State of the California Current 2019-2020: Back to the Future With Marine Heatwaves?
Authors:Weber, Edward D. Auth, Toby D. Baumann-Pickering, Simone Baumgartner, Timothy R. Bjorkstedt, Eric P. Bograd, Steven J. Burke, Brian J. Cadena-Ramirez, Jose L. Daly, Elizabeth A. de la Cruz, Martin Dewar, Heidi Field, John C. Fisher, Jennifer L. Giddings, Ashlyn Goericke, Ralf Gomez-Ocampo, Eliana Gomez-Valdes, Jose Hazen, Elliot L. Hildebrand, John Horton, Cheryl A. Jacobson, Kym C. Jacox, Michael G. Jahncke, Jaime Kahru, Mati Kudela, Raphe M. Lavaniegos, Bertha E. Leising, Andrew Melin, Sharon R. Erasmo Miranda-Bojorquez, Luis Morgan, Cheryl A. Nickels, Catherine F. Orben, Rachael A. Porquez, Jessica M. Portner, Elan J. Robertson, Roxanne R. Rudnick, Daniel L. Sakuma, Keith M. Santora, Jarrod A. Schroeder, Isaac D. Snodgrass, Owyn E. Sydeman, William J. Thompson, Andrew R. Thompson, Sarah Ann Trickey, Jennifer S. Villegas-Mendoza, Josue Warzybok, Pete Watson, William Zeman, Samantha M.
Volume:8
Published:2021
Document Type:Article
Abstract:The California Current System (CCS) has experienced large fluctuations in environmental conditions in recent years that have dramatically affected the biological community. Here we synthesize remotely sensed, hydrographic, and biological survey data from throughout the CCS in 2019-2020 to evaluate how recent changes in environmental conditions have affected community dynamics at multiple trophic levels. A marine heatwave formed in the north Pacific in 2019 and reached the second greatest area ever recorded by the end of summer 2020. However, high atmospheric pressure in early 2020 drove relatively strong Ekman-driven coastal upwelling in the northern portion of the CCS and warm temperature anomalies remained far offshore. Upwelling and cooler temperatures in the northern CCS created relatively productive conditions in which the biomass of lipid-rich copepod species increased, adult krill size increased, and several seabird species experienced positive reproductive success. Despite these conditions, the composition of the fish community in the northern CCS remained a mixture of both warm- and cool-water-associated species. In the southern CCS, ocean temperatures remained above average for the seventh consecutive year. Abundances of juvenile fish species associated with productive conditions were relatively low, and the ichthyoplankton community was dominated by a mixture of oceanic warm-water and cosmopolitan species. Seabird species associated with warm water also occurred at greater densities than cool-water species in the southern CCS. The population of northern anchovy, which has been resurgent since 2017, continued to provide an important forage base for piscivorous fishes, offshore colonies of seabirds, and marine mammals throughout the CCS. Coastal upwelling in the north, and a longer-term trend in warming in the south, appeared to be controlling the community to a much greater extent than the marine heatwave itself.
Author Information
Corresponding Author:Weber, ED (通讯作者)，Natl Marine Fisheries Serv, Fisheries Resources Div, Southwest Fisheries Sci Ctr, La Jolla, CA 92038 USA.
Reprint Address:Weber, ED (通讯作者)，Natl Marine Fisheries Serv, Fisheries Resources Div, Southwest Fisheries Sci Ctr, La Jolla, CA 92038 USA.
Addresses:[Weber, Edward D.; Dewar, Heidi; Nickels, Catherine F.; Portner, Elan J.; Snodgrass, Owyn E.; Thompson, Andrew R.; Watson, William] Natl Marine Fisheries Serv, Fisheries Resources Div, Southwest Fisheries Sci Ctr, La Jolla, CA 92038 USA; [Auth, Toby D.] Hatfield Marine Sci Ctr, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commiss, Newport, OR USA; [Baumann-Pickering, Simone; Giddings, Ashlyn; Hildebrand, John; Trickey, Jennifer S.] Univ Calif San Diego, Scripps Inst Oceanog, Marine Phys Lab, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA; [Baumgartner, Timothy R.; Cadena-Ramirez, Jose L.; de la Cruz, Martin; Gomez-Valdes, Jose; Lavaniegos, Bertha E.; Erasmo Miranda-Bojorquez, Luis] Ctr Invest Cient & Educ Super Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico; [Bjorkstedt, Eric P.] Natl Marine Fisheries Serv, Fisheries Ecol Div, Southwest Fisheries Sci Ctr, Arcata, CA USA; [Bjorkstedt, Eric P.; Robertson, Roxanne R.] Humboldt State Univ, Dept Fisheries Biol, Arcata, CA 95521 USA; [Bograd, Steven J.; Hazen, Elliot L.; Jacox, Michael G.; Leising, Andrew; Santora, Jarrod A.; Schroeder, Isaac D.] Natl Marine Fisheries Serv, Environm Res Div, Southwest Fisheries Sci Ctr, Monterey, CA USA; [Burke, Brian J.] Natl Marine Fisheries Serv, Fish Ecol Div, Northwest Fisheries Sci Ctr, Seattle, WA USA; [Daly, Elizabeth A.; Fisher, Jennifer L.; Morgan, Cheryl A.; Zeman, Samantha M.] Oregon State Univ, Cooperat Inst Marine Resources Studies, Hatfield Marine Sci Ctr, Newport, OR USA; [Field, John C.; Sakuma, Keith M.] Natl Marine Fisheries Serv, Fisheries Ecol Div, Southwest Fisheries Sci Ctr, Santa Cruz, CA USA; [Goericke, Ralf; Kahru, Mati] Univ Calif San Diego, Integrat Oceanog Div, Scripps Inst Oceanog, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA; [Gomez-Ocampo, Eliana; Villegas-Mendoza, Josue] Univ Autonoma Baja California, Fac Ciencias Marinas, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico; [Horton, Cheryl A.; Orben, Rachael A.; Porquez, Jessica M.] Oregon State Univ, Hatfield Marine Sci Ctr, Dept Fisheries Wildlife & Conservat Sci, Newport, OR USA; [Jacobson, Kym C.] Natl Marine Fisheries Serv, Fish Ecol Div, Northwest Fisheries Sci Ctr, Hatfield Marine Sci Ctr, Newport, OR USA; [Jacox, Michael G.] NOAA, Phys Sci Lab, Boulder, CO USA; [Jahncke, Jaime; Warzybok, Pete] Point Blue Conservat Sci, Petaluma, CA USA; [Kudela, Raphe M.] Univ Calif Santa Cruz, Dept Ocean Sci, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 USA; [Melin, Sharon R.] Natl Marine Fisheries Serv, Marine Mammal Lab, Alaska Fisheries Sci Ctr, Seattle, WA USA; [Robertson, Roxanne R.] Humboldt State Univ, Cooperat Inst Marine Ecosyst & Climate, Arcata, CA 95521 USA; [Rudnick, Daniel L.] Univ Calif San Diego, Scripps Inst Oceanog, Climate Atmospher Sci & Phys Oceanog Div, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA; [Sydeman, William J.; Thompson, Sarah Ann] Farallon Inst Inc, Petaluma, CA USA; [Horton, Cheryl A.] US Geol Survey, Santa Cruz Field Stn, Western Ecol Res Ctr, Santa Cruz, CA USA
E-mail Addresses:ed.weber@noaa.gov