Frontiers in Marine Science (Aug 2021)
State of the California Current 2019–2020: Back to the Future With Marine Heatwaves?
- Edward D. Weber,
- Toby D. Auth,
- Simone Baumann-Pickering,
- Timothy R. Baumgartner,
- Eric P. Bjorkstedt,
- Eric P. Bjorkstedt,
- Steven J. Bograd,
- Brian J. Burke,
- José L. Cadena-Ramírez,
- Elizabeth A. Daly,
- Martin de la Cruz,
- Heidi Dewar,
- John C. Field,
- Jennifer L. Fisher,
- Ashlyn Giddings,
- Ralf Goericke,
- Eliana Gomez-Ocampo,
- Jose Gomez-Valdes,
- Elliott L. Hazen,
- John Hildebrand,
- Cheryl A. Horton,
- Kym C. Jacobson,
- Michael G. Jacox,
- Michael G. Jacox,
- Jaime Jahncke,
- Mati Kahru,
- Raphe M. Kudela,
- Bertha E. Lavaniegos,
- Andrew Leising,
- Sharon R. Melin,
- Luis Erasmo Miranda-Bojorquez,
- Cheryl A. Morgan,
- Catherine F. Nickels,
- Rachael A. Orben,
- Jessica M. Porquez,
- Elan J. Portner,
- Roxanne R. Robertson,
- Roxanne R. Robertson,
- Daniel L. Rudnick,
- Keith M. Sakuma,
- Jarrod A. Santora,
- Isaac D. Schroeder,
- Owyn E. Snodgrass,
- William J. Sydeman,
- Andrew R. Thompson,
- Sarah Ann Thompson,
- Jennifer S. Trickey,
- Josue Villegas-Mendoza,
- Pete Warzybok,
- William Watson,
- Samantha M. Zeman
Affiliations
- Edward D. Weber
- Fisheries Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Toby D. Auth
- Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR, United States
- Simone Baumann-Pickering
- Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Timothy R. Baumgartner
- Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico
- Eric P. Bjorkstedt
- Fisheries Ecology Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Arcata, CA, United States
- Eric P. Bjorkstedt
- Department of Fisheries Biology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, United States
- Steven J. Bograd
- Environmental Research Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA, United States
- Brian J. Burke
- Fish Ecology Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA, United States
- José L. Cadena-Ramírez
- Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico
- Elizabeth A. Daly
- Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, United States
- Martin de la Cruz
- Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico
- Heidi Dewar
- Fisheries Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA, United States
- John C. Field
- 0Fisheries Ecology Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
- Jennifer L. Fisher
- Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, United States
- Ashlyn Giddings
- Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Ralf Goericke
- 1Integrative Oceanography Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Eliana Gomez-Ocampo
- 2Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Mexico
- Jose Gomez-Valdes
- Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico
- Elliott L. Hazen
- Environmental Research Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA, United States
- John Hildebrand
- Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Cheryl A. Horton
- 3Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, United States
- Kym C. Jacobson
- 4Fish Ecology Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR, United States
- Michael G. Jacox
- Environmental Research Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA, United States
- Michael G. Jacox
- 5Physical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO, United States
- Jaime Jahncke
- 6Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, United States
- Mati Kahru
- 1Integrative Oceanography Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Raphe M. Kudela
- 7Department of Ocean Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
- Bertha E. Lavaniegos
- Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico
- Andrew Leising
- Environmental Research Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA, United States
- Sharon R. Melin
- 8Marine Mammal Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA, United States
- Luis Erasmo Miranda-Bojorquez
- Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico
- Cheryl A. Morgan
- Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, United States
- Catherine F. Nickels
- Fisheries Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Rachael A. Orben
- 3Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, United States
- Jessica M. Porquez
- 3Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, United States
- Elan J. Portner
- Fisheries Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Roxanne R. Robertson
- Department of Fisheries Biology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, United States
- Roxanne R. Robertson
- 9Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystems and Climate, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, United States
- Daniel L. Rudnick
- 0Climate, Atmospheric Science and Physical Oceanography Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Keith M. Sakuma
- 0Fisheries Ecology Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
- Jarrod A. Santora
- Environmental Research Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA, United States
- Isaac D. Schroeder
- Environmental Research Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA, United States
- Owyn E. Snodgrass
- Fisheries Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA, United States
- William J. Sydeman
- 1Farallon Institute Inc., Petaluma, CA, United States
- Andrew R. Thompson
- Fisheries Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Sarah Ann Thompson
- 1Farallon Institute Inc., Petaluma, CA, United States
- Jennifer S. Trickey
- Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Josue Villegas-Mendoza
- 2Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Mexico
- Pete Warzybok
- 6Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, United States
- William Watson
- Fisheries Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Samantha M. Zeman
- Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, United States
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.709454
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 8
Abstract
The California Current System (CCS) has experienced large fluctuations in environmental conditions in recent years that have dramatically affected the biological community. Here we synthesize remotely sensed, hydrographic, and biological survey data from throughout the CCS in 2019–2020 to evaluate how recent changes in environmental conditions have affected community dynamics at multiple trophic levels. A marine heatwave formed in the north Pacific in 2019 and reached the second greatest area ever recorded by the end of summer 2020. However, high atmospheric pressure in early 2020 drove relatively strong Ekman-driven coastal upwelling in the northern portion of the CCS and warm temperature anomalies remained far offshore. Upwelling and cooler temperatures in the northern CCS created relatively productive conditions in which the biomass of lipid-rich copepod species increased, adult krill size increased, and several seabird species experienced positive reproductive success. Despite these conditions, the composition of the fish community in the northern CCS remained a mixture of both warm- and cool-water-associated species. In the southern CCS, ocean temperatures remained above average for the seventh consecutive year. Abundances of juvenile fish species associated with productive conditions were relatively low, and the ichthyoplankton community was dominated by a mixture of oceanic warm-water and cosmopolitan species. Seabird species associated with warm water also occurred at greater densities than cool-water species in the southern CCS. The population of northern anchovy, which has been resurgent since 2017, continued to provide an important forage base for piscivorous fishes, offshore colonies of seabirds, and marine mammals throughout the CCS. Coastal upwelling in the north, and a longer-term trend in warming in the south, appeared to be controlling the community to a much greater extent than the marine heatwave itself.
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