Fisheries oceanography is the study of ecological relationships between fishes and the dynamics of their marine environments and aims to characterize the physical, chemical, and biological factors that affect the recruitment and abundance of harvested species. A recent push within the fisheries management community is toward ecosystem-based management. Here, we...
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...
The community of trophically transmitted marine parasites of juvenile coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Chinook
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) salmon across 8 years (2002–2009) was related to indices of physical and biological ocean conditions
and adult returns. When the biomass of lipid-poor, southern origin copepods in the coastal ocean was high during juvenile...
Significant seabird mortality on the Oregon (OR) and Washington (WA) coast in 2009 has been attributed to a massive bloom of the dinoflagellate Akashiwo sanguinea (K. Hirasaka) G. Hansen & Ø. Moestrup. Initial, albeit limited, observations suggested this bloom began in WA and reached OR waters through southward transport. Here,...
Research on regulatory mechanisms in biological populations often focuses on environmental covariates. An integrated
approach that combines environmental indices with organismal-level information can provide additional insight on
regulatory mechanisms. Survival of spring/summer Snake River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is consistently
low whereas some adjacent populations with similar life histories experience...
Larval supply determines year-class strength of fisheries and complex ecological
interactions among adults of benthic marine species. In upwelling regions, a latitudinal cline in
the intensity and persistence of upwelling is thought to affect larval advection and recruitment,
thereby regulating the intensity of interactions in adult populations and communities. We...
This study addresses the occurrence, severity, and extent of hypoxia over the continental shelf of the northern
California Current (40–48.5°N latitude) from 1998 to 2012. Clear seasonal trends exist in the timing and duration
of hypoxia. The highest bottom-water dissolved oxygen concentrations occurred from November to March, and
levels below...
Coastal upwelling in the northern California Current
varies seasonally, with downwelling in winter and upwelling
in summer, resulting in pronounced variability in
hydrography, nutrients, phytoplankton biomass, and species
composition. Winter was characterized by moderate concentrations
of nitrate and silicate (averages of 10 and 18 μM,
respectively) and low concentrations of...
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...
The 20-year US GLOBEC (Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics) program examined zooplankton populations and their predators in four coastal marine ecosystems. Program scientists learned that environmental controls on zooplankton vital rates, especially the timing and magnitude of reproduction, growth, life-cycle progression, and mortality, determine species population dynamics, seasonal and spatial distributions,...