Comments on: Plankton Fishing in the Bering Sea

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:49:52 +0000

This reminds me of when I went fishing with a few of my colleges. We just got brand new fly tying supplies and that made things a lot easier for us. Thanks for sharing this article. Great insights

By: Beth Stauffer

Beth Stauffer — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:28:43 +0000

Thank you for reading! Yes, comparisons to older datasets are very valuable! I am actually rather new to this project and will have to investigate further what data is already out there once I can access Columbia University’s massive library and scientific journal holdings. In the meantime, yes, the amount and types of phytoplankton that make up the community here are highly likely to have important impacts on the biodiversity of important local fish species. Understanding those relationships are one of the key goals of both our and our NOAA colleagues’ projects.

By: Kayak Angler

Kayak Angler — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:56:09 +0000

As Patrick said it would be very interesting comparing older samples. I would also speculate that this also correlates to the biodiversity of all the native fish species in the area. As a kayak fisherman this is very important to us because we can’t travel the distances normal anglers in a power boat can. Thanks and keep up the great work!

By: Beth Stauffer

Beth Stauffer — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:19:45 +0000

Hi Patrick. Thank you for reading, and this is a great question! It is hard to make meaningful conclusions about past changes or predictions for future change without some baselines. The group from PMEL that we are working with out here have actually been studying the area we are in since the early 1980′s, and there are publications on phytoplankton communities in the Bering Sea from the 1970′s as well. Year to year variability in our own data will help determine the differences in warm v. cold years, while comparisons to those older datasets will also allow for some greater understanding of how the ecosystem as a whole is changing.

By: Beth Stauffer

Beth Stauffer — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:10:17 +0000

Thank you for checking us out, Lois! It is an exciting trip and so far very productive! We have so far lucked out with decent weather and are keeping our fingers crossed for calm seas and lots of plankton in the next week and a half.

By: Lois Hepler

Lois Hepler — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:41:43 +0000

Hi Beth, How exciting! Looks interesting. God’s Blessings on your project.

By: Derrick

Derrick — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:58:20 +0000

Fascinating work Beth, very interesting.

By: "Molly"

"Molly" — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:33:32 +0000

AWESOME!!!

By: helga

helga — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:18:56 +0000

Good luck! We will be reading every word!
Helga

By: Rob Mutch Photography

Rob Mutch Photography — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:29:25 +0000

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.