Condition of Forage Fish in Prince William Sound During the Marine Heatwave

Changes in the body condition of a key forage fish species, Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), are examined to understand how energy transfer to predators may have been disrupted during the recent marine heatwave in the North Pacific (late 2013 to mid 2016).

Return to Wildlife, Fish, and Habitats >> Fish and Aquatic Ecology

Warmer temperatures can disrupt energy transfer through forage fish by raising metabolic costs and shifting the base of the food web toward lower-lipid zooplankton species. Sand lance were collected across five years that ranged in temperature from cool (summers 2012-2013) to extremely warm (summers 2014-2016) in Prince William Sound, Alaska, during July at the annual peak of lipid content. Length, energy density (kJ g^-1 dry mass), and total body energy (kJ) are being measured in age-0 and age-1 sand lance. A shift in sand lance body condition may link warming water conditions with predator responses to the heatwave including seabird breeding failures and the 2015-16 die-off of starving common murres (Uria aalge). This work is part of the Gulf Watch Alaska Monitoring Program of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.

Pacific sand lance in a sieve from a purse seine in Prince William Sound

Pacific sand lance in a colander that were captured in a small purse seine in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
(Credit: Sarah Schoen, USGS. Public domain.)

2 Black-legged Kittiwakes, one captured Pacific sand lance

2 Black-legged Kittiwakes, one captured 2 Pacific sand lance.
(Credit: Sarah Schoen, USGS. Public domain.)

Closer view of setting a small purse seine in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Closer view of setting a small purse seine to catch Pacific sand lance in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
(Credit: Mayumi Arimitsu, USGS. Public domain.)

Status - Active

Selected Data Point

Details

No data point selected. Click on a pin on the map to see more information.

Change Map Base Layer

Base Layer Options

USGS Topo

USGS Imagery Only

USGS Imagery Topo

USGS Hydrography

USGS Shaded Relief

Open Street Map

ESRI World Topo Map

ESRI Ocean

ESRI World Street Map

ESRI USA Topo

ESRI World Imagery

ESRI Light Gray Canvas

ESRI Dark Gray Canvas

ESRI DeLorme

ESRI NatGeo

Contacts

Vanessa von Biela, Ph.D.

Research Fish Biologist
Alaska Science Center
Email: vvonbiela@usgs.gov
Phone: 907-786-7073

Mayumi L Arimitsu, Ph.D.

Research Ecologist
Alaska Science Center
Email: marimitsu@usgs.gov
Phone: 907-364-1593

John Piatt, Ph.D.

Research Wildlife Biologist
Alaska Science Center
Email: jpiatt@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-774-0516

Sarah K Schoen

Wildlife Biologist
Alaska Science Center
Email: sschoen@usgs.gov
Phone: 907-786-7467

Caitlin Marsteller

Biologist
Alaska Science Center
Email: cmarsteller@usgs.gov
Phone: 907-786-7069

Explore More Science

Forage fish
Prince William Sound
marine
Pacific sand lance
common murre

Fish
Marine
Forage fish
Glacial-marine Food Webs
Marine Ecology
Nearshore Marine Ecology
Seabirds

Biology and Ecosystems

View All

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

Date published: February 27, 2018
Status: Active
Fish and Aquatic Ecology

Fish and aquatic habitats in Alaska support important commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries and provide forage fish that support wildlife populations. The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts interdisciplinary research to inform local, state, federal, and international policy makers regarding conservation of fish, aquatic species, and their habitats. We work collaboratively with...

Contacts: Vanessa von Biela, Ph.D., Michael P Carey, Ph.D., Sarah Laske, Ph.D., Ashley Stanek

Attribution: Ecosystems, Fisheries Program, Wildlife Program, Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center

Filter Total Items: 13

Select Topic

Select Location

Year

Sort by

Date published: September 11, 2019
Status: Active
Seabird Die-offs in Alaska

Beginning in 2015, large numbers of dead seabirds have been appearing on beaches in most marine areas of Alaska. Although seabird die-offs are known to occur sporadically (e.g. 1970, 1989, 1993, 1997/1998, and 2004) in Alaska, these recent die-offs have been distinguished from past events by their increased frequency, duration, geographic extent, and number of different species involved.

Contacts: John Piatt, Ph.D., Mayumi L Arimitsu, Ph.D., Sarah K Schoen, Caitlin Marsteller

Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center
Date published: May 6, 2019
Status: Active
Winter Habitat of Juvenile Dolly Varden in the Canning River

In the Arctic, rivers often freeze all the way to the bottom each winter leaving fish with limited habitat where they can survive.

