Download NPRB_RFP_Topic_selection_options

A start list of topic options for the OSRI-NPRB partnership 2007 RFP
June 2, 2006
1. Continue with forage fish research
2. Pursue one of the two other proposed topics in the OSRI-NPRB partnership from
2006: 1) Tracking and monitoring of marine organisms, 2) Long term ecological
research in the Gulf of Alaska
3. Mapping eelgrass beds
4. Herring
5. Any other topics that the public proposes if we advertise via ArcticInfo
Here are descriptions of the three topics considered last year by the NPRB-OSRI
partnership:
a. Role of Forage Fish in the Northern Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound
Proposals to this joint RFP between OSRI and the NPRB would be directed at more fully
understanding the role of forage fish in the northern Gulf and Prince William Sound
ecosystems, physical and biological factors that cause fluctuations in forage fish
population size and/or range, and field operations that would aid in developing strategies
for filling information gaps, testing various techniques for assessment, and examining
food web relationships.
Forage fish are an important component of the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem and yet relatively little
is known about the biology, life history, and distribution of most forage fish species such as
capelin, eulachon, sand lance, squid, herring, bathylagids, and mychtophids. Fluctuations in their
abundance are not routinely monitored, thus preventing a full understanding of the impacts of
changes in their abundance and distribution on the upper trophic levels. Regime shifts may cause
shifts in the abundance and distribution of forage fish, and while some progress has been made to
understand the effects of changes in local availability of forage fish to some seabird colonies,
ecosystem-wide implications of forage fish changes on other ecosystem components remain
speculative. Resource managers will need to understand how changes in forage fish populations
may impact upper trophic level fish, seabird, and marine mammal populations if the goals of
multispecies and ecosystem-based management are to be achieved.
In the northern GOA, the extensive along-shore current system serves as both an important
habitat and as a migratory corridor for a variety of marine organisms. Waters in the northern Gulf
are considerably modified, however, by heat exchange with the atmosphere, freshwater discharge
from land, and cross-shelf transports (of freshwater, nutrients, heat, plankton, fish eggs and
larvae) induced by winds, shelf break eddies, and changes in shelf bathymetry and coastline.
These modifications provide a changing environment for organisms moving through the region,
and affect the Prince William Sound ecosystem that is a critical component of the northern GOA
ecosystem in supporting a variety of species of commercial and/or subsistence value. Fronts
define water masses of different temperature and of greater and lesser productivity. Because some
forage fish such as capelin may be associated with cooler water masses, subsurface intrusions of
cool water advected from the slope may make forage fish distribution particularly susceptible to
water temperature fluctuations.
Some important questions include: how resilient is this ecosystem to changes in physical forcing
and to alterations in upper trophic level community composition; e.g., what are the relative roles
of bottom-up and top-down forcing in shaping this ecosystem; what are the major atmospheric
and oceanic mechanisms including exchanges between Prince William Sound and the adjacent
shelf and slope that affect northern GOA ecosystem structure and function? How do fluctuations
of strength and eddy behavior of the Alaska Coastal Current, together with its role as a source of
nutrients, impact ecosystem dynamics, including recruitment of commercially fished species,
distribution and abundance of forage fish species, and therefore populations of upper trophic fish,
seabird and marine mammal species? How does habitat quality and interspecific competition
influence commercial and forage species production and distribution. Are the criteria for “good
habitat” similar for all forage species? Is there the potential for competition among forage fish
species? Are there interannual variations in habitat quality and fish production? What are the
potential effects of variations in fish production to other trophic levels, e.g., seabirds and marine
mammals?
b. Tracking and monitoring of marine organisms
Information on migration patterns and habitat use of fish, marine mammals, and seabirds are
needed to make ecologically sound and management effective decisions. At the same time,
determining numbers and rates of movement can help elucidate trophic characteristics of the
ocean region being studied. Marine fish exhibit large seasonal movements that influence overlap
of predator and prey, as well as seasonal availability of fish to commercial fisheries. Some
species are almost entirely independent of benthic habitat, they may be closely dependent on
particular bottom structure, or require overwintering areas along the outer shelf and shallow
waters for spawning. Similarly different critical life stages may be associated with particular
habitats, as well as connectivity between them. There is also a need to elucidate migration
patterns for seabirds and marine mammals, especially as they relate to variations in the ocean
environment. How will these migration patterns be impacted by climate change? To what extent
do migrations and foraging activities overlap the presence of major commercial fisheries? What
are the pelagic distribution and abundance of seabirds and marine mammals? Research in this
category may also help explain contaminant loads. For example, harbor seals have lower levels of
POPs in Prince William Sound than specimens from the Pacific Northwest. Some fur seals from
St. Paul have shown higher concentrations than ringed and bearded seals from the Bering Sea or
from Prince William Sound. Such results may result from large migrations that occur to areas far
south of Alaska where contaminant loads are much higher.
Development of new census methodologies and assessment techniques, as well as the application
of tracking technologies to determine overlap of feeding migrations with major commercial
fisheries will also be considered. This is a two-three year project in the vicinity of $200,000.
c. Long Term Ecological Research in the Gulf of Alaska
The aim of the NPRB, OSRI, and AOOS partnership is to establish a coastal marine LTER site
that may be considered for a future NSF LTER site designation. Therefore, the research
conducted must relate to all five LTER core areas of research and be focused on understanding
processes and mechanisms of population dynamics, disturbance, primary production, and
transport and supply of organic and inorganic material. Core monitoring should focus on principal
locations where water exchange occurs between coastal embayments and the Alaska Coastal
Current and address how intensity and types of disturbance and connectivity change seasonally,
interannually, and over longer cycles of climatic forcing.
The aim of the NPRB, OSRI and AOOS partnership is to establish and LTER site along the
Alaska Coastal Current that by be considered for and NSF LTER site designation later on in the
process, and if successful receive further funding from NSF. Therefore, research conducted must
relate to all five LTER core areas of research and be focused on understanding processes and
mechanisms of population dynamics, disturbance, primary production, and trasnport and supply
of organic and inorganic material. Core monitoring should focus on principal locations where
water exchange occurs between coastal embayments and the Alaska Coastal Current and address
how intensity and types of disturbance and connectivity change seasonally, interannually, and
over longer cycles of climate forcing. The proposal should also enhance and/or make use of the
Prince William Sound Observing System, a component of the Alaska Ocean Observing System.
Due to the current projected funding situation, ($300,000 split equally among NPRB, OSRI, and
AOOS) and possibly matching funds by NSF at a later date, we encourage proposals that can be
scaled up or down, while maintaining research objectives and scientific integrity.
The Alaska Coastal Current comprises important habitat for adult, juvenile, and early life stages
of many species of fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals. The region has been susceptible to
the effects of catastrophic disturbance events, such as earthquakes, oil spills, and depletion of
local populations through commercial exploitation, climate shifts, and habitat destruction. Studies
following the Exxon Valdez oil spill suggest that these ecological communities are slow to
recover from catastrophic disturbances. Interacting physical and biological processes controlling
transport and exchange of water, nutrients, primary production, and larval transport into, within,
and out of the Gulf of Alaska must be studied to improve our understanding of variability in this
ecosystem.
The National Science Foundation maintains the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research
Network comprising sites chosen competitively on the basis of research excellence,
quality and duration of existing data sets, and strength of the commitment to long-term
research and site security. The mission of the LTER Network as it is now understood is to
conduct and nurture ecological research by:
1. Understanding general ecological phenomena that occur over longer temporal and
spatial scales;
2. Creating a legacy of well-designed and documented long-term experiments and
observations for the use of future generations;
3. Conducting major synthetic and theoretical efforts; and
4. Providing information for the identification and solution of societal problems.
The 26 sites that constitute the network at present represent a wide variety of research
emphases and approaches. Over 1000 scientists and students are involved in long-term
research projects throughout the network of sites. As part of their commitment to the
LTER program, each site conducts a series of measurements and experiments directed
towards the understanding of the five core areas as well as studies addressing ecological
issues specific to the site. The most common scientific approaches include observation,
experimentation, comparative analysis, retrospective study, and modeling, although
emphases differ among sites. The five core areas of research defined to orient long-term
ecological research projects toward question/hypothesis formulation and resolution are:
1. Pattern and control of primary production
2. Spatial and temporal distribution of populations selected to represent trophic
structure
3. Pattern and control of organic matter accumulation in surface layers and
sediments
4. Patterns of inorganic inputs and movements of nutrients through soils,
groundwater and surface waters
5. Patterns and frequency of site disturbances