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The Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) conducts extensive fieldwork along some 1,200 miles of the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts, in addition to laboratory experiments at the four universities in the consortium.

One of the greatest challenges for conservation biologists is to unravel the causes of variation in biological communities. All conservation efforts in the nearshore environment, such as the design of marine reserves, are crucially dependent on understanding these dynamics. Determining the causes of community variation is a particularly daunting task for nearshore marine communities because three prominent, interdependent sources of variation are poorly understood: coastal nutrients and productivity (so-called "bottom-up" effects), dispersal, and oceanic climate. The goal of PISCO is to increase understanding of these issues, individually and collectively.

The core of PISCO research is a sampling program that combines studies of variability in ocean climate with simultaneous multi-species experimental studies of larval and adult populations over most of the U.S. West Coast. We focus on tractable ecosystems -- shallow water, hard substratum nearshore communities -- which have proven to be model communities for both experimental and theoretical studies. By coordinating simultaneous studies over a range of spatial scales from the individual organism to the regional coastline, this study will provide the first examination of the causes and consequences of variation in marine populations on spatial scales that are relevant to marine populations and conservation.

PISCO's interdisciplinary research focuses on understanding these three issues:

1. how currents, upwelling, and other physical and ecological processes affect the plants and animals of coastal marine ecosystems
2. how coastal ocean ecosystems respond to shifts in water temperature, currents, and other factors that may vary with global climate change
3. how ocean circulation affects the dispersal of marine organisms in their earliest larval stages.

The following are specific areas of research:

Nearshore oceanography

To understand the patterns of larval transport along the U.S. West Coast, PISCO is conducting studies of nearshore ocean circulation. These studies employ a suite of advanced oceanographic tools, including Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs), coastal radar (CODAR), satellite imagery, MiniBat, surface chlorophyll estimation, and physical sensors mounted on moorings. More info

Larval dispersal

Many marine organisms, including a wide range of fish and invertebrates, begin life as tiny larvae that potentially drift long distances on ocean currents. Currently little is know about where and how far larvae travel. Yet this information is crucial for designing effective conservation programs. PISCO is developing two approaches for gaining this knowledge, using natural environmental markers (microchemistry of trace elements) and population genetics. More info

Population Replenishment (Recruitment)

Because many marine species begin life as larvae that drift on ocean currents, local population dynamics of these species can be strongly influenced by patterns of upwelling and current flow, along with other factors that affect the number of individuals added (or "recruited") into the adult population. PISCO is conducting large-scale monitoring studies to examine temporal and spatial patterns in recruitment and the factors responsible for these patterns. More info

Physiology

Organisms in nature must respond to a wide array of environmental conditions in order to survive. Changes in temperature, salinity, light, and food supply, for example, can alter how successfully a plant or animal obtains energy and reproduces -- and may even cause death. PISCO scientists are investigating how marine species cope with environmental stress at molecular, cellular, and whole organism levels. This information provides insight into how organisms and ecosystems potentially could respond to environmental changes such as global warming. More info

Ecological Interactions

A long-held assumption based on small-scale studies has been that the ecological dynamics of rocky intertidal and subtidal communities are largely independent of oceanic factors such as nutrients, temperature, currents, and abundance of food sources, such as phytoplankton and zooplankton. However, recent studies, including some by PISCO scientists, suggest that this assumption is incorrect and that ecological interactions in coastal marine habitats are strongly influenced by oceanic processes. To fully evaluate the relative importance of oceanic factors versus local ecological interactions, such as predation, on coastal communities, PISCO is conducting intensive multi-site and multi-factor experiments. More info

Biological Diversity (Community Structure)

Rocky intertidal habitats and shallow subtidal reefs support diverse communities of algae, invertebrates, and fish. PISCO has begun a large-scale, long-term study of the patterns of species diversity in these habitats and the physical and ecological processes responsible for structuring these communities. More info