Satellite imagery of chlorophyll a concentration (chl a) provides the only holistic perspective
of productivity in marine ecosystems worldwide, yet its utility for understanding and
predicting the distribution of upper trophic-level predators remains equivocal. We tested the
hypothesis that remotely sensed chl a measurements spanning a decade can predict marine...
Over recent decades, the marine ecosystems of Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska have experienced the concurrent effects of a major anthropogenic disturbance, the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS), and a dynamic atmospheric-oceanic environment. Studies of top marine consumers can provide insights into processes of ecosystem change. Using data collected...
As colony-specific wintering ecology of small and medium-sized seabirds is poorly understood, it has been generally assumed that winter conditions have the same effect on all individuals from any given colony. However, advances in global positioning technology now allow researchers to investigate movements of smaller seabirds. We tracked black-legged kittiwakes...
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...
This report describes the state of the California Current System (CCS)—meteorological, physical, chemical, and biological—from January 2003 to the spring of 2004. The area covered in this report ranges from Oregon coastal waters to southern Baja California. Over the past year, most physical, chemical, and biological parameters were close to...
In marine ecosystems, rising atmospheric CO2 and climate change are associated with concurrent shifts in temperature, circulation, stratification, nutrient input, oxygen content, and ocean acidification, with potentially wideranging biological effects. Population-level shifts are occurring because of physiological intolerance to new environments, altered dispersal patterns, and changes in species interactions. Together...
This report is the eighth in a series that describe recent oceanographic observations within the California Current system, from Oregon to Baja California. The emphasis here is placed on the observations conducted concurrently by the CalCOFI (California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations), IMECOCAL (Investigaciones Mexicanas de la COrriente de CALifornia), and...
This report summarizes the recent state of the California Current System (CCS), primarily during the period of April 2004 to January 2005. The report is based on observations made between Oregon and Baja California by various ocean observing programs. The CCS was not forced by any coherent basin-wide processes during...
This report summarizes physical and biological conditions in the California Current System (CCS), from Oregon to Baja California, in 2001 and 2002. The principal sources of the observations described here are the CalCOFI (California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations), IMECOCAL (Investigaciones Mexicanas de la Corriente de California), and U.S. GLOBECLTOP (Global...
Marine heatwaves (“MHWs”) are discrete periods of anomalously warm ocean conditions that can lead to shifts in the distribution and abundance of marine organisms. Low-trophic level, pelagic forage species are frequently among those affected by MHWs, often resulting in considerable impacts upon their predators. In the North Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic...