Project: Consequences of hypoxia on food web linkages in a pelagic marine ecosystem

Acronym/Short Name:PelagicHypoxia
Project Duration:2012-06 - 2016-05
Geolocation:Puget Sound, WA (47 N, 123 W)

Description

Description from NSF award abstract:
Low dissolved oxygen (hypoxia) is one of the most pronounced, pervasive, and significant disturbances in marine ecosystems. Yet, our understanding of the ecological impacts of hypoxia on pelagic food webs is incomplete because of our limited knowledge of how organism responses to hypoxia affect critical ecosystem processes. In pelagic food webs, distribution shifts of mesozooplankton and their predators may affect predator-prey overlap and dictate energy flow up food webs. Similarly, hypoxia may induce shifts in zooplankton community composition towards species that impede energy flow to planktivorous fish. However, compensatory responses by species and communities might negate these effects, maintaining trophic coupling and sustaining productivity of upper trophic level species. The PIs propose to answer the question "Does hypoxia affect energy flow from mesozooplankton to pelagic fish?" They approach this question with a nested framework of hypotheses that considers two sets of processes alternatively responsible for either changes or maintenance of pelagic ecosystem energy flows. They will conduct their study in the Hood Canal, WA. Unlike most hypoxia-impacted estuaries, hypoxic regions of Hood Canal are in close proximity to sites that are not affected. This makes it logistically easier to conduct a comparative study and reduces the number of potential confounding factors when comparing areas that are far apart.

Improved understanding of how hypoxia impacts marine ecosystems will benefit the practical application of ecosystem-based management (EBM) in coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Effective application of EBM requires that the impacts of human activities are well understood and that ecological effects can be tracked using indicators. This project will contribute to both of these needs. The PIs will share their findings on local and national levels with Federal, State, Tribal, and County biologists. To increase exposure of science to underrepresented groups, the PIs also will provide Native American youth with opportunities to participate in field collections and laboratory processing through summer internships. The PIs will collaborate with the NSF-funded Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation and tribes from the Hood Canal region to recruit and mentor students for potential careers in marine science. This project will support several undergraduate researchers, two Ph.D. students, a post-doc, and two early-career scientists.


DatasetLatest Version DateCurrent State
Fish and jellyfish stomach contents from R/V Centennial trawl surveys in the Hood Canal, WA from 2012-2013 (PelagicHypoxia project)2021-06-10Final no updates expected
Physiological observations of Euphausia pacifica sampled in Puget Sound, WA aboard R/V Clifford A. Barnes during cruises CB1073 and CB1078 in 2017.2021-03-22Final no updates expected
Seawater conditions monitored and recorded during two separate laboratory experiments in 2017 to acclimate krill to dissolved oxygen (DO) or pH conditions.2021-03-02Final no updates expected
CTD profiles acquired in Puget Sound, WA aboard R/V Clifford A. Barnes during cruises CB1073 and CB1078 in 2017.2021-03-02Final no updates expected
Seawater carbonate chemistry and dissolved oxygen of discrete samples taken in Puget Sound, WA during R/V Clifford A. Barnes cruises CB1073 and CB1078 in 2017.2021-03-01Final no updates expected
Depth-stratified krill net samples taken in Puget Sound, WA aboard R/V Clifford A. Barnes during cruises CB1073 and CB1078 in 2017.2021-03-01Final no updates expected
Physiological observations of Euphausia pacifica after a ten-day acclimation to dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH conditions in two separate laboratory experiments.2021-02-11Final no updates expected
Fish and jellyfish sample data from R/V Centennial trawl surveys in the Hood Canal, WA from 2012-2013 (PelagicHypoxia project)2017-11-02Final no updates expected
Survey locations and times for R/V Centennial trawl surveys in the Hood Canal, WA from 2012-2013 (PelagicHypoxia project)2017-11-02Final no updates expected
Site information for R/V Centennial trawl surveys in the Hood Canal, WA from 2012-2013 (PelagicHypoxia project)2017-11-02Final no updates expected
Trawl catch composition from R/V Centennial trawl surveys in the Hood Canal, WA from 2012-2013 (PelagicHypoxia project)2017-11-02Final no updates expected
Species list from R/V Centennial trawl surveys in the Hood Canal, WA from 2012-2013 (PelagicHypoxia project)2017-11-02Final no updates expected
Zooplankton densities collected from a seasonally hypoxic fjord on R/V Clifford A Barnes cruises from 2012-2013 (Pelagic Hypoxia project)2017-02-08Final no updates expected
CTD data from multiple R/V Clifford A. Barnes cruises in the Hood Canal, WA from 2012-2013 (Pelagic Hypoxia project)2016-06-14Final with updates expected

People

Principal Investigator: Timothy Essington
University of Washington (UW)

Co-Principal Investigator: John K. Horne
University of Washington (UW)

Co-Principal Investigator: Julie E. Keister
University of Washington (UW)

Co-Principal Investigator: Sandra Parker-Stetter
University of Washington (UW)

Contact: Timothy Essington
University of Washington (UW)


Data Management Plan

DMP_Essington_et_al_OCE-1154648.pdf (73.65 KB)
02/09/2025