organisms, it has still continued due in part to the rapid adaptation phenomenon witnessed, creating more resilient and stronger wildlife. Additionally, rising water levels have created pockets within the forests of land with pools of polluted water soaking into the earth and littering the ground. The dangerous saltwater that is pervasive here is extremely unhealthy for the plantlife, creating \u201cghost forests\u201d, the remains of a once healthy section of woodland dying from the hostile conditions. Overall, the ocean remains a potential source for food, water, and resources that could be obtained through the plant life, however it has also become a much more treacherous and difficult task, requiring teams who are prepared to tackle issues such as the more dangerous wildlife and purifying the water.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The section of my assigned subject (Ocean Ecosystem) that I decided to focus more on is what could potentially be consequences for the sudden ending of human intervention to keep the ecosystems healthy. To this end, I\u2019ve decided to specifically look at invasive species, focusing specifically on the Atlantic Salmon, and the European Green crab. … Continue reading Ocean Ecosystems<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10723,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/whatspastcooperpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/405"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/whatspastcooperpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/whatspastcooperpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/whatspastcooperpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10723"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/whatspastcooperpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/whatspastcooperpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":406,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/whatspastcooperpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/405\/revisions\/406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/whatspastcooperpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}