Contacts: Vanessa von Biela, Ph.D., Michael P Carey, Ph.D., Randy J. Brown

Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center
Date published: May 10, 2018
Status: Active
Seabirds and Forage Fish Ecology

Alaska's coastal and offshore waters provide foraging habitat for an estimated 100 million birds comprising more than 90 different species; from loons and seaducks that nest inland, to petrels and puffins that breed on islands off shore. All these birds depend on the sea to provide a wide variety of food types— from clams, crabs and urchins nearshore— to krill, forage fish, and squid offshore...

Contacts: John Piatt, Ph.D., Gary S Drew, Ph.D., Mayumi L Arimitsu, Ph.D., Sarah K Schoen, Caitlin Marsteller

Attribution: Ecosystems, Wildlife Program, Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center
Date published: April 25, 2018
Status: Active
Arctic Lake Food Webs

From 2011 to 2013 we investigated freshwater food webs of Arctic Coastal Plain lakes in Alaska to improve our understanding how Arctic freshwater food webs may respond to landscape change the warmer, drier future.

Contacts: Sarah Laske, Ph.D., Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., Joshua C Koch, Ph.D., Joel A Schmutz, Ph.D., Amanda Rosenberger, Ph.D., Mark Wipfli, Matthew Whitman

Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center
Date published: April 25, 2018
Status: Active
Condition of Forage Fish in Prince William Sound During the Marine Heatwave

Changes in the body condition of a key forage fish species, Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), are examined to understand how energy transfer to predators may have been disrupted during the recent marine heatwave in the North Pacific (late 2013 to mid 2016).

Contacts: Vanessa von Biela, Ph.D., Mayumi L Arimitsu, Ph.D., John Piatt, Ph.D., Sarah K Schoen, Caitlin Marsteller

Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center
Date published: April 24, 2018
Status: Active
Ecosystem Shifts in Arctic Seas

In addition to the direct effects of sea ice loss on walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus) that use ice as a platform, the decline of Arctic sea ice is predicted to promote a fundamental ecosystem shift from benthic animals that forage on the sea floor to pelagic animals that forage near the sea surface.

Contacts: Vanessa von Biela, Ph.D., David Douglas, Daniel Esler, Ph.D., Chadwick V Jay, Ph.D., Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., Bryan Black, Kenneth Dutton

Attribution: Ecosystems, Wildlife Program, Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center
Date published: April 24, 2018
Status: Active
Lake Trout Biochronologies as Long-term Climate and Productivity Indicators in Alaska Lake Ecosystems

High latitude ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to long-term climate change, yet continuous, multidecadal indicators by which to gauge effects on biology are scarce, especially in freshwater environments.

Contacts: Vanessa von Biela, Ph.D., Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., Bryan Black, Randy J. Brown, Dan Young

Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center
Date published: April 19, 2018
Status: Active
Primary Production Sources and Bottom-up Limitations in Nearshore Ecosystems

Kelp forests are among the world’s most productive habitats, but recent evidence suggests that production is highly variable.

Contacts: James L Bodkin, Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., David Douglas, Gordon Kruse, Franz Mueter

Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center
Date published: April 18, 2018
Status: Active
Hydro-Ecology of Arctic Thawing (HEAT): Ecology

Permafrost thaw is leading to a myriad of changes in physical and chemical conditions throughout the Arctic.

Contacts: Michael P Carey, Ph.D., Joshua C Koch, Ph.D., Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., Jon O'Donnell

Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center
Date published: April 18, 2018
Status: Active
Effect of Elodea spp. on Fish Performance Mediated Through Food Web Interactions

The potential for invasive species introductions in Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems is growing as climate change manifests and human activity increases in high latitudes.

Contacts: Michael P Carey, Ph.D., Suresh Andrew Sethi, Ph.D., Christian E Zimmerman, Ph.D., Dan Young, Gordon Reeves, Theresa Tanner

Attribution: Invasive Species Program, Region 11: Alaska, States and Territories, Alaska Science Center

Below are publications associated with this project.

Filter Total Items: 1

logstash-usgs-pw:palladium_root_publication_year_date

logstash-usgs-pw:palladium_root_publication_type

Label

Year Published: 2019

Extreme reduction in nutritional value of a key forage fish during the Pacific marine heatwave of 2014–2016

Pacific sand lance Ammodytes personatus are a key forage fish in the North Pacific for many species of salmon, groundfish, seabirds, and marine mammals and have historically been important to predators in relatively warm years. However, extreme declines in the nutritional value of sand lance in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, during...

von Biela, Vanessa R.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Piatt, John F.; Heflin, Brielle; Schoen, Sarah K.; Trowbridge, Jannelle; Clawson, Chelsea

Attribution: Alaska Science Center, Region 11: Alaska

Below are multimedia items associated with this project.

Filter Total Items: 16

Select Type

Year

Select Type

Sort by