The overall goal of this project relates to providing an exceptional level of ecological detail by: 1) tracing the seasonal inputs of specific fatty acid biomarkers deriving from sea ice alga and open ocean phytoplankton through the marine food web using sophisticated fatty acid profiling and novel compound-specific stable isotope analyses (CSIA); 2) tracing the seasonal (spring and summer) changes in the proportions of these biomarkers in sympagic, pelagic and benthic arctic marine invertebrates; 3) investigating the presence of these seasonally derived biomarkers in ice seals, which are an important subsistence resource to Alaskan Native communities in the region. Our detailed and seasonal perspective will contribute to ongoing food web studies in the Bering Sea (e.g., the Bering Ecosystem Study and Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program - BEST/BSIERP, funded by the NSF and North Pacific Research Board).
Project Location
Papers Submitted
Budge, S., S. Wang, T. Hollman and M. Wooller, "Carbon isotopic fractionation in eider adipose tissue varies with fatty acid structure: Implications for trophic studies", Journal of Experimental Biology (2011) (accepted).
Carroll, S.S., L. Horstmann-Dehn, and B. Norcross, "Interannual Variations in the Diet of Ice Seals Assessed by Isotopic Mixing Models", Marine Ecology Progress Series (2011) (submitted).
Dates
-Members
Principal Investigator
Co-Principal Investigator
Co-Principal Investigator
Co-Principal Investigator
Co-Principal Investigator
