Lab final poster
- 1. Andrea M. Fieber, Kyle W. Jordan, Kara N. Neal Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences California Polytechnic University of San Luis Obispo - California 93407 USA Works Cited Calbet, Albert, and Michael R. Landry. "Phytoplankton Growth, Microzooplankton Grazing,and Carbon Cycling in Marine Systems."Limnology and Oceanography 49.1 (2004): 51-57. Wiley Online Library. Web. 10 May 2015. Irigoien, Xabier, Jef Huisman, and Roger P. Harris. "Global Biodiversity Patterns of Marine Phytoplankton and Zooplankton." Nature 429.6994 (2004): 863-67. Web. 10 May 20 Reed, Mark, Katherine Jayko, Ann Bowles, and Steve Leatherwood. "Numerical Models of Bowhead and Gray Whale Migration in Alaskan Waters." Ecological Modelling, 44.1 (1988): 1-42. Willis, J. "Whales Maintained a High Abundance of Krill; Both Are Ecosystem Engineers in the Southern Ocean." Marine Ecology Progress Series, 513 (2014): 51-69. Web. 10 May 2015. Rice, Dale W. "Offshore Southward Migration of Gray Whales off Southern California." Journal of Mammalogy 46.3 (1965): 504-05. JSTOR. Web. 28 May 2015. Traganza, E. D., D. A. Nestor, and A. K. McDonald, “Satellite observations of a nutrient upwelling off the coast of California” Journal of Geophysical Resources , 85(C7), 4101–4106 1980. Landry, M. R., J. Constantinou, M. Latasa, S. I. Brown, R. R. Bidigare, and M. E. Ondrusek. "Biological Response to Iron Fertilization in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific (IronEx II). III. Dynamics of Phytoplankton Growth and Microzooplankton Grazing." Marine Ecology Progress Series 201 (2000): 57-72. Web. 10 May 2015. Lavery, Trish J., Ben Roudnew, Justin Seymour, James G. Mitchell, Victor Smetacek, and Steve Nicol. "Whales Sustain Fisheries: Blue Whales Stimulate Primary Production in the Southern Ocean." Marine Mammal Science 30.3 (2014): 888-904. Wiley Online Library. Web. 10 May 2015. Nicol, S., Bowie, A., Jarman, S., Lannuzel, D., Meiners, K. M. and Van Der Merwe, P. "Southern Ocean Iron Fertilization by Baleen Whales and Antarctic Krill." Fish and Fisheries. Wiley Online Library, 30 Mar. 2010. Web. 10 May 2015. Introduction: The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is an essential driver of overall ecosystem productivity by way of its fecal plumes, which are rich in iron and nitrogen and create cascading effects that support many types of marine life. Hypothesis: E. robustus presence will be directly correlated with an increase in local primary productivity due to increased iron and nitrogen availability. Results and Conclusions Figure 1. “Short term.” Net primary productivity increases when whales are present and declines when whales are absent from the local environment. The study may be able to confirm that whales play a vital role in ecosystem health, productivity, and potential regeneration/growth. Figure 2. “No effect.” Net primary productivity is not correlated with whale presence; it fluctuates independently. Seasonal or spatial variation may create differences in nutrient and phytoplankton levels regardless of E. robustus, and whale fecal plumes are not the most important factor in stimulating marine primary productivity. Figure 3. “Long-term.” Net primary productivity increases when whales enter the ecosystem and remains high even when whales vacate the environment. This result would require support from a longer-timescale study in order to evaluate the lasting impact E. robustus. Figure 4. “Negative effect.” Primary productivity decreases with whale presence and rises again when whales are absent; therefore whales may utilize more nutrients than they deposit in the ecosystem. This result prompts more extensive testing of the nutrient requirements of both whales and phytoplankton. Materials and Methods •Channel Islands off coast of S. California • Migration Zone • Between Santa Catalina and San Clemente • Control Zone • Ocean side of San Nicholas Islands •Three year study • Initial Year - Whale tagging and route monitoring • Weekly sampling after migration • Second and Third Year • 2x Migration events • Intensive 20 day sampling • Weekly sampling all year •Tests • 15 buoys anchored across migration zone- five foot depth intervals, automatic sampler • Abiotic - Iron, Nitrogen, pH, temperature • Biotic - Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Krill densities
Editor's Notes
- #2: Copyright Colin Purrington (http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign).