Resource Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling - Home
The Resource Ecology and
Ecosystem Modeling Task at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center focuses on the collection
and analysis of data relating to trophic interactions in the North Pacific and
incorporation of these data into environmental assessments and single-species and
multispecies models. Systematic collection and analysis of groundfish food habits data is
performed. Data on size-at-age is integrated with bioenergetic information to estimate
food consumption rates by fish populations. Information on marine mammal and bird diet is
obtained from other Center programs or outside researchers. Quantifying food web linkages
is essential to increase our understanding of how external forces such as fishing may
cause unanticipated shifts in ecosystem composition. The importance of this research is
also elevated given the increasing emphasis on fishery-mammal interactions: groundfish
predation interactions are an important part of knowing the true nature of resource
availability to mammals and birds.
Stomach samples are
collected at virtually no cost to the program, utilizing fishery observers and existing
assessment cruises for collection platforms. Samples are analyzed in the laboratory and
entered into a food habits database. These data allow assessment of factors influencing
individual species food habits, including interannual changes. Predation effects by
groundfish populations are then quantified and incorporated into assessment models.
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Recent Publications, Poster Presentations, Reports & Activities |
- Final Ecosystem Considerations (.pdf, 6.5MB) for the
North Pacific Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation
Report - Updated for 2013
- Attributes of the Eastern Chukchi Sea Food Web With Comparisons to Three Northern Marine Ecosystems.
WHITEHOUSE, A. 2012. Attributes of the Eastern Chukchi Sea Food Web With Comparisons to Three Northern Marine Ecosystems. AFSC Quarterly Report Feature (October-November-December 2012) 7 p. (.pdf, 1.06 MB). Online.
- Beyond the defaults: Functional response parameter space and ecosystem-level fishing thresholds in dynamic food web model simulations.
GAICHAS, S. K., G. ODELL, K. Y. AYDIN, and R. C. FRANCIS.
2012. Beyond the defaults: Functional response parameter space and ecosystem-level fishing thresholds in dynamic food web model simulations. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 69:2077–2094.
- Resource partitioning among Myoxocephalus sculpins, and their predator–prey relationships with Chionoecetes crabs in the eastern Bering Sea.
TENBRINK, T. T., and T. W. BUCKLEY.
2012. Resource partitioning among Myoxocephalus sculpins, and their predator–prey relationships with Chionoecetes crabs in the eastern Bering Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 464:221–235.
- FEAST Forage and Euphausiid Abundance in Space and Time Assumptions, Knowledge and Gaps
By: IVONNE ORTIZ, KERIM AYDIN, AL HERMANN
Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
(2013 poster, .pdf, 5.4 MB) Online.
- Incorporating Bioenergetics into Multi-species Statistical Catch-at-age Models (MSM): an Example from the Bering Sea Methods
By: KIRSTIN K. HOLSMAN, J. IANELLI, K. AYDIN, A. PUNT, E. MOFFITT
Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2012
(2012 poster, .pdf, 7.1 MB) Online.
- Preliminary Results on the Diet of Laysan Albatross and the Use of Fisheries By-caught Marine Birds in Investigations of Natural Feeding Strategy
By: WILLIAM WALKER, SHANNON FITZGERALD
Conference: Pacific Seabird Group 39th Annual Meeting, Haleiwa, HI, Feb 2012
(2012 poster, .pdf, 8.9 MB) Online.
See the publications and poster databases for additional listings.
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