My research focuses on a variety of problems in biological oceanography and zooplankton ecology, particularly those related to how climate-driven environmental change interacts with biological processes to control zooplankton biogeography, diversity, community structure, and abundance. Interactions between the environment and zooplankton population structure, behavior (e.g., diel vertical migration), and growth ultimately control ecosystems including fish and other upper trophic level organisms. I work on these interdisciplinary projects using a combination of field collections, laboratory experiments, satellite data and collaboration with modelers.
The Puget Sound Zooplankton Monitoring Program
See the program and many of our partners featured in a production by the Puget Sound Partnership:
Measuring the impacts of Aurelia labiata on ecosystem dynamics.
In collaboration with C. Greene, I. Kaaplan, H. Morzaria Luna (NOAA), and K. Sobocinski (WWU), we are quantifying predation of moon jellies on mesozooplankton using field observations and lab experiments, and exploring their impact on nutrient, phytoplankotn, and micro/meso-zooplankton dynamics in the field.
Pairing metagenomics with morphological taxonomy to explore zooplankton diversity and composition in relation to Salish Sea water chemistry.
In collaboration with C. Stepien, NOAA/PMEL, and the Washington Ocean Acidification Center (WOAC), we are developing metagenomic assays to assess zooplankton species diversity and distribution across a broad range of carbonate chemistry and oxygen conditions in Puget Sound in 2014-2020.
Causes and consequences of hypoxia and pH impacts on zooplankton: Linking movement behavior to vertical distribution.
In collaboration with D. Grunbaum, J. Mickett (UW APL), and The Jaffe Imaging Laboratory (Scripps), we are examining changes in zooplankton swimming behavior under different oxygen and pH conditions in the ocean using a combination of in situ video cameras, field collections of zooplankton, and laboratory experiments. Ultimately, we will model observed swimming changes and distributions of mesozooplankton to understand their impacts on populations. click here for the project summary from the NSF proposal
The Puget Sound Zooplankton Monitoring Program and The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project:
We are investigating zooplankton variation in Puget Sound to better understand the climate and environmental controls on biomass and community composition and the relationships to survival of juvenile salmon. The Zooplankton Monitoring Program has been sampling since 2014! The program involves federal (NOAA), state (UW, Dept. of Ecology, and WDFW), tribal (Nisqually, Tulalip, Stillaguamish, Lummi, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribes), and non-profit (Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group and Kwiáht) sampling groups to survey the southern Salish Sea. Supported has been provided by those invaluable sampling groups, Long Live the Kings, the Pacific Salmon Foundation Southern Endowment Fund, King County, NOAA, EPA, Washington DNR, and WDFW. We provide the data publicly for use in management, research, and education.
See The Marine Survival Projectfor the story.
Seasonal and interannual variability in zooplankton community composition in the Strait of Juan de Fuca / Puget Sound ecosystem.
Using a time series of sampling that has been conducted by the UW PRISM group and the Washington Department of Ecology since 2003, I am examining the primary environmental factors that correlate with changes in species composition of zooplankton in the Strait of Juan de Fuca/Puget Sound ecosystem.
Completed projects:
Quantifying juvenile salmon prey quality and exploring trophic linkages in Puget Sound.
With Michael Brett (UW CEE) and Minna Hiltunen (University of Eastern Finland), we are studying the dietary quality of juvenile salmon prey to gain insight into the lower trophic level food web of Puget Sound and how changes in zooplankton lipid composition affects juvenile salmon growth. We are quantifying the fatty acid content and composition and caloric content of key zooplankton taxa to characterize their biochemical makeup.
Consequences of hypoxia to food web linkages in a pelagic marine ecosystem.
In collaboration with T. Essington, J. Horne, S. Parker-Stetter, M. Sato (UW School of Fisheries) and L. Li (DFO Canada), we examined the effects of hypoxia on species composition, distributions, and predator-prey interactions between zooplankton and fish by combining acoustics and direct (net) sampling with bioenergetic modeling of energy flow. We will link observed distributional and compositional shifts in mesozooplankton and fish to pelagic food web energy flux. click here for the project summary from the NSF proposal
Effects of ocean acidification on copepod populations mediated by changes in prey quality.
We collaborated with Drs. Brady Olson and Brooke Love at the WWU Shannon Point Marine Center to measure the effects of biochemical changes in phytoplankton grown under CO2 levels on reproduction and growth of the copepods Calanus pacificus and Acartia hudsonica. click here for the project summary from the NSF proposal
Impacts of ocean acidification on early life stages of crustacean zooplankton.click here for more info.
In collaboration with NOAA/NWFSC (P. McElhany and S. Busch), we measured the effects of pH on the distribution and development of zooplankton and the resultant impacts on trophic webs.
Read about Karissa Lear's JISAO undergraduate internship project and watch a short video on her work! Karissa's page
GLOBEC / POBEX: Climate effects on zooplankton community composition and biomass in the northern California Current System.
Funded by NSF through the US GLOBEC program, a multi-disciplinary group of PIs and international collaborators (in Canada, Japan, and Chile) led by E. Di Lorenzo (GA Tech) studied climate influences on large-scale and regional ecosystem variability around the Pacific Ocean basin using a combination of circulation models, time series of in situ observations, and remote sensing. click here for more info
Modifying the molt-rate method of estimating stage-specific copepod growth rates.
We collaborated with Andrew Hirst (Queen Mary University of London) to develop and test a realistic method to measure copepod growth in the field. In summer 2010, we developed the new method and used it to measure stage C5 Calanus pacificus growth in Puget Sound.
Effects of near-bottom hypoxia on distribution and abundance of fish and zooplankton: implications for predator-prey interactions and the energy flow from zooplankton to fish.
In collaboration with John Horne, Sandy Parker-Stetter (UW School of Fisheries), and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), we conducted field surveys of fish and zooplankton using acoustics, zooplankton net tows, and purse seining in Lower Hood Canal, Puget Sound to examine the effect of chronic low dissolved oxygen concentrations on species composition and distributions of organisms. Manuscript coming soon!click here for a poster presented at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Effects of Washington continental shelf methane bubble plumes on aggregation and vertical distribution of euphausiids.
Using a combination of acoustics, ROV cameras, and zooplankton nets to study aggregations of euphausiids observed around bubble plumes. Manuscript on bubble movement published in Geosphere by undergraduate researcher Marie Salmi (congratulations Marie!).
Effects of mesoscale circulation on cross-shelf distribution of zooplankton and carbon cycling in the California Current System.
Curriculum
