Zooplankton abundance trends and patterns in Shelikof Strait, western Gulf of Alaska, USA, 1990–2017

Kimmel, David G.; Duffy‐Anderson, Janet T.

doi:10.1093/plankt/fbaa019

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…For instance, the hatch success of Pacific cod eggs, which are demersal, is highly dependent on temperature and likely declined as a result of the pronounced warming during the MHW (Laurel & Rogers, 2020). In addition, the availability of larval fish prey, such as zooplankton, was low during the MHW (Kimmel & Duffy‐Anderson, 2020). Combined, these studies suggest that in the Gulf of Alaska Shelikof region the low abundances for most major taxa could be due to poor survival (Laurel & Rogers, 2020) as well as changes in spawning phenology (Rogers & Dougherty, 2019) of some taxa.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of ichthyoplankton assemblages to the recent marine heatwave and previous climate fluctuations in several Northeast Pacific marine ecosystems

Nielsen

Rogers

Brodeur

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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The effects of climate warming on ecosystem dynamics are widespread throughout the world's oceans. In the Northeast Pacific, large‐scale climate patterns such as the El Niño/Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and recently unprecedented warm ocean conditions from 2014 to 2016, referred to as a marine heatwave (MHW), resulted in large‐scale ecosystem changes. Larval fishes quickly respond to environmental variability and are sensitive indicators of ecosystem change. Categorizing ichthyoplankton dynamics across marine ecosystem in the Northeast Pacific can help elucidate the magnitude of assemblage shifts, and whether responses are synchronous or alternatively governed by local responses to regional oceanographic conditions. We analyzed time‐series data of ichthyoplankton abundances from four ecoregions in the Northeast Pacific ranging from subarctic to subtropical: the Gulf of Alaska (1981–2017), British Columbia (2001–2017), Oregon (1998–2017), and the southern California Current (1981–2017). We assessed the impact of the recent (2014–2016) MHW and how ichthyoplankton assemblages responded to past major climate perturbations since 1981 in these ecosystems. Our results indicate that the MHW caused widespread changes in the ichthyoplankton fauna along the coast of the Northeast Pacific Ocean, but impacts differed between marine ecosystems. For example, abundances for most dominant taxa were at all‐time lows since the beginning of sampling in the Gulf of Alaska and British Columbia, while in Oregon and the southern California Current species richness increased as did abundances of species associated with warmer waters. Lastly, species associated with cold waters also increased in abundances close to shore in southern California during the MHW, a pattern that was distinctly different from previous El Niño events. We also found several large‐scale, synchronized ichthyoplankton assemblage composition shifts during past major climate events. Current climate projections suggest that MHWs will become more intense and thus our findings can help project future changes in larval dynamics, allowing for improved ecosystem management decisions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of ichthyoplankton assemblages to the recent marine heatwave and previous climate fluctuations in several Northeast Pacific marine ecosystems

Nielsen

Rogers

Brodeur

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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“…bungii and C . marshallae [ 36 , 60 ], though C . marshallae have also been shown to be more abundant in warm years [ 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal persistence of zooplankton communities in the Gulf of Alaska

Hoover

García‐Reyes

Batten³

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

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Spatial structuring of mid-trophic level forage communities in the Gulf of Alaska (GoA) is poorly understood, even though it has clear implications for the health of fisheries and marine wildlife populations. Here, we test the hypothesis that summertime (May-August) mesozooplankton communities are spatially-persistent across years of varying ocean conditions, including during the marine heatwave of 2014–2016. We use spatial ordinations and hierarchical clustering of Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) sampling over 17 years (2000–2016) to (1) characterize typical zooplankton communities in different regions of the GoA, and (2) investigate spatial structuring relative to variation in ocean temperatures and circulation. Five regional communities were identified, each representing distinct variation in the abundance of 18 primary zooplankton taxa: a distinct cluster of coastal taxa on the continental shelf north of Vancouver Island; a second cluster in the western GoA associated with strong currents and cold water east of Unimak Pass; a shelf break cluster rich in euphausiids found at both the eastern and western margins of the GoA; a broad offshore cluster of abundant pelagic zooplankton in the southern GoA gyre associated with stable temperature and current conditions; and a final offshore cluster exhibiting low zooplankton abundance concentrated along the northeastern arm of the subarctic gyre where ocean conditions are dominated by eddy activity. When comparing years of anomalous warm and cold sea surface temperatures, we observed change in the spatial structure in coastal communities, but little change (i.e., spatial persistence) in the northwestern GoA basin. Whereas previous studies have shown within-region variability in zooplankton communities in response to ocean climate, we highlight both consistency and change in regional communities, with interannual variability in shelf communities and persistence in community structure offshore. These results suggest greater variability in coastal food webs than in the central portion of the GoA, which may be important to energy exchange from lower to upper trophic levels in the mesoscale biomes of this ecosystem.

