Zooplankton Ecology Lab

Diel Variability in Respiration Rates of Juvenile Antarctic Krill

This study was conducted by Julia Fontana as part of her senior thesis. This work was part of a larger project, funded by the National Science Foundation (Grant # 1753101). Julia spent 6 months at Palmer Station during the winter, assisting with "The Omnivore's Dilemma" project.

Interannual variability of juvenile Antarctic krill along the Western Antarctic Peninsula

This study was conducted by Radhika Shah as part of her Honors Thesis. This work makes use of historical samples and data collected by the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Project between the years 1994 and 2003.

Diet and Caloric Content of Early-Juvenile Pacific Hake

This study was conducted by Charlie Donahue as part of his REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) project. This work was conducted in collaboration with the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center at Newport, OR. Charlie was supported through the REU Summer Program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF Proposal # OCE-1758000). The research was funded by Oregon Sea Grant (Grant # NA14OAR4170064).

Summer Feeding Rates of Pyrosomes off the Oregon Coast

This study is being conducted by Jess O’Loughlin as part of her REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) project. This work is conducted in collaboration with the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center at Newport, OR. The research is funded by the National Science Foundation through a RAPID grant to PI Bernard (NSF Proposal # 1838492).

Caloric Content of Salmon Prey: Warm vs Cold Year Comparison

Charlie Donahue (URSA Engage Fellow 2017) measured the caloric content of various juvenile Chinook salmon prey items collected by NOAA during years when the ocean temperatures were either warmer or colder than usual to determine the variability in prey quality. This study was in collaboration with researchers from NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center (Dr. Ric Brodeur and Elizabeth Daly). Charlie’s work was funded in part through a fellowship to Charlie from the Oregon State University Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and the Arts (URSA) Engage Program and we are grateful to NOAA for providing samples for our analysis.

Impact of Diet on Antarctic Krill Body Condition

Taylor McAllister (URSA Engage Fellow 2017) conducted a study looking at the body condition of Antarctic krill between two years with different environmental conditions in which krill occupied different trophic positions. Her study will contribute to our understanding of the impacts of change on the pelagic ecosystem of the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Taylor used a selection of krill samples from our Frozen In Time Archive. This work was funded in part through a fellowship to Taylor from the Oregon State University Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and the Arts (URSA) Engage Program and we are grateful to Drs. Robin Ross and Langdon Quetin for providing samples for our analysis.

Adriana Amrhein conducted a research project looking at the diet and prey quality of early-juvenile Pacific hake collected off the Oregon coast. Adriana's research contributed to our study on the trophic role of early-juvenile Pacific hake in the Northern California Current. This work was funded in part through a fellowship to Adriana from the Oregon State University Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and the Arts (URSA) Engage Program and Oregon Sea Grant.

In the summer of 2016, Monisha Sugla (Rutgers University) conducted stable isotope analysis (of carbon and nitrogen) on a selection of krill samples from our Frozen In Time Archive. This project was part of the CEOAS Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, funded by the National Science Foundation and aimed to collect preliminary data from our Frozen In Time samples to assess the viability of conducting a larger study using krill samples from all of the years in the archive.

The Impact of Winter Storms on Coastal Zooplankton

Winter storms along the Oregon coastline result in episodic increased freshwater delivery to the coastal ocean.  This study, conducted by Radhika Shah as part of her undergrdaduate research experience, will explore the role of terrestrial and aquatic sources of carbon in the diets of key coastal zooplankton species.  This work is funded in part through a fellowship to Radhika from the Oregon State University Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and the Arts (URSA) Engage Program and a donation from the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation.

This study was conducted by Lacey Gunther as part of her undergraduate research experience.  Lacey participated in a NOAA Antarctic Marine Living Resources (AMLR) research cruise, led by Dr. Christian Reiss, to the northern Antarctic Peninsula region in August 2015.  She collected samples of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, to analyze for gut pigment contents.  Lacey's study will provide important information on the winter diet of Antarctic krill, something we currently know very little about. This work was conducted in collaboration with the NOAA AMLR Program and is funded in part through a fellowship to Lacey from the Oregon State University Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and the Arts (URSA) Engage Program and a donation from the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation.