What We’re Studying

Bering Sea fisheries account for nearly half of U.S. catches. The BEST-BSIERP Bering Sea Project examines the fish, seabirds, marine mammals, and people sustained by the Bering Sea.

Three major research themes

Control of Production in a Changing Environment

Production research examines the timing and duration of seasonal production and what ecosystem components benefit; for example, benthic components versus pelagic. Sea ice covers much of the eastern Bering Sea shelf each winter; the extent of sea ice and the timing of its retreat dominate production effects.

The Oscillating Control Hypothesis has suggested how multiyear runs of cold or warm years may switch control of the Bering Sea pelagic ecosystem between “top down” and “bottom up” as production is aligned (or not) with their major euphausiid and zooplankton consumers.

Competition Among Consumers

Competition research examines how major beneficiaries of production compete and how this race influences the short-term (3-5 years) and medium-term (10-30 years) winners.

For example, the study tests the predictions that short-term winners (planktivorous fish including juvenile walleye pollock) will eventually be outcompeted by medium-term winners (humpback and fin whales).

Location Matters

Location research examines how climate-driven changes in the spatial distribution of production may affect place-based foragers. For example, murres, kittiwakes, and northern fur seals are central-place foragers that bear and nurture their young on the Pribilof Islands. If their prey is displaced northward due to ocean warming, their reproductive success is expected to falter. Baleen whales depend on concentrated prey that may shift northward with climatic shifts, causing the whales to expend more energy.

Source: Understanding Ecosystem Processes in the Bering Sea: First Year Field Highlights from the BEST-BSIERP Partnership, by Bering Sea Project investigators Mike Sigler and Rodger Harvey (2009). Read the Sigler-Harvey field summary for 2008

Focal Areas of the Bering Sea Project

Work supported by NSF

• Climate, oceanography, and lower trophic levels | benthos, primary production near sea ice, nutrients, modeling, micro- and meso-zooplankton, euphausiids, biophysical moorings, and physical oceanography
• Social science research | relationships between a changing marine environment and Bering Sea communities

See Statements of Work and Work Plans

Work supported by NPRB

• Climate, oceanography, and lower trophic levels | benthos, micro-zooplankton, biophysical moorings, and physical oceanography
• Forage species | euphausiids, myctophids and capelin
• Fish | arrowtooth flounder, Pacific cod, and walleye pollock
• Marine mammals | fur seals, walrus and broad-scale whale distribution
• Seabirds | thick-billed murres, black-legged kittiwakes, and broad-scale seabird distribution
• Local and Traditional Knowledge (LTK) | Subsistence harvest and LTK ecosystem perspectives
• Education, outreach, and communication
  

See Statements of Work and Work Plans

Work supported by NSF and NPRB

• Ecosystem modeling
• Data management

See Statements of Work and Work Plans

• Bering Sea Home
• Meetings + Events
• Cruise Planning
• Calendar
• Overview
• What We're Studying
• Hypotheses
• Statements of Work
• Focal Areas
• Humans
• Predator-Prey Dynamics
• Marine Mammals
• Seabirds
• Fishes
• Trophic Interactions
• Benthos
• Plankton
• Moorings
• Atmosphere + Ocean
• Ecosystem Modeling
• Data Management

Acronyms Revealed!
Hover your mouse pointer over acronyms to learn what they stand for.

The BEST-BSIERP Bering Sea Project is a six-year study of the Bering Sea ecosystem,
from the benthos and the atmosphere to human communities, and everything in between.
NORTH PACIFIC RESEARCH BOARD   NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

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