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“…More generally, a reduction in quality of zooplankton prey would be consistent with zooplankton abundance patterns during warming that suggest a reduction in body size and an increase in the proportion of smaller‐sized zooplankton. In Alaska waters, increases in smaller zooplankton and more southern species have been observed in the Bering Sea (Kimmel et al., 2018), Prince William Sound (McKinstry & Campbell, 2018), and the Gulf of Alaska (Batten & Walne, 2011; Kimmel & Duffy‐Anderson, 2020). Smaller zooplankton often have less lipid, thus decreasing the quality of prey available to predators such as age‐0 pollock.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Direct current measurements do not exist for 2015 in the study area; however, a satellite‐tracked drifter drogued at 40 m (the depth of maximum larval abundance) and released May 25, 2015, in Shelikof Strait became entrained in an eddy near the exit of Shelikof Strait for over a month (Figure S4, data from https://www.ecofoci.noaa.gov/drifters/efoci_drifterData.shtml), suggesting conditions conducive to larval retention (Bograd et al., 1994; Stabeno et al., 1996). Modeled May–June transport speed though Shelikof based on the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) indicated slow current speeds in 2015 relative to other years 1991–2017 (Kimmel & Duffy‐Anderson, 2020), again suggesting retention as opposed to advection. Retention of larvae is consistent with observed surface winds, which lacked a strong southward component, and the buildup of low salinity water in 2015 (Wilson & Laman, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The majority of taxa were not affected by this change; however, the potential for some differences to arise were noted. In order to minimize the effect of this change, we selected life history stages that were unlikely to be affected by the mesh size based on prior analyses of mesh retention (Incze et al., 1997; Kimmel & Duffy‐Anderson, 2020; Siefert & Incze, 1989). Zooplankton densities are reported in No.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pollock and “the Blob”: Impacts of a marine heatwave on walleye pollock early life stages

Rogers

Wilson

Duffy‐Anderson

et al. 2020

Fisheries Oceanography

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The North Pacific marine heatwave of 2014–2016 (nicknamed “The Blob”) impacted marine ecosystems from California to Alaska, USA, with cascading effects on fisheries and fishing communities. We investigated the effects of this anomalous ocean warming on early life stages of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) in the Gulf of Alaska. In spring of 2015, pollock larvae were caught at record low levels relative to a 30‐year time series. Survival rates were low during the summer, and by late summer, numbers were further reduced, with very low abundances of juvenile (age‐0) pollock. Our analyses suggested multiple mechanisms for this decline: (a) Low‐saline conditions may have impacted egg buoyancy and survival; (b) population densities of zooplankton nauplii may have been too low to support first‐feeding larvae; (c) body condition of age‐0 pollock was poor and a bioenergetics model indicated that reduced quality of zooplankton prey, coupled with warmer temperatures, increased the ration required for positive growth by up to 19%, at a time when prey abundance was likely reduced. Thus, walleye pollock experienced a cascade of poor conditions for growth and survival through early life stages, resulting in the near disappearance of the 2015 year class in the population by the end of their first year. These impacts differ from previous warm years and emphasize the importance of looking beyond simple temperature–abundance relationships when predicting species responses to climate warming.

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Zooplankton abundance trends and patterns in Shelikof Strait, western Gulf of Alaska, USA, 1990–2017

Cited by 18 publications

References 110 publications

Responses of ichthyoplankton assemblages to the recent marine heatwave and previous climate fluctuations in several Northeast Pacific marine ecosystems

Responses of ichthyoplankton assemblages to the recent marine heatwave and previous climate fluctuations in several Northeast Pacific marine ecosystems

Spatio-temporal persistence of zooplankton communities in the Gulf of Alaska

Pollock and “the Blob”: Impacts of a marine heatwave on walleye pollock early life stages

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