Understanding marine food webs – from the bottom to the top
The Pelagic Ecosystems Lab researches diversity – from plankton to whales – in coastal and open ocean environments. They focus on how these organisms interact through the food webs they are a part of, the effect of climatic and other anthropogenic stressors on these food webs, and the evolving impacts on ecosystem health and sustainability. The Lab has deep expertise in oceanographic field research, and are equipped with a suite of cutting-edge tools to assess biodiversity (eDNA, Zooplankton Image Analysis), material flows and food web connections (stable isotope and fatty acid biogeochemistry), and organism health and nutrition (energy, fat, and vitamin content). Current research includes: the Urban Ocean Project, assessing urbanization impacts on marine ecosystem health; the Thiamine Project, assessing the prevalence of the emerging threat of thiamine deficiency complex on British Columbia Chinook; the role of and threats to Small Pelagic Fish (e.g., herring, eulachon, sand lance) in coastal ecosystems.
More information about the Pelagic Ecosystems Lab and it’s research ->
The Lab is looking to attract development funding to support:
- Biodiversity and health assessment of urban oceans, centred on Metro Vancouver, and development and evaluation of restoration activities to improve marine ecosystem health;
- Research on the impacts of land-based activities (e.g., wildfire and agricultural runoff) on freshwater and marine ecosystems;
- Research on Pacific salmon marine life history, addressing improved understanding marine survival;
- Connecting and working with fellow researchers in British Columbia’s Indigenous and coastal environments;
- Supporting students in communicating their research results and innovations to fellow researchers, through conference and event attendance, and the public through various media campaigns.
Your gift will help the Pelagic Ecosystems Lab continue making significant strides to ensure healthy and well-managed marine ecosystems.
How you can help
Your support of the Pelagic Ecosystems Lab Fund will help researchers learn more about the climatic and anthropogenic stressors on marine food webs, and the evolving impacts on ecosystem health and sustainability.
Contact
Fiona Beaty
604 827 4406
fiona.beaty@ubc.ca