Timing of spring sea-ice retreat and summer seabird-prey associations in the northern Bering Sea

Nishizawa, Bungo; Yamada, Nodoka; Hayashi, Haruka; Wright, Charlie; Kuletz, Kathy J.; Ueno, Hiromichi; Mukai, T.; Yamaguchi, Atsushi; Watanuki, Yutaka

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2020.104898

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Negative effects in higher trophic levels were reported during 2018, including decreases in the population of forage fish species associated with decreases in phytoplankton blooms and zooplankton productivity (Cornwall, 2019;Duffy-Anderson et al, 2019). Other studies have reported high mortality rates and reproductive failure of sea birds due to warm temperatures and food scarcity (Jones et al, 2018(Jones et al, , 2019Dragoo et al, 2019;Nishizawa et al, 2020), whereas another study reported a decline in phocid seal body condition (fat and mass/length) (Boveng et al, 2020). These opposite responses between zooplankton and higher trophic levels suggest that small copepods do not efficiently reach the higher trophic levels despite being highly abundant, which reported in the 1980s investigations (Springer et al, 1989).…”

Section: Ecological Impacts Of Changing Zooplankton Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, fish populations have been found to migrate northward in response to the aforementioned cold pool decrease, which functions as a barrier to these fishes (Cornwall, 2019;Duffy-Anderson et al, 2019;Stevenson and Lauth, 2019). Additionally, these events have been linked to decreases in sea bird populations due to food scarcity (Nishizawa et al, 2020), as well as a decline in the body condition (mass/length) of phocid seals (Boveng et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effects of Early Sea-Ice Reduction on Zooplankton and Copepod Population Structure in the Northern Bering Sea During the Summers of 2017 and 2018

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A remarkable early sea-ice reduction event was observed in the northern Bering Sea during 2018. In turn, this unusual hydrographic phenomenon affected several marine trophic levels, resulting in delayed phytoplankton blooms, phytoplankton community changes, and a northward shift of fish stocks. However, the response of the zooplankton community remains uncharacterized. Therefore, our study sought to investigate the zooplankton community shifts in the northern Bering Sea during the summers of 2017 and 2018 and evaluate the effects of early sea-ice melt events on the zooplankton community, population structure of large copepods, and copepod production. Five zooplankton communities were identified based on cluster analysis. Further, annual changes in the zooplankton community were identified in the Chirikov Basin. In 2017, the zooplankton community included abundant Pacific copepods transported by the Anadyr water. In 2018, however, the zooplankton community was dominated by small copepods and younger stages of large copepods (Calanus glacialis/marshallae and Metridia pacifica), which was likely caused by reproduction delays resulting from the early sea-ice reduction event. These environmental abnormalities increased copepod production; however, this higher zooplankton productivity did not efficiently reach the higher trophic levels. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that zooplankton community structure and production are highly sensitive to the environmental changes associated with early sea-ice reduction (e.g., warm temperatures and food availability).

show abstract

Section: Ecological Impacts Of Changing Zooplankton Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Early Sea-Ice Reduction on Zooplankton and Copepod Population Structure in the Northern Bering Sea During the Summers of 2017 and 2018

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…During the more recent negative excursion of calf production estimates from the historical relationship with sea ice, the northern Bering Sea has experienced unprecedentedly early sea ice retreat, particularly during the winters of 2017−2018 and 2018− 2019, that has resulted in ecological consequences at multiple trophic levels (Duffy-Anderson et al 2019, Nishizawa et al 2020, Siddon et al 2020. This period of rapid climatic and ecological change has also coincided with a shift in gray whale distribution patterns within the northeastern Chukchi Sea starting in approximately 2016 (Moore et al 2022).…”

Section: Unanswered Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of sea ice in the distribution, habitat use, and phenology of eastern North Pacific gray whales

Joyce

Ferguson²,

Berchok

et al. 2023

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A strong negative relationship has been observed between calf production of eastern North Pacific gray whales Eschrichtius robustus and Pacific Arctic sea ice area with the exception of 2 potentially anomalous periods: 2013-2014 and 2017-2019. Sea ice may play a role in reproductive variability by blocking gray whale access to foraging hotspot habitats. We tested this ‘sea ice exclusion’ hypothesis using complementary aerial survey and moored hydrophone data sets that together provide broad spatial and temporal coverage. A negative relationship (generalized additive model, p < 0.001) was found between gray whale aerial counts and ice concentration in the northeast Chukchi Sea (2008-2019), with a nonlinear increase in negative slope above 45-55% concentration. A comparison of distribution patterns between years further indicated the absence of sightings within northern Bering and northeastern Chukchi foraging hotspots during years with delayed ice break-up versus years with an early-to-average ice retreat. Passive acoustic recordings likewise showed the near-absence of detections during periods of dense ice cover and indicated a strongly positive relationship between ice break-up dates and the timing of acoustic detection onset. Together, these analyses point to the important role of sea ice in gray whale distribution, habitat use, and phenology. However, a relatively consistent 10-15 d lag observed between ice break-up and acoustic onset dates suggested that the mechanism(s) underpinning gray whale interactions with sea ice may be more complex than simply ‘sea ice exclusion.’ Here, we propose ‘prey quality timing’ as a potential alternative hypothesis that warrants further investigation.

show abstract

Two species of seabirds foraged in contrasting marine habitats across the cold-water belt along the coast of northern Hokkaido in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Timing of spring sea-ice retreat and summer seabird-prey associations in the northern Bering Sea

Cited by 8 publications

References 50 publications

Effects of Early Sea-Ice Reduction on Zooplankton and Copepod Population Structure in the Northern Bering Sea During the Summers of 2017 and 2018

Effects of Early Sea-Ice Reduction on Zooplankton and Copepod Population Structure in the Northern Bering Sea During the Summers of 2017 and 2018

The role of sea ice in the distribution, habitat use, and phenology of eastern North Pacific gray whales

Two species of seabirds foraged in contrasting marine habitats across the cold-water belt along the coast of northern Hokkaido in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About