Impact of increased fishing on long-term sequestration of carbon by cephalopods.

Fish and other metazoans play a major role in long-term sequestration of carbon in the oceans through the biological carbon pump. Recent studies estimate that fish can release about 1,200 to 1,500 million metric tons of carbon per year (MtC year) in the oceans through feces production, respiration, and deadfalls, with mesopelagic fish playing a major role. This carbon remains sequestered (stored) in the ocean for a period that largely depends on the depth at which it is released.

Seasonal variability of phytoplankton community response to thermal discharge from nuclear power plant in temperate coastal area.

Nuclear power plants (NPPs) developed rapidly worldwide in the last half-century and have become one of the most important electric power sources. Thermal discharge from NPPs increases the temperature of receiving waters, directly and indirectly affecting phytoplankton community. Seasonal and interannual variation in environmental factors in temperate areas makes it challenging to determine the effects of thermal effluents from NPPs on coastal phytoplankton.

Long-term aggregation of larval fish siblings during dispersal along an open coast.

Pelagic dispersal of most benthic marine organisms is a fundamental driver of population distribution and persistence and is thought to lead to highly mixed populations. However, the mechanisms driving dispersal pathways of larvae along open coastlines are largely unknown. To examine the degree to which early stages can remain spatially coherent during dispersal, we measured genetic relatedness within a large pulse of newly recruited splitnose rockfish (Sebastes diploproa), a live-bearing fish whose offspring settle along the US Pacific Northwest coast after spending up to a year in the pelagic environment.