Project: CAREER: Revealing biological hotspots across time and 3-dimensional space in the open ocean

NSF Award Abstract:
The remoteness of offshore oceans makes it challenging to understand how resources like fish are distributed, especially in deep waters. This project uses northern elephant seals, fitted with small external tracking devices, as ocean explorers to help identify biological hotspots - areas rich in resources that are essential for marine species but vulnerable to human impacts. By studying these seals, the team is mapping where hotspots occur, estimating the abundance of fish in the twilight zone (200 - 1000 meters deep), and advancing understanding how climate change might threaten these hotspots. The results of the research enhance marine conservation, as effective management efforts require identifying the ocean's by ecologically sensitive areas. In addition to advancing science, this project improves how undergraduate students learn and practice scientific fieldwork skills. By combining cutting-edge ocean research with hands-on training opportunities, this project is uncovering new ways to protect our oceans while preparing the next generation of scientists to tackle environmental challenges.

Our understanding of resource distributions in the open ocean is incomplete due to its dynamic and patchy nature. There is a time-sensitive need to quantify the spatial and temporal variation in environmental conditions that drive population and ecosystem processes far offshore and deep below the ocean surface. The project is identifying biological hotspots - areas of intense primary productivity critical for marine species - using instrumented northern elephant seals as ecosystem sentinels. This is being achieved by (1) identifying three-dimensional biological hotspots, (2) validating high- and low-resolution biologgers for measuring fish biomass, and (3) detecting and projecting climate-driven shifts in hotspot distributions. Together, the research aims provide novel insights into the distribution, intensity, and dynamics of biological hotspots in the open ocean and twilight zone (200-1000 m depth). This research facilitates pedagogical innovation through the development of a Practical Skills framework at a Hispanic-Serving Institution to enhance field-based training for undergraduate students. The framework includes (A) lower-division course modules introducing field skills, (B) structured activities emphasizing practical skill development in an upper-division field course, and (C) a paid field assistant program focused on mastery of practical skills. This integration of research and education advances scientific understanding of resource variability in the ocean, provide evidence-based tools for conservation, and equips the next generation of wildlife biologists with the skills and experiences necessary to address critical environmental challenges.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.