Arctic | Lower Trophic Levels
Using the Continuous Plankton Recorder to detect and monitor the spread of harmful algal blooms from the Pacific into the Arctic Ocean Presenter: Clare Ostle , claost@mba.ac.uk, The Marine Biological Association UK
Sonia Batten , sonia.batten@pices.int Martina Brunetta , marbru@MBA.ac.uk Jonathan Fisher , Jonathan.Fisher@mi.mun.ca Melissa Hennekes , Melissa.Hennekes@dfo-mpo.gc.ca David Johns , djoh@MBA.ac.uk Francesca Loro , Francesca.Loro@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Humfrey Melling , Humfrey.Melling@dfo-mpo.gc.ca R. John Nelson , John.Nelson@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Akash Sastri , Akash.Sastri@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Rowena Stern , Rowena.Stern@mba.ac.uk Marianne Wootton , mawo@MBA.ac.uk
Warming seas introduce an increased risk of non-native and/or harmful microbes entering and surviving in water of the Arctic. Such microbes include food-borne micro-organisms with potential to negatively impact human health directly or indirectly. In recent years the Arctic Ocean has seen a warming trend and changes in circulation, which have been shown to accommodate potentially harmful toxic phytoplankton species and bacteria. Trans-Arctic migrations are likely to become more common as warming continues and could have large impacts on the ecosystem and biodiversity. The northern boundary of the Pacific Ocean is likely to move pole-ward under climate change; this may cause adjacent areas of the Arctic Ocean to become more Pacific-like. By providing coverage of the North Pacific, the transition between the Arctic and Pacific oceans, and conditions in the Arctic, the CPR is ideally suited to monitoring the Pacific-Arctic boundary. Data from the CPR consistently collected over time allows for tracking of changes within the marine ecosystem with their potential impacts on marine resources. Following the successful completion of four (soon to be 5) annual summer voyages towing a CPR from western and eastern Canada into the Arctic Ocean, we will present some of the initial preliminary analyses and findings on potentially harmful marine microbes and the plankton community dynamics in the area.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 149
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