During their migrations, marine predators experience varying levels of protection and face many threats as they travel through multiple countries' jurisdictions and across ocean basins. Some populations are declining rapidly. Contributing to such declines is a failure of some international agreements to ensure effective cooperation by the stakeholders responsible for...
A pair of high-resolution oceanographic surveys in March and April 1995 revealed a large and rapid transition from late winter to spring conditions in the coastal zone off central and southern California. These data are unique in capturing the detailed three-dimensional physical structure of and biological response to the spring...
In 2014, the California Current (~28˚–48˚N) saw average, or below average, coastal upwelling and relatively low productivity in most locations, except from 38˚–43˚N during June and July. Chlorophyll-a levels were low throughout spring and summer at most locations, except in a small region around 39˚N. Catches of juvenile rockfish (an...
In 2013, the California current was dominated by
strong coastal upwelling and high productivity. Indices
of total cumulative upwelling for particular coastal
locations reached some of the highest values on record.
Chlorophyll a levels were high throughout spring and
summer. Catches of upwelling-related fish species were
also high. After a...
Mortality and injuries caused by ship strikes in U.S. waters are a cause of concern for the endangered population of blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) occupying the eastern North Pacific. We sought to determine which areas along the U.S. West Coast are most important to blue whales and whether those areas...
The goal of the Pacific Ocean Boundary Ecosystem and Climate Study
(POBEX) was to diagnose the large-scale climate controls on regional transport
dynamics and lower trophic marine ecosystem variability in Pacific Ocean boundary
systems. An international team of collaborators shared observational and eddy-resolving
modeling data sets collected in the Northeast...
This report reviews the state of the California Current System (CCS) between winter 2012 and spring 2013, and includes observations from Washington State to Baja California. During 2012, large-scale climate modes indicated the CCS remained in a cool, productive phase present since 2007. The upwelling season was delayed north of...
Stressors associated with human activities interact in complex ways to affect marine ecosystems, yet we lack spatially explicit assessments of cumulative impacts on ecologically and economically key components such as marine predators. Here we develop a metric of cumulative utilization and impact (CUI) on marine predators by combining electronic tracking...
The state of the California Current System (CCS)
since spring 2011 has evolved in response to dissipation
of La Niña through spring and summer, resurgence of
cooler La Niña conditions in fall and winter, and finally
a transition towards ENSO-neutral conditions in spring
2012. The resurgence of La Niña was...
Upwelling in eastern boundary current systems is a primary driver of ecosystem productivity. Typically, peak upwelling occurs during spring and summer, but winter upwelling may also be important to ecosystem functions. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that winter and spring/summer upwelling, operating through indirect trophic interactions, are important...