Vertical distributions of dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) in the Eastern Pacific Ocean suggest variability in potential associations with floating objects.

Floating objects play a pivotal role in pelagic ecosystems by serving as shelters, meeting points, cleaning stations, nurseries, and feeding grounds. The abundance of these objects is increasing globally in the form of flotsam, plastics, discarded or lost fishing gear, and fish aggregating devices (FADs) deployed by commercial fisheries. However, it is difficult to measure how often and in what ways fish interact with floating objects in pelagic environments.

Abundance and Biogeography of Picoprasinophyte Ecotypes and Other Phytoplankton in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean.

Eukaryotic algae within the picoplankton size class (≤2 μm in diameter) are important marine primary producers, but their spatial and ecological distributions are not well characterized. Here, we studied three picoeukaryotic prasinophyte genera and their cyanobacterial counterparts, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, during two cruises along a North Pacific transect characterized by different ecological regimes. Picoeukaryotes and Synechococcus reached maximum abundances of 1.

Using stable isotope analysis to understand the migration and trophic ecology of northeastern Pacific white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias).

The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is a wide-ranging apex predator in the northeastern Pacific (NEP). Electronic tagging has demonstrated that white sharks exhibit a regular migratory pattern, occurring at coastal sites during the late summer, autumn and early winter and moving offshore to oceanic habitats during the remainder of the year, although the purpose of these migrations remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to use stable isotope analysis (SIA) to provide insight into the trophic ecology and migratory behaviors of white sharks in the NEP.