Urban Oceans
In 2023 the Pelagic Ecosystems Lab will be starting a new research direction to understand urban impacts on the nearshore pelagic ocean. Our work will initially focus on Metro Vancouver as a study area, with three main objectives:
- Signatures of urban inputs to the nearshore ocean
- The impact of urban inputs on pelagic food web structure and function
- Urban impacts on nearshore pelagic ocean biodiversity
Updates soon…
Microplastics
In January 2019 the Pelagic Ecosystem Lab launched a new project to determine the baseline concentrations of microplastics in Baynes Sound, Strait of Georgia, and the uptake up microplastics by zooplankton and herring. Bayne’s Sound is the most important spawning and rearing habitat for herring in British Columbia. This project was a collaboration with the Association for Denman Island Marine Stewards and the K’omoks Nation. We are conducting ongoing research into NE Pacific high seas plastic distributions, and are developing new projects focused on methods of detection and tracing micro and nanoplastic particles in marine ecosystems.
Below – sampling microplastics in Baynes Sound.