Northern Marine Research Articles

Enhanced crude oil degradation observed in sea ice following bioaugmentation with arctic bacteria.

Petroleum-derived contamination is a growing hazard for the Arctic Ocean and northern marine transportation corridors. In northern settings where the accessibility to oil spills can be limited, natural attenuation is the most promising remediation process. The goal of the presented research is to evaluate the impact of biodegradation on crude oil inside sea ice. To this end, a bioremediation experiment was conducted at the Sea-ice Environmental Research Facility, University of Manitoba. The experiment utilized two mesocosm tanks (Augmented and Native) filled with nutrient-enriched artificial seawater (i.e., biostimulation). The water in the Augmented tank also contained oil-acclimated bacteria enriched from Arctic surface seawater from Cambridge Bay, Canada (i.e., bioaugmentation). The Native tank was not inoculated, but both tanks contained a bacterial community originating with the artificial seawater preparation. Crude oil was added under the naturally formed ice cover within each tank, creating areas that contained different oil concentrations. The Augmented tank contained 22 distinct bacterial genera compared to the Native tank, presumably due to the inoculation. The abundance of distinct bacterial genera was maximal in the water column and in low-contaminated ice core samples (<0.21g oil/L). In these ice cores, bioaugmentation affected the concentration of low-molecular-weight aliphatic compounds (<C18) and naphthalenes (<C5). We also observed a 1% loss per day of n-nonadecane, n-docosane, methylphenanthrene, and tetramethylnaphthalene in the Augmented tank, which we attribute to bioaugmentation by the Arctic bacterial enrichment. In contrast, losses of these same compounds plateaued after day 15 in the Native tank.

Greening the marine map: a comprehensive study of China’s marine ecological and economic synergy

IntroductionThis research examines the coupling coordinated development dynamics between marine ecological governance and marine economic development in China’s coastal provinces. The marine ecological governance and economic development data of China’s 11 coastal provinces were comprehensively analyzed from 2011 to 2021.MethodsWe established a multi-dimensional evaluation index system for marine ecological governance and economic development, employing the global entropy weight method for quantification. Furthermore, the research examines and analyzes the trends in coordinated development and divergence between these two systems by constructing a coupled coordination degree(CCD) model, utilizing the Theil index decomposition method, and employing the geodetector detector.ResultsThe Northern marine economic circle outperforms the Eastern and Southern ones regarding marine ecological governance, while the Eastern marine economic circle is the most advanced in marine economic development. The results of the CCD model indicate that Guangdong, Shandong, Hebei, and Jiangsu have the best coupling coordinated development, while Hainan, Tianjin, and Guangxi are at the bottom. The results of the Theil index decomposition method indicate that intra-regional disparities are the primary cause of coupling coordinated regional development variations. At the same time, the results of the geographic detector further substantiate that energy structure, degree of industrial agglomeration, and foreign overseas direct investment are the principal influencing factors.DiscussionThe study presents policy recommendations derived from the findings intended to foster the integrated advancement of marine ecology and economy in coastal provinces, reduce regional development disparities, and establish a scientific foundation for achieving a sustainable marine economy.

Bidirectional evaluation and differentiation analysis of marine economic resilience in China

With the continuous improvement of the marine economy, the role of marine economic resilience is becoming ever more prominent. This study evaluates China’s marine economic resilience based on a bidirectional evaluation index system, and analyzes spatiotemporal characteristics and regional differences. The results show that: (1) marine economic resilience is increasing in the system object dimension and the resilience attribute dimension in China. Strengthening the protection of marine resources and the environment is important for improving marine economic resilience; (2) the development of marine economic resilience among 11 coastal provinces is unbalanced, forming a three-polar pattern with Shandong as the core in the north, Shanghai as the core in the east, and Guangdong as the core in the south; (3) the difference between the northern marine economic circle and the southern marine economic circle is the main reason for the overall difference.

Nontarget and suspect screening reveals the presence of multiple plastic-related compounds in polar bear, killer whale, narwhal and long-finned pilot whale blubber from East Greenland

The monitoring of legacy contaminants in sentinel northern marine mammals has revealed some of the highest concentrations globally. However, investigations into the presence of chemicals of emerging Arctic concern (CEACs) and other lesser-known chemicals are rarely conducted, if at all. Here, we used a nontarget/suspect approach to screen for thousands of different chemicals, including many CEACs and plastic-related compounds (PRCs) in blubber/adipose from killer whales (Orcinus orca), narwhals (Monodon monoceros), long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas), and polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in East Greenland. 138 compounds were tentatively identified mostly as PRCs, and four were confirmed using authentic standards: di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di(2-propylheptyl) phthalate (DPHP), and one antioxidant (Irganox 1010). Three other PRCs, a nonylphenol isomer, 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol, and dioctyl sebacate, exhibited fragmentation patterns matching those in library databases. While phthalates were only above detection limits in some polar bear and narwhal, Irganox 1010, nonylphenol, and 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol were detected in >50% of all samples. This study represents the first application of a nontarget/suspect screening approach in Arctic cetaceans, leading to the identification of multiple PRCs in their blubber. Further nontarget analyses are warranted to comprehensively characterize the extent of CEAC and PRC contamination within Arctic marine food webs.

