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News Release 17-011

Scientists present El Niño, other long-term ecological research results at annual aquatic sciences meeting

Topics include effects of the 2015-16 El Niño, carbon burial in aquatic ecosystems, pharmaceuticals in streams

At NSF's Santa Barbara Coastal LTER site, a scuba diver records data on giant kelp growth.

At NSF's Santa Barbara Coastal LTER site, a scuba diver records data on giant kelp growth.


February 3, 2017

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

The ecological effects of the strong 2015-2016 El Niño. Carbon burial in aquatic ecosystems. The presence of pharmaceuticals in streams.

These are just a few of the topics scientists affiliated with the National Science Foundation (NSF) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network will discuss at the upcoming Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) annual meeting, Feb. 27 to March 3.

Researchers funded by NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences, Division of Environmental Biology and Office of Polar Programs conduct research at 25 NSF LTER sites around the world, including in aquatic ecosystems such as coral reefs, seagrass beds and salt marshes. LTER scientists study the factors driving environmental change, and map the potential ecosystem responses that could result.

Their presentations at ASLO will address social and ecological changes; ecosystem vulnerability, resilience and adaptability; and why long-term data are essential to understanding and predicting future responses to natural and human-caused environmental changes.

A special session will bring researchers together to report on the effects of the El Niño of 2015-2016, among the strongest environmental events on record in the Pacific Ocean. El Niño affected species from tropical coral reefs to northern plankton communities. The results offer insights into the future responses of marine ecosystems to such events.

Links to these and other NSF LTER presentations at ASLO are listed below. The meeting will be held in Honolulu.

For more on NSF LTER research results, please see NSF LTER Discovery Article Series.

Monday, Feb. 27

Abiotic Alteration of a Common Biochemical Confers Some of the Structural Complexity Observed in Refractory Dissolved Organic Matter

Trait-Based Approach to Food-Web Interactions Across Environmental Gradients

Effects of Algal Biofilm Patchiness on Boundary Layer Hydrodynamics

Tuesday, Feb. 28

Characterizing Temporal and Spatial Ecosystem Variability with Objectively Defined Biomes in a Twenty-Plus Year Time Series from the West Antarctic Peninsula

Shifting Long-Term Biogeochemical Baselines: Enhanced Marine Connectivity Increases Nutrient Availability in Coastal Wetland Ecosystems

Diel Changes in Mesozooplankton Vertical Microstructure and Implications for Predation and Carbon Cycling: Views from a Zooglider

Wednesday, March 1

Challenges of Connectivity Within Urban Landscapes: Examples from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study

Leveraging Contextual Data to Improve Machine-Learning Classifications of Marine Zooplankton

Trophic Ecology Variability and Relationship to Recruitment of Larval Northern Anchovy over the Past 50 Years

Thursday, March 2

Drugs in Bugs: PPCPS (Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products) Detected in Stream Food Webs Across an Urban Rural Gradient

Coral Reef Oases in Space and Time

Comparing Modern Carbon Burial in Aquatic Ecosystems

Friday, March 3

Ecological Impacts of El Niño 2015-16

Impact of Nutrient Enrichment on Coral Bleaching, Mortality and Recovery During the 2015-16 El Niño

Response of the California Current Pelagic Ecosystem to El Niño 2015-2016

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF, (703) 292-7734, email: cdybas@nsf.gov
Peter West, NSF (Polar Regions LTER Sites), (703) 292-7530, email: pwest@nsf.gov
Marty Downs, LTER Network, (805) 893-7549, email: downs@nceas.ucsb.edu

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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