December 9, 2010
In collaboration with colleagues at NWFSC-Newport and University of California, Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, we are implementing identical sampling protocols (vertical ring net tows) to assess spatial and temporal variability in the biomass and community structure of the copepod assemblage across ten degrees of latitude in the northern California Current. The copepod community off Newport, Oregon has been shown to be a useful indicator of ecosystem state and salmon productivity for Oregon coastal stocks. Our ongoing collaboration has a long term goal of establishing comparable, local indices for salmon stocks in the Klamath and Eel rivers (Trinidad Head Line), and for the Central Valley and Russian River stocks to the south (Bodega Line). In the near term, we are focused on determining whether and to what degree observations along the Newport Hydrographic Line can be used to understand salmon dynamics throughout the northern California Current System.
Contact: SWFSC Fisheries Ecology Division, HSU Cooperative Fisheries Oceanography Research Team