Overfishing and climate change impacts on New Zealand’s fish populations were hidden – until now
An international team of researchers shows that, despite ocean water temperature around the island country modestly increasing by 0.04°C per decade from 1950–2019, the presence of warmer-climate species is a clear indicator of the impacts of climate change on marine life.
Climate change will have an adverse impact on trophic amplification in marine food webs
Climate-driven changes in ocean environmental conditions — ocean warming, deoxygenation and acidification — are projected to affect the physiological functions of marine organisms, their geographic distributions, biological life cycles and total biomass.
Dr. Brian Hunt receives NSERC Discovery Grant to research the impacts of urbanization on the coastal ocean
Dr. Brian Hunt will receive an NSERC Discovery Grant for work on the impacts of urbanization on coastal oceans, specifically regarding ocean cities.
Jellyfish size might influence their nutritional value, UBC study finds
Researchers confirmed what was already known: jellyfish eat bigger prey as they grow, which means they also occupy a higher position in the food web as they grow. They also found that some of the concentrations of ‘healthy fats,’ increase as jellyfish grow. These changes might be influenced by their diet, and as they feed on bigger prey with higher levels of fatty acids, the jellyfish accumulate more of these fatty acids.
Food quality matters for southern resident killer whales, UBC study states
If southern resident killer whales ate just low-lipid salmon, they would have to eat around 80,000 more Chinook salmon every year than if they just ate high-lipid salmon.
New Working Paper: A rich analysis of the economic, social and environmental effects of harmful fisheries at the ecosystem level
The effects of harmful fisheries subsidies in three marine ecosystems, chosen for their importance in terms of food security, size and diversity; and three different management scenarios are examined.
Expect shorter food chains in more productive coastal ecosystems
“We provided evidence for bottom-up omnivory in nutrient-rich temperate pelagic ecosystems, where food chain length is determined by the level of diatom production,” said Jacob Lerner. “This is very different from the global model for pelagic ecosystems.”
International Year of the Salmon Expedition helps IOF researchers map North Pacific food webs
For scientists in the IOF’s Pelagic Ecosystems Lab, the trip represents a chance to trace the outline of North Pacific food webs, in which salmon play a central role as both predator and prey.
UBC scientists sail the high seas for salmon
The third International Year of the Salmon Pan-Pacific Winter High Seas Expedition will continue to answer questions about a crucial salmon life stage that is poorly understood