Spatio-temporal differences and simulation studies of the carbon budget from fisheries in the northern marine economic circle of China

With the proposal of dual carbon goals, enhancing carbon sinks and reducing carbon emissions has become a critical issue. Fisheries, as a component of agriculture, possess the dual attributes of being a “carbon sink” (biological carbon fixation) and a “carbon source” (the carbon emissions from fishing vessels). Therefore, it is necessary to assess the carbon sink and carbon emission levels of fisheries. The northern marine economic circle, which includes Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, and Shandong, is an important site for fisheries in China, characterized by abundant aquatic resources. However, a comprehensive assessment of the carbon budget for fisheries in this region is still unclear. This study calculated the carbon sinks, carbon emissions, and net carbon emissions associated with fisheries in the region from 2013 to 2020. Additionally, we used sensitivity analysis and scenario simulation to explore the factors influencing the net carbon emissions. The results revealed that the carbon budget of the northern marine economic circle was in a carbon deficit (the amount of carbon emissions was higher than that of carbon sinks) from 2013 to 2020. However, a downward trend in the net carbon emissions was observed, indicating the potential of achieving carbon neutrality. From the perspective of provinces, significant differences among provinces (cities) were found in terms of carbon sinks, carbon emissions, and net carbon emissions, with Shandong having the largest net carbon emissions. Furthermore, the production of clams and the use of seawater trawl net have a significant impact on the net carbon emissions. Increasing the production of clams while reducing the power of trawling operations can significantly decrease net carbon emissions. Based on these results, this study provides relevant suggestions to enhance the carbon sink capacity and decrease the carbon emissions of fisheries in the northern marine economic circle.

Measurements of particulate methanesulfonic acid above the remote Arctic Ocean using a high resolution aerosol mass spectrometer

Methanesulfonic acid (MSA) is an important product from the oxidation of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and thus is often used as a tracer for marine biogenic sources and secondary organic aerosol. MSA also contributes to aerosol mass and potentially to the formation of cloud condensation nuclei and new particles. However, measurements of MSA at high temporal resolution in the remote Arctic are scarce, which limits our understanding of its formation, climate change impact and regional transport. Here, we applied a validated quantification method to determine the mass concentration of MSA and non-sea salt sulfate (nss-SO4) in PM2.5 in the marine boundary layer, using a high resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) during a research cruise to the Arctic and North Atlantic Ocean, between 55 °N and 68 °N (26th May to June 23, 2022). With this method, the concentrations of MSA in the remote Arctic marine boundary layer were determined for the first time. Results show that the average MSA concentration was 0.025 ± 0.03 μg m−3, ranging from <0.01 to 0.32 μg m−3. The lowest MSA level was found towards the northern leg of the cruise (near Sisimut (67 °N)) with air masses from sea ice over the northern polar region, and the highest MSA concentrations were observed over the Atlantic open ocean. The diurnal cycles of gas MSA, particulate MSA and nss-SO4 peaked in the afternoon, about one hour later than that of peak of solar radiation, which suggests that photochemical process is an important mechanism for the conversion of DMS into MSA above the remote ocean. The mass ratio of MSA to nss-SO4 (MSA/nss-SO4) presents a temperature dependence, which indicates that the addition branching pathway favors MSA formation, while thermal decay of intermediate radicals could be a possible pathway for sulfate formation. Finally, we found that the MSA/nss-SO4 ratio is around 0.22-0.25 in the remote northern marine atmosphere.

Numerical simulation study on hydrodynamics of Xisha Islands and Reefs driven by tide levels, sea surface heights and ocean currents

This study employs the FVCOM numerical model to investigate tide flow and hydrodynamics in the marine region surrounding Yongxing Island. The HYCOM model is utilized to obtain sea surface height and ocean current data at the boundary. Additionally, the astronomical tide level predicted by the TPXO9 global tide model is incorporated into the analysis. Through numerical simulation research, the paper aims to examine the aforementioned phenomena. The findings indicate a strong concurrence between the outcomes of the FVCOM numerical simulation and the observed data. The winter and summer tidal patterns in the seas around Yongxing Island exhibit a high degree of similarity. In winter, the current speed of rapid flood and ebb process, exhibits somewhat higher than that in summer. The maximum current speed occurs in the northern marine region of Yongxing Island, during the rapid flood process, whereas it occurs in the northwest marine region of Yongxing Island during the rapid ebb process.

