RII Track-4: Using Otolith Geochemistry to Understand the Ocean Ecology of a Changing Alaskan Salmon System

RII Track-4：利用耳石地球化学了解不断变化的阿拉斯加鲑鱼系统的海洋生态

• 批准号: 1929174
• 负责人: Kristen Gorman
• 金额: $ 16.2万
• 依托单位: University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-12-15 至 2022-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1929174&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RII; Track; Using; Otolith; Geochemistry

High latitude regions of the global ocean are responding rapidly to atmospheric and other environmental changes. Thus, these ecosystems are important models for understanding environmental driver and ecosystem response relationships, providing a framework for better predicting how other regions of the global ocean might respond to future environmental changes. Of particular concern are the impacts of rapid marine ecosystem changes to fisheries. Seafood plays a key role in meeting the food security needs of global human populations and is a critical foundation of many regional economies in the United States, particularly for remote states such as Alaska. Between 2014-2016, the eastern sector of the North Pacific Ocean including the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) experienced one of the largest marine heatwaves ever recorded. How the ocean ecology of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) responds to ocean-climate variability and other environmental changes is generally not well understood. The purpose of this study is to advance an understanding of the ocean ecology of salmon by taking advantage of the complete life history record captured by natural markers of water temperature, metabolic activity, and diet based on oxygen and carbon isotope values in the ear bones, or otoliths, of adult sockeye salmon (O. nerka) returning to the Copper River, Alaska. This research is important for advancing the general knowledge of high latitude marine ecosystem response to rapid and unprecedented levels of environmental change, as well as developing the scientific information needed to inform the long-term sustainable management of this key Alaskan salmon system.Between 2014-2016, the eastern sector of the North Pacific Ocean including the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) experienced one of the largest marine heatwaves ever recorded. Responses by southcentral Alaskan salmon stocks to these anomalous ocean-climate conditions in the GOA, and other density-dependent environmental changes related to the release of significant numbers of hatchery pink salmon to the GOA, have been highly variable and range from record returns by Prince William Sound pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) in 2015 to run failures by these same stocks in 2016, as well as run failures by sockeye salmon (O. nerka) returning to the nearby Copper River system in 2018. Thus, Pacific salmon of the GOA appear to be responding to recent, highly anomalous environmental changes, however, environmental driver and salmon response relationships have not been formalized. The research described here will fill this knowledge gap. The goal of this EPSCoR Fellowship project is to relate otolith and isotope variability during ocean residency of adult sockeye salmon returning to the Copper River, Alaska, over a 15-year period (2004-2018) to a suite of environmental variables that capture signals of ocean-climate and density-dependent factors operating in the North Pacific Ocean, as well as population performance traits of sockeye including adult body size and body condition. Time series analysis will be used to formalize relationships between environmental drivers and responses by Copper River sockeye to advance the general knowledge of high latitude marine ecosystem response to rapid and unprecedented levels of environmental change, as well as the scientific information needed to inform the long-term sustainable management of this key Alaskan salmon system.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

全球海洋高纬度地区正在对大气和其他环境变化做出快速反应。因此，这些生态系统是理解环境驱动因素和生态系统响应关系的重要模型，为更好地预测全球海洋其他区域如何应对未来环境变化提供了框架。特别值得关注的是海洋生态系统的快速变化对渔业的影响。海鲜在满足全球人口的粮食安全需求方面发挥着关键作用，是美国许多区域经济的重要基础，尤其是阿拉斯加等偏远州。 2014年至2016年间，包括阿拉斯加湾（GOA）在内的北太平洋东段经历了有记录以来最大的海洋热浪之一。太平洋鲑鱼（Oncorhynchus spp.）的海洋生态如何应对海洋气候变化和其他环境变化通常尚不清楚。这项研究的目的是通过利用基于耳骨中氧和碳同位素值的水温、代谢活动和饮食自然标记捕获的完整生活史记录，促进对鲑鱼海洋生态的了解。成年红鲑鱼（O. nerka）返回阿拉斯加科珀河的耳石。这项研究对于提高高纬度海洋生态系统对快速且前所未有的环境变化的响应的一般知识，以及开发为这一关键的阿拉斯加鲑鱼系统的长期可持续管理提供信息所需的科学信息具有重要意义。2014年至2016 年，包括阿拉斯加湾 (GOA) 在内的北太平洋东段经历了有记录以来最大的海洋热浪之一。阿拉斯加中南部鲑鱼种群对果阿异常海洋气候条件的反应，以及与向果阿释放大量孵化场粉红鲑鱼相关的其他与密度相关的环境变化的反应，变化很大，范围与 Prince 的创纪录回报不等。 2015 年威廉湾粉红鲑鱼 (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) 在 2016 年这些种群的运行失败，以及红鲑鱼 (O. nerka) 返回到 2016 年的运行失败2018 年，附近的铜河系统。因此，GOA 的太平洋鲑鱼似乎对最近高度异常的环境变化做出了反应，但是，环境驱动因素和鲑鱼响应关系尚未正式确定。这里描述的研究将填补这一知识空白。 EPSCoR 奖学金项目的目标是将 15 年期间（2004 年至 2018 年）返回阿拉斯加库珀河的成年红鲑鱼在海洋中居住期间的耳石和同位素变化与捕获信号的一系列环境变量联系起来。北太平洋的海洋气候和密度相关因素，以及红眼鱼的种群表现特征，包括成年体型和身体状况。时间序列分析将用于正式确定环境驱动因素与铜河红鱼响应之间的关系，以提高高纬度海洋生态系统对快速和前所未有的环境变化水平的响应的一般知识，以及为长期影响提供信息所需的科学信息。这一关键的阿拉斯加鲑鱼系统的可持续管理。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。