Ecosystem Studies

Much of the research funded by NPRB centers on separate facets of the marine ecosystem. However, we must also consider the ecosystem as a whole.

In its annual Requests for Proposals, NPRB has requested and funded short-term and longer-term ecosystem studies that attempt to answer bigger questions about the structure and function of marine ecosystems. Ecosystem research topics are consistent with those outlined in the NPRB Science Plan.

Integrated Ecosystem Research Programs

NPRB also seeks to develop large, multi-year ecosystem research programs for each of its three Large Marine Ecosystems: the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and Arctic. These programs require much planning, fieldwork, and analysis, with interdisciplinary research teams performing well-integrated regional and large-scale investigations.

• Bering Sea IERP: NPRB and the National Science Foundation recently launched a joint five-year, $50 million project to further develop this understanding in the Bering Sea. The Bering Sea Project is running from 2007-2012.
• Gulf of Alaska IERP: A second ecosystem-research program focusing on the Gulf of Alaska was launched in Fall 2008.

Research Highlights

Project 923: Impacts of the eruption of Kasatochi volcano on terrestrial and marine ecosystems

(Jan 2010) The website describing the 2008 eruption of the Kasatochi Volcano and the impacts on the terrestrial and marine ecosystems is a collaboration between USGS, USFWS, and UAF. Research projects include geomorphology and geology, soil development, terrestrial plants and animals, and the marine ecosystem.  Preliminary findings from the 2009 research season, maps of Kasatochi, and a photo gallery are also on the site.

When Alaska’s Kasatochi Volcano (right) erupted in August 2008, it virtually sterilized Kasatochi Island, covering the small Aleutian island with a layer of ash and other volcanic material several meters thick. (Photo courtesy Jerry Morris)

The eruption also provided a rare research opportunity: the chance to see how an ecosystem develops from the first species to colonize the island.

Scientists funded by NPRB, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Project 923) will visit Kasatochi to look for signs of life on the island, almost exactly one year after the catastrophic eruption.

“Since volcanism plays such a big role in shaping the Aleutians, we hope to end up with a better understanding of how disturbances such as volcanic eruptions shape the ecology of these islands,” says Tony DeGange, a USGS scientist at the Alaska Science Center and one of the research team coordinators. See the USGS News Release for more about this project.

Project 615: Marine habitat mapping technology workshop for Alaska

(Jan 2009) The April 2007 Marine Habitat Mapping Technology Workshop for Alaska (co-sponsored by NPRB and UAF; Project 615) addressed habitat mapping technologies for marine regions around Alaska. Workshop papers examine technologies that would be effective for benthic marine habitat mapping in the Alaska region. They are intended for a general scientific audience and emphasize conceptual explanations of the capabilities and limitations of the technologies, as well as techniques for their application to habitat mapping. Workshop papers are available here as 17 separate chapters, a table of contents, and an index.

• Workshop Report
• Workshop Abstracts and Program