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.
Partnership between UBC researchers, marine stewards and K’ómoks First Nation spawns new microplastics findings
What they found helps illuminate the study of microplastics in the ocean, an area of pollution research that is garnering lots of attention due to the many unknowns about how these particles damage the health of organisms that ingest them.
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
These bodies of water are right next to each other, but oceans apart
Areas of B.C.’s coastal ocean may look similar from above water, but under the water, they can be completely different worlds, in terms of temperature, salinity, ocean acidification, and nutrient concentrations.
2021 World Ocean Day – Dr. Jacqueline Maud
Marine protected areas aim to preserve ecosystem health in the oceans from the top down; Maud’s research looks at the ecosystem more from the bottom-up, and thinks that MPAs can “be tricky.”
2021 World Ocean Week – June 7-11
We asked ocean researchers from the IOF to envision how the target of protecting at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 might be achieved.
PROFILE: A universe of undiscovered viruses: Inside the Marine Virology and Microbiology Lab
People need to know that viruses, despite their frightening reputation, have a role to play in Earth’s many ecosystems.
Feast and famine for juvenile salmon as they navigate BC’s complex coastal waters
Zooplankton communities are profoundly shaped by BC’s complicated coastlines, creating a mosaic of foraging conditions for the juvenile salmon that depend on them for sustenance.
IOF researchers use salmon scales to track sockeye in the high seas
Knowing where different salmon stocks forage will be essential for identifying the unique environmental threats they will face as oceans become more inhospitable due to climate change and other cumulative impacts.