Super Climate Events

New environmental extremes are currently underway and are much greater than those in previous records. These are mostly regional, singular events that are caused by global change/local weather combinations and are larger than the impact of linear temperature increases projected using climate models. These new states cannot easily be assigned probabilities because they often have no historical analogs. Thus, the term super climate extremes is used. Examples are the loss of sea ice and ecosystem reorganization in northern marine Alaska, heatwave extreme in western Canada, and the loss of snow in Greenland. New combined extreme occurrences, which are reported almost daily, lead to a new, higher level of climate change urgency. The loss of sea ice in 2018–2019 was a result of warmer Arctic temperatures and changes in the jet stream. They resulted in a chain of impacts from southerly winds, the northward movement of predatory fish, and the reduction of food security for coastal communities. Record temperatures were measured in southwestern British Columbia following previous drought conditions, a confluence of two storm tracks, and warming through atmospheric subsidence. Greenland’s losses had clear skies and jet stream events. Such new extremes are present indicators of climate change. Their impacts result from the interaction between physical and ecological processes, and they justify the creation of a new climate change category based on super climate extremes.

Assessing the marine ecological welfare performance of coastal regions in China and analysing its determining factors

This study used three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Tobit regression models to comprehensively evaluate the performance levels, trends, and differences of marine ecological welfare (MEW) in China, and explore its influencing factors to derive relevant policy suggestions. The evaluation results indicate that the three-stage DEA model performed better on MEW than the traditional DEA model by effectively eliminating the influence of random errors and external environmental factors. However, it underestimated the coastal MEW performance of the country. The southern marine economic circle showed an overall improvement, whereas the overall northern marine economic circle did not improve much; the eastern marine economic circle was stable. Moreover, the external environmental factors significantly impacted the performance of MEW, and the value of average MEW performance of each province changed to some extent under the influence of the slack variables of resource consumption and environmental consumption input. Other factors that significantly influenced China’s coastal MEW performance were the level of economic developments on land and government environmental regulations, which correlated positively. Meanwhile, inadequate development momentum in marine research and technology or poor achievement transformation rate negatively influenced it. Finally, countermeasures and suggestions were proposed based on the results of empirical analysis.

Evaluation and Determinants of the Digital Inclusive Financial Support Efficiency for Marine Carbon Sink Fisheries: Evidence from China.

The development of digital inclusive finance has greatly improved the feasibility of financial inclusion. Therefore, in the context of the constrained financing of marine carbon sink fisheries, we try to investigate whether digital inclusive finance exhibits a supportive effect on marine carbon sink fisheries and thus enhances the capacity of marine carbon sinks. Specifically, this paper empirically calculates the grey correlation between the development of digital inclusive finance and marine carbon sinks based on data in nine coastal provinces of China from 2011 to 2019. The empirical results show that the grey relational coefficients between the above two in China are more than 0.5, revealing a significant positive correlation. Then, on this basis, we estimate the digital inclusive financial support efficiency (DIFSE) for marine carbon sink fisheries by applying the Super-EBM model. In addition, the determinants affecting the DIFSE for marine carbon sink fisheries selected based on the grounded theory are explored through the Tobit model. The conclusions are as follows. First, there are time-varying characteristics and regional heterogeneity in DIFSE. Generally, the effect of China's digital inclusive financial support for marine carbon sink fisheries is expanding year by year. Among them, the DIFSE in the northern marine economic circle is currently the highest, followed by that in the south and east. Second, the input of productive factors, promotion of fishery skill, development of fishery technology, and Internet coverage will significantly increase the value of DIFSE, while output structure, income level, fishery disasters, and marine pollution will have significant negative effects on DIFSE. These empirical results can help policymakers better understand the contribution of digital inclusive finance to marine carbon sink fisheries and provide them with valuable information for the formulation of supportive policies.

Citizen science and machine learning: Interdisciplinary approach to non-invasively monitoring a northern marine ecosystem

