Marine mammal strandings and environmental changes: a 15-year study in the St. Lawrence ecosystem.

Understanding the effects of climatic variability on marine mammals is challenging due to the complexity of ecological interactions. We used general linear models to analyze a 15-year database documenting marine mammal strandings (1994-2008; n = 1,193) and nine environmental parameters known to affect marine mammal survival, from regional (sea ice) to continental scales (North Atlantic Oscillation, NAO). Stranding events were more frequent during summer and fall than other seasons, and have increased since 1994.

Recurrent jellyfish blooms are a consequence of global oscillations.

A perceived recent increase in global jellyfish abundance has been portrayed as a symptom of degraded oceans. This perception is based primarily on a few case studies and anecdotal evidence, but a formal analysis of global temporal trends in jellyfish populations has been missing. Here, we analyze all available long-term datasets on changes in jellyfish abundance across multiple coastal stations, using linear and logistic mixed models and effect-size analysis to show that there is no robust evidence for a global increase in jellyfish.

Predation on Northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica Sars).

We consider predation as a function of prey concentration with a focus on how this interaction is influenced by biological-physical interactions, and wider oceanographic processes. In particular, we examine how the anti-predation behaviour of Northern krill interacts with ocean-circulation process to influence its vulnerability to predation. We describe how three-dimensional (3D) circulation interacts with in situ light levels to modulate predator-prey interactions from small to large scales, and illustrate how the stability of the predator-prey system is sometimes perturbed as a consequence.

From sea to sea: Canada's three oceans of biodiversity.

Evaluating and understanding biodiversity in marine ecosystems are both necessary and challenging for conservation. This paper compiles and summarizes current knowledge of the diversity of marine taxa in Canada's three oceans while recognizing that this compilation is incomplete and will change in the future. That Canada has the longest coastline in the world and incorporates distinctly different biogeographic provinces and ecoregions (e.