Plankton food web pathways to juvenile salmon

Plankton food-webs are the primary support system for juvenile salmon, necessary for their growth, health, and ultimately survival at sea. Understanding how and why plankton food-webs respond to changing ocean conditions is one of the major goals of the Pacific Salmon Foundation, with the view to understanding fluctuations and declining trends of salmon stocks in the Salish Sea. This project will determine the linkages between organisms in the plankton food-web of the Salish Sea, and how these linkages impact the amount and quality of plankton prey available to juvenile salmon, and contribute to tools for predicting the plankton food-web response to changing climate and ocean conditions.

Faculty Supervisor:

Brian Hunt

Student:

David Costalago

Partner:

Pacific Salmon Foundation

Discipline:

Oceanography

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Program: