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  • PWS Herring Survey: Physical Oceanographic Characteristics of Nursery Habitats of Juvenile Pacific Herring, submitted under the BAA AB133F-09-RP-0059 10100132-E

Project Information

Title: PWS Herring Survey: Physical Oceanographic Characteristics of Nursery Habitats of Juvenile Pacific Herring, submitted under the BAA AB133F-09-RP-0059 10100132-E

Project Year and Number: 2010: 10100132-E

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2010: 10100132-A, 2010: 10100132, 2010: 10100132-B, 2010: 10100132-C, 2010: 10100132-D, 2010: 10100132-F, 2010: 10100132-G, 2010: 10100132-H, 2010: 10100132-I

Principal Investigator (PI): Shelton Gay (Prince William Sound Science Center)

Managing Agency: NOAA

Assisting Personnel: None

Research Location: Prince Willam Sound, Alaska

Restoration Category: Research

Injured Resources Addressed: Pacific Herring

Abstract: The objectives of this research are to build upon a physical oceanographic data base started during the SEA project and continued under a recent EVOS funded project: Physical Oceanographic Factors Affecting Productivity in Juvenile Pacific Herring Nursery Habitats. The rationale of this project is based upon past research of juvenile Pacific herring in PWS, which has shown that recruitment is highly influenced by conditions within nursery sites affecting survival within the first year. Important among these conditions is the pre-winter condition of juvenile (age-0) herring and the effects of water temperatures on metabolism and hence over-winter survival. Past studies of the physical oceanography of nursery fjords has indicated that each site has a unique set of hydrographic conditions that are influenced by both local processes and water exchange between the GOA and PWS. These factors vary significantly depending on geographic location, basin morphometry, watershed topography and proximity to tidewater glacial fjords. The proposed study will continue monitoring the physical properties within the four SEA nursery fjords and additional sites as determined by future herring surveys, and collect time-series data on temperature, salinity and fluorescence to determine the variation among nurseries in factors such as ocean climate, stratification, mixing, phytoplankton biomass, and energy constraints imposed on juvenile herring by seasonal changes in water temperatures. The data will also assist in evaluating potential sites for future supplementation efforts in restoring the herring population.


Proposal: View (1,418 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report FY10: View (1,150 KB)
Annual Report FY11: View (2,107 KB)
Annual Report FY12: View (17 KB)
Final Report: Not available. For current status, please contact us.

Publications from this Project: None Available