NOAA: Warming Waters May Affect Algae Blooms, Food Web
New research by NOAA Fisheries suggests that the warming of Bering Sea shelf is affecting the timing of algae blooms and the food web dependent upon them.
This is particularly true of the unprecedented and widespread warming in during 2018-2019, according to the study, which was released Dec. 22.
“This study fills gaps by including data from the recent warming period 2018–2019 and more spatial information on how blooms vary across the region,” Jens Nielsen, a biological oceanographer with NOAA’s Ecosystems and Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations Program, said.
“Our work lays the foundation for learning more about the link between phytoplankton bloom types and how that influences zooplankton that are food for commercially important fish and benthic crabs,” Nielsen...