Geology Reports⌕ Search
Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70021710

Marine birds and mammals of the Pacific Subarctic Gyres

A.M. Springer·John F. Piatt·V.P. Shuntov·Gus B. Van Vliet·V.L. Vladimirov·A.E. Kuzin·A.S. Perlov
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The importance of the subarctic gyres of the North Pacific Ocean to marine birds and mammals is poorly known because of a paucity of data spanning appropriate scales of time and space. The little information that is available indicates the western subarctic gyre (WSAG) is more productive than the eastern subarctic gyre (ESAG). In summer the WSAG supports a greater density and higher biomass of seabirds than the ESAG, including at least two species that are more abundant at nesting colonies in the eastern subarctic. Perhaps most revealing of the seabird distributions in this regard is that of southern hemisphere shearwaters (Puffinus spp.) that overwinter in the North Pacific. Their biomass is an order of magnitude greater than that of any northern hemisphere species and is three-fold greater in the WSAG than in the ESAG. Several species of cetaceans also appear to be, or to have been prior to commercial depletions, more abundant in the WSA. Among the many prey species consumed by marine birds and mammals, squids and fishes in the family Myctophidae predominate overall. Other forage species, notably euphausiids, Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) and Atka mackerel (Pleurogrammus monopterygius) are important at times to certain species. The principal exceptions to this generalization are baleen whales and small seabirds that consume zooplankton. Interannual and decadal-scale variability in the physical environment and food web production affect seabirds and marine mammals at sea and at coastal breeding locations around the margins of the gyres.

Explore related subjects

Progress in OceanographyArticle

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

A.M. Springer, John F. Piatt, V.P. Shuntov, Gus B. Van Vliet, V.L. Vladimirov, A.E. Kuzin, A.S. Perlov. 1999. Marine birds and mammals of the Pacific Subarctic Gyres. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0079-6611(99)00014-2

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2024

Consumer isoscapes reveal heterogeneous food webs in deep-sea submarine canyons and adjacent slopes

The deep sea is the largest biome on earth, but one of the least studied despite its critical role in global carbon cycling and climate buffering. Deep-sea organisms largely rely on particulate organic matter from the surface ocean for energy – these organisms in turn play critical roles in energy transport, transformation, storage, and sequestration of carbon. Within the deep sea, submarine canyons are amongst the most complex and dynamic environments in our oceans, where varied morphology, powerful currents, and variable nutrient conditions influence the distribution of species and transport of organic material throughout the water column and the seafloor. Significant habitat heterogeneity provides ideal substrates for cold-water corals, making submarine canyons of interest to conservation and management. However, how these and other topographic features in the deep ocean influence energy flow and trophic pathways is poorly known. Thus, submarine canyons serve as model systems to track variability in organic material flux and consequential utilization and assimilation by the benthos. In this study, we used an extensive stable isotope dataset to examine food-web structure in Baltimore and Norfolk submarine canyons and compared them to their adjacent slopes located along the U.S. Atlantic margin. Linear models were used to construct geospatially-explicit consumer isoscapes that predicted variation in carbon and nitrogen isotopes across the canyon-slope seascape, providing a predictive map from which to test hypotheses on the distribution and flow of energy resources, relevant to understanding whole community function. Communities were composed of isotopically diverse feeding groups with photosynthetically-derived organic carbon providing the basal food resource. Canyon communities were distinct from the slope, with canyon consumers significantly 13 C-depleted, indicating a greater supply and/or utilization of fresh organic matter compared to the slope. Isoscapes for benthic and suspension feeders were distinct, possibly due to the consumption of different quality organic matter sources (fresh = suspension feeders, old = benthic feeders), each with distinct isotope composition. To our knowledge, our modeled isoscapes represent the first spatially extensive isotopic maps of deep-sea consumers, providing insights into regional-scale variation in stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes for different consumer groups. They provide a baseline for tracking climate-change induced fluctuations in the quality and availability of surface primary production and the consequential impact to benthic communities, which play critical roles in carbon cycling in our world’s oceans.

Progress in Oceanography↗
USGS2022

Sclerochronological records of environmental variability and bivalve growth in the Pacific Arctic

The Pacific Arctic region has experienced, and is projected to continue experiencing, rapid climate change. Large uncertainties exist in our understanding of the impact these physical changes have on the region’s ecology. This is, in part, due to the lack of long-term data. Here we investigate bivalve mollusc growth increment width chronologies (sclerochronologies) to develop a long-term biological data series in an Arctic species and address the hypothesis that benthic production in the Pacific Arctic region is in decline with implications for predators (e.g., walrus, whales, seals, and sea ducks). Growth increments formed in the shells of two bivalve mollusc species, Astarte borealis and Liocyma fluctuosa, were examined using conventional sclerochronological techniques. The A. borealis and L. fluctuosa samples exhibited measured longevities of >148 and >18 years, respectively, in the coastal waters of Alaska’s Chukchi Sea. Dendrochronology crossdating techniques facilitated the development of two robust (expressed population signal >0.85) independent growth increment width chronologies. These chronologies provide evidence of the growth conditions through time for each species (1985-2015 for A. borealis and 1997-2014 for L. fluctuosa) . Linear regression analyses identified that both species grew more rapidly in years with warmer sea surface temperature and lower sea ice concentration. The results provide evidence that benthic ecosystems are benefiting from the warmer conditions and reduced sea ice that have accompanied recent Arctic climate trends. This result is encouraging for benthic predators in the eastern Chukchi Sea as it alleviates the concern that their benthic prey has already become food limited by weakened pelagic-benthic coupling. More broadly, this initial A. borealis chronology is among the longest biological data series for any Arctic species and highlights the feasibility of multicentennial biological data for the Arctic.

Progress in Oceanography↗
USGS2022

Ocean acidification in the Gulf of Mexico: Drivers, impacts, and unknowns

Ocean acidification (OA) has resulted in global-scale changes in ocean chemistry, which can disturb marine organisms and ecosystems. Despite its extensively populated coastline, many marine-dependent communities, and valuable economies, the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) remains a relatively understudied region with respect to acidification. In general, the warm waters of the GOM are better buffered from acidification compared to higher latitude seas, yet long-term acidification has been documented in several GOM regions. OA within the GOM is recognized as spatially variable, particularly within the coastal zone where numerous physical and biogeochemical processes contribute to carbonate chemistry dynamics. The historical progression of OA within the entire GOM is difficult to assess because only a few dedicated long-term monitoring sites have recently been established, and full-water column observations are limited. However, environmental drivers on smaller scales that affect GOM acidification were found to include freshwater, nutrient, and carbonate discharge from large rivers; ocean warming, circulation and residence times; and episodic extreme weather events. GOM marine ecosystems provide essential services, including coastline protection and carbon dioxide removal, and habitats for many marine species that are economically and ecologically important. However, organismal and ecosystem responses to OA are not well constrained for the GOM due to a lack of studies examining the specific effects of OA on regionally relevant species under contemporary and projected conditions. Tackling the vast number of remaining scientific unknowns in this region can be best coordinated through regional capacity networks, such as the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Acidification Network (GCAN), working to achieve a system-wide understanding of Gulf OA and its impacts. Here we synthesize the current peer-reviewed literature on GOM acidification across the ocean-estuarine continuum and identify critical knowledge, research, and monitoring gaps that require future attention.

Progress in Oceanography↗