This study was part of the Antarctic Environment and Southern Ocean Study (AESOPS) program, whose main goal was to investigate the role of the biota in the carbon flux from the atmosphere to the interior of the ocean. We quantified the abundance of the major phytoplankton classes and examined the...
Photosynthetic production of organic matter by microscopic oceanic phytoplankton fuels ocean ecosystems
and contributes roughly half of the Earth's net primary production. For 13 years, the Sea-viewing Wide
Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) mission provided the first consistent, synoptic observations of global ocean
ecosystems. Changes in the surface chlorophyll concentration, the primary...
A laboratory instrument, the Natural Fluorescence Chemostat, was developed to measure the natural fluorescence of phytoplankton cultures. With this instrument, the physical and chemical environment of a culture can be manipulated with respect to temperature, pH, nutrient delivery rate, and light intensity, while the natural fluorescence and a weak stimulated...
Over the past several years we have been developing Fishery Performance Indicators (FPIs) to measure the degree of success fisheries systems have in achieving environmental, economic and community outcomes. We have also developed indicators of key input factors. Among the input factors we have explicitly developed indicators for women’s participation and leadership...
The sustainability of fish stocks, fishery-derived income and well-being of dependent communities are interrelated and sustainable socio-ecological systems require an understanding of all three. A newly developed evaluation tool addressing these three important facets of fishery systems is the Fishery Performance Indicators (FPIs). The FPIs were designed to associate fishery...
We examined variability in the natural fluorescence yield of a neritic diatom, Thalassiosira weissflogii, in continuous cultures. In this species, kinetics in natural fluorescence yield over time scales less than a photoperiod were characterized by sharp decreases, occurring at irradiance intensities that presumably coincide with the onset of nonphotochemical fluorescence...
The influence of nitrate availability and irradiance on phytoplankton natural fluorescence was investigated in laboratory cultures of the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii (Bacillariophyceae). Two cultures of phytoplankton, differing only in the nitrate-limited growth rate, were compared to learn how increases in irradiance influences natural fluorescence. Instrumentation was developed for these...
The accumulation of domoic acid (DA) and saxitoxins (STX), phycotoxins produced by some species of Pseudo-nitzschia and Alexandrium, respectively, in coastal food webs are a focus of research on the West Coast of the United States due to the deleterious effects they have on coastal ecosystems and economies. Results are...
This thesis investigates the behavior of major inorganic nutrients (P, N, Si), trace metals (Mn, Fe), and alkaline-earth metals (Ba) within Tillamook Bay over seasonal cycles and under a range of river discharge conditions from October 1997 through December 1999. Located in the Pacific Northwest region, Tillamook Bay is an...