Marine Heatwave Stress Test of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management in the Gulf of Alaska Pacific Cod Fishery

Barbeaux, Steven J.; Holsman, Kirstin K.; Zador, Stephani G.

doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00703

Cited by 110 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…The increase in zooplankton biomass overall, however, was dominated by smaller, warm water species, which likely hindered energy acquisition of zooplanktivores. The overall high biomass of warm and cold copepod species during the marine heatwave could also suggest possible reduced grazing pressure by forage fishes and other zooplanktivores due to greater consumption of those species by ectothermic predators with increased energetic demands during warm water conditions 28,37 . Declines in euphausiids, especially cool water associated species of Thysanoessa inermis and T. longipes, however, could have also limited energy transfer to upper trophic levels 40 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem response persists after a prolonged marine heatwave

Suryan

Arimitsu

Coletti

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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146

127

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Some of the longest and most comprehensive marine ecosystem monitoring programs were established in the Gulf of Alaska following the environmental disaster of the Exxon Valdez oil spill over 30 years ago. These monitoring programs have been successful in assessing recovery from oil spill impacts, and their continuation decades later has now provided an unparalleled assessment of ecosystem responses to another newly emerging global threat, marine heatwaves. The 2014–2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave (PMH) in the Gulf of Alaska was the longest lasting heatwave globally over the past decade, with some cooling, but also continued warm conditions through 2019. Our analysis of 187 time series from primary production to commercial fisheries and nearshore intertidal to offshore oceanic domains demonstrate abrupt changes across trophic levels, with many responses persisting up to at least 5 years after the onset of the heatwave. Furthermore, our suite of metrics showed novel community-level groupings relative to at least a decade prior to the heatwave. Given anticipated increases in marine heatwaves under current climate projections, it remains uncertain when or if the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem will return to a pre-PMH state.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem response persists after a prolonged marine heatwave

Suryan

Arimitsu

Coletti

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

Self Cite

146

127

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“…Changes in groundfish spatial distribution (Yang et al., 2019) and groundfish weight at length (Barbeaux et al., 2020; Dorn et al., 2018), seabird die‐offs and breeding failures (Piatt et al., 2020), and unusual mortality events for fin ( Balaenoptera physalus ) and humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeanglia ) (Savage, 2017) were recorded. A sharp decline in Pacific cod biomass led to a federally declared fishery disaster (Barbeaux et al., 2020). Some of these observations may be the result of top‐down forcing acting in concert with bottom‐up processes to influence the marine ecosystem.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Farther north, persistent warming was observed throughout the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) that extended from the surface down to 300 m (Walsh et al., 2018). Species of fish and zooplankton were noted far north of their typical ranges (Bond et al., 2015), seabird die‐offs occurred (Piatt et al., 2020), and Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus experienced a population decline leading to a severe reduction in catch limits (Barbeaux et al., 2020). By studying ecological responses to the warm anomaly, we can improve our understanding of how climate conditions alter ecosystem processes and functioning, as well as the impact on species of commercial interest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollock and “the Blob”: Impacts of a marine heatwave on walleye pollock early life stages

Rogers

Wilson

Duffy‐Anderson

et al. 2020

Fisheries Oceanography

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The North Pacific marine heatwave of 2014–2016 (nicknamed “The Blob”) impacted marine ecosystems from California to Alaska, USA, with cascading effects on fisheries and fishing communities. We investigated the effects of this anomalous ocean warming on early life stages of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) in the Gulf of Alaska. In spring of 2015, pollock larvae were caught at record low levels relative to a 30‐year time series. Survival rates were low during the summer, and by late summer, numbers were further reduced, with very low abundances of juvenile (age‐0) pollock. Our analyses suggested multiple mechanisms for this decline: (a) Low‐saline conditions may have impacted egg buoyancy and survival; (b) population densities of zooplankton nauplii may have been too low to support first‐feeding larvae; (c) body condition of age‐0 pollock was poor and a bioenergetics model indicated that reduced quality of zooplankton prey, coupled with warmer temperatures, increased the ration required for positive growth by up to 19%, at a time when prey abundance was likely reduced. Thus, walleye pollock experienced a cascade of poor conditions for growth and survival through early life stages, resulting in the near disappearance of the 2015 year class in the population by the end of their first year. These impacts differ from previous warm years and emphasize the importance of looking beyond simple temperature–abundance relationships when predicting species responses to climate warming.

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“…Further studies have proposed that marine ecosystems might be regulated by alternating bottom-up and top-down processes (Cury et al, 2008;Litzow & Ciannelli, 2007), or a "wasp-waist" interaction of the two (Fauchald, Skov, Skern-Mauritzen, Johns, & Tveraa, 2011), and that relative strength of bottom-up and top-down control may vary spatially (Frederiksen, Furness, & Wanless, 2007). For example, marine heatwaves can markedly increase metabolic rates and food demands of ectothermic groundfish and trigger temporary top-down control of prey populations and increased competition with seabirds for shared prey (Barbeaux, Holsman, & Zador, 2020;Piatt et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seabird‐induced natural mortality of forage fish varies with fish abundance: Evidence from five ecosystems

et al. 2020

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Forage fish populations often undergo large and rapid fluctuations in abundance. However, most of their predators are buffered against such fluctuations owing to their slower pace of life, which allows them to maintain more stable populations, at least during short periods of food scarcity. In this study, we investigated top-down processes exerted by seabirds on forage fish stocks in five contrasted marine ecosystems, compiling numerous datasets on seabird counts, diets, energetic needs and prey energy content and abundance. Off Norway, South Africa, Peru, Sweden and Scotland, we found that predation pressure-estimated as the proportion of a fish stock consumed by seabirds-was generally low (median = 1%), but increased sharply at low levels of prey abundance. When prey biomass decreased below 15 to 18% of its maximum recorded value, predation by seabirds became a source of important additional pressure on prey stocks (~20% of prey biomass is consumed by seabirds). An earlier empirical study advocated for keeping forage stocks from falling below a threshold of 33% of long-term maximum prey biomass in order to safeguard seabird breeding success, but here we further suggest that a threshold of 18% should be considered as a limit not to be exceeded for the sake of the forage fish themselves, and below which extra cautious management of fisheries may be required. Nevertheless, despite exceptionally high rates of predation on some occasions, predation pressure was not correlated with prey dynamics, suggesting an absence of prey entrapment due to seabirds alone in these five ecosystems.

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Marine Heatwave Stress Test of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management in the Gulf of Alaska Pacific Cod Fishery

Cited by 110 publications

References 75 publications

Ecosystem response persists after a prolonged marine heatwave

Ecosystem response persists after a prolonged marine heatwave

Pollock and “the Blob”: Impacts of a marine heatwave on walleye pollock early life stages

Seabird‐induced natural mortality of forage fish varies with fish abundance: Evidence from five ecosystems

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