(PLEASE NOTE: These web pages are for archival purposes only and are no longer maintained. For current information on this topic at the AFSC visit the Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment program. )

Typical working conditions in the Bearing Sea.

Vertical CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) casts and zooplankton tows are used to characterize the marine ecosystem and develop indicators for survival and growth of salmon and other important forage fishes (e.g., walleye pollock and Pacific herring) in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS). Sampling occurs at ~ 150 stations on the EBS shelf from mid-august to mid-October. We collect surface along-track measurements of temperature and salinity and vertical CTD profiles of temperature, salinity, density, chlorophyll a fluorescence (a rough measure of phytoplankton biomass), photosynthetic available radiation (PAR, visible light), light transmission (beam c, a measure of particles in the water column), and dissolved oxygen. Discrete water samples are collected for chlorophyll a (total and size fractionated) to provide an estimate of the phytoplankton biomass by different size categories (indicative of different taxonomic groups), nutrients, and phytoplankton species (preserved samples). Data from zooplankton oblique bongo tows (505 and 335 µm mesh) provide an indication of the prey available to small forage fishes and may provide an indicator of regional or climatic variations in the physics (e.g., temperature, salinity, currents) and primary production (phytoplankton) in the EBS.

Contact:
Lisa Eisner
Auke Bay Laboratories
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries

Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute
17109 Pt Lena Loop Rd
Juneau AK 99801
(907) 789-6602
Lisa.Eisner@noaa.gov

Supporting Research

• Eisner, L.B., K.D. Cieciel, M.D. Courtney, E.V. Farley, and J. Pohl. 2006. Variations in water mass properties, plankton, nutrients and forage fish during fall in the eastern Bering Sea. Oral Presentation. Ocean Sciences Meeting. February, Honolulu, HI.
  
  
• Eisner, L.B., K.D. Cieciel, M.D. Courtney, E.V. Farley, A. Feldmann, J.M. Murphy, and J.H. Helle. 2006. Juvenile sockeye salmon and age-0 pollock distribution and diet for fall BASIS surveys in the eastern Bering Sea. Oral Presentation. Fisheries and the Environment (FATE) Workshop, July, Seattle, WA.
  
  
• Eisner, L.B., E.V. Farley and J.M. Murphy. 2006. Variations in water mass properties during fall 2000-2005 in the eastern Bering Sea-BASIS. In: Ecosystems Considerations Chapter for 2007, edited by J. Bolt, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Seattle, WA.
  
  
• Eisner, L.B., E.V. Farley and J.M. Murphy. 2006. Variations in phytoplankton and nutrients during fall 2000-2005 in the eastern Bering Sea- BASIS. In: Ecosystems Considerations Chapter for 2007, edited by J. Bolt, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Seattle, WA.
  

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