Event Title
Zooplankton status and trends in the Strait of Georgia, Canada in 2015, an unusually warm year
Presentation Abstract
The Strait of Georgia (SoG) is a highly productive ecosystem that supports commercial, recreational, and aboriginal fisheries, in particular for salmon. However, Chinook and Coho salmon abundances have declined significantly during the past 20 years. As part of the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, physical and biological conditions in the SoG were monitored during 2015 for comparison with the growth and survival of juvenile salmon in the Strait. We present results from a comprehensive zooplankton monitoring program used to identify the seasonal status and trends of the species composition and biomass/abundance of these animals in the SoG. We used a novel three tiered approach to sampling in the SoG to improve the spatial and temporal resolution of zooplankton sampling, involving citizen science vessels, a chartered inshore survey vessel, and large seagoing ‘institutional’ oceanographic vessels. Sampling was conducted at approximately 20 locations in the Strait of Georgia, every two weeks from mid-February to mid-October 2015. Sea surface temperatures in the Strait of Georgia in 2015 were warmer than normal and near record temperatures in the first half of the year, and this was the earliest spring phytoplankton bloom since 2005. We found that the timing of important events (e.g. blooms) and species composition of the zooplankton can differ among sub-basins and regions within the Strait of Georgia. We use time-series data from selected locations to place the 2015 data into a long-term context, with the ultimate goal to compare these results with variations in the marine survival of juvenile salmon in this region.
Session Title
The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project- Novel Approaches, Project Status and Key Findings
Conference Track
Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Zooplankton--Monitoring--Georgia, Strait of (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Georgia, Strait of (B.C. and Wash); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Zooplankton status and trends in the Strait of Georgia, Canada in 2015, an unusually warm year
2016SSEC
The Strait of Georgia (SoG) is a highly productive ecosystem that supports commercial, recreational, and aboriginal fisheries, in particular for salmon. However, Chinook and Coho salmon abundances have declined significantly during the past 20 years. As part of the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, physical and biological conditions in the SoG were monitored during 2015 for comparison with the growth and survival of juvenile salmon in the Strait. We present results from a comprehensive zooplankton monitoring program used to identify the seasonal status and trends of the species composition and biomass/abundance of these animals in the SoG. We used a novel three tiered approach to sampling in the SoG to improve the spatial and temporal resolution of zooplankton sampling, involving citizen science vessels, a chartered inshore survey vessel, and large seagoing ‘institutional’ oceanographic vessels. Sampling was conducted at approximately 20 locations in the Strait of Georgia, every two weeks from mid-February to mid-October 2015. Sea surface temperatures in the Strait of Georgia in 2015 were warmer than normal and near record temperatures in the first half of the year, and this was the earliest spring phytoplankton bloom since 2005. We found that the timing of important events (e.g. blooms) and species composition of the zooplankton can differ among sub-basins and regions within the Strait of Georgia. We use time-series data from selected locations to place the 2015 data into a long-term context, with the ultimate goal to compare these results with variations in the marine survival of juvenile salmon in this region.
Comments
Would prefer a 15 minute talk