Successful conservation efforts often require novel tactics to achieve the desired goals of protecting species and habitats. One such tactic is to develop an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to ensure that conservation initiatives are science-based, scalable, and goal-oriented. This approach may be particularly beneficial to wildlife monitoring, as there is often a mismatch between where monitoring is required and where resources are available. We can bridge that gap by bringing together diverse partners, technologies, and global resources to expand monitoring efforts and use tools where they are needed most. Here, we describe a successful interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to long-term monitoring of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) and their marine ecosystem. Our approach includes extracting images from video data collected through partnerships with other organizations who live-stream educational nature content worldwide. This video has resulted in an average of 96,000 underwater images annually. However, due to the frame extraction process, many images show only water. We have therefore incorporated an automated data filtering step using machine learning models to identify frames that include beluga, which filtered out an annual average of 67.9% of frames labelled as “empty” (no beluga) with a classification accuracy of 97%. The final image datasets were then classified by citizen scientists on the Beluga Bits project on Zooniverse (https://www.zooniverse.org). Since 2016, more than 20,000 registered users have provided nearly 5 million classifications on our Zooniverse workflows. Classified images are then used in various researcher-led projects. The benefits of this approach have been multifold. The combination of machine learning tools followed by citizen science participation has increased our analysis capabilities and the utilization of hundreds of hours of video collected each year. Our successes to date include the photo-documentation of a previously tagged beluga and of the common northern comb jellyfish (Bolinopsis infundibulum), an unreported species in Hudson Bay. Given the success of this program, we recommend other conservation initiatives adopt an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to increase the success of their monitoring programs.

Measurement of carbon emissions from marine fisheries and system dynamics simulation analysis: China’s northern marine economic zone case

The economic growth of marine fishery in China is overall stable, with output of mariculture, marine fishing, and carbon emission of marine fishery is increasing. To integrate the concept of low-carbon and green development into the whole process of marine fishery development, it is necessary to comprehend the status quo and development trend of marine fishery carbon emission. This study measures the carbon emissions of marine fisheries in the Northern Marine Economic Circle, a development region representing China’s marine fisheries, from 2006 to 2019. We employed a system dynamics approach to establish a marine fisheries carbon emission dynamic model. In our model, five scenarios are set up to dynamically simulate the development and evolution trend of future marine fisheries carbon emissions, under the impact of rapid economic development, energy structure adjustment, and industrial structure adjustment. The results are as follows. (i) Total carbon emissions from marine fisheries in the northern marine economic zone show a year-on-year increase from 2006 to 2019. (ii) Simulations from the five scenarios indicate that rapid economic development significantly impact the increase of carbon emissions from marine fisheries, while adjustment of the energy and industrial structures helped control carbon emissions from marine fisheries. This study provides relevant information to control carbon emissions at the marine level, and predicts the development trend of carbon emissions from marine fisheries, which can provide a reference for fisheries to seek an effective path of energy conservation and emission reduction, and improve their high-quality development level.

Impact of Coastal Urbanization on Marine Pollution: Evidence from China.

The increasing marine pollution in China’s coastal areas has seriously affected the sustainable development of the economy and the living standards of residents. It is of great significance to explore the relationship between urbanization and marine pollution in coastal areas for the sustainable development of coastal cities. Based on the marine pollution data and nighttime light (NTL) data of 46 coastal cities from 2006 to 2015, the paper discusses the impact of urbanization on marine pollution by using the generalized spatial two-stage least square method (GS2SlS), and analyzes the role of technological innovation, financial development, and human capital in the impact of urbanization on marine pollution by using the three-stage least square method (3SLS). Results show that China’s coastal marine pollution has a strong spatial spillover effect, and a U-shaped relationship exists between urbanization and marine pollution. Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that an inverted U-shaped relationship was found between coastal urbanization and marine pollution in the northern marine economic circle, while the eastern and southern marine economic circles have a U-shaped correlation. The heterogeneity of the urbanization pattern indicates that the relationship between different urbanization patterns and marine pollution in coastal areas is generally in a positive correlation stage, but the depth of urbanization occupies a dominant position. Further mechanism tests show that urbanization can effectively reduce coastal marine pollution and improve the marine environment through the technological innovation effect, financial development effect, and human capital effect.

Coevolution of Economic and Industrial Linkages within the Land-Sea Industrial Structure of China

The joint development of continental and marine economies has become an important driving force for the upgrading of industrial structures. However, because of the differences in resource endowment and development potential, developing industrial structures and the quality of economic development are uneven among regions. In this study, the added values of three land-sea industries in the three marine economic circles of northern, eastern, and southern China, were employed to clarify the evolutionary behavior of the industrial structure of these three circles on the land and sea; the synchronization, lag, equilibrium, and dislocation of developing the industrial structure were also explored which a gray relational model based on convex judgment and gray time difference analyses were used to construct a relational model from the static and dynamic aspects of the system, and the internal and external linkages of the industrial structure of the three circles were analyzed from the perspective of industrial correlation. The results show that: (1) Correlations among the linkages of the three economic circles in the marine industrial structure, both including and without temporal and spatial differences, and the marine feedback driver, differ markedly. (2) The effects of feedback for marine industrial development from the Eastern Marine Economic Circle were stronger, whereas those of the Southern Marine Economic Circle were weak and those of the Northern Marine Economic Circle were ambiguous. (3) A significant difference was observed in the degree of coevolution among the land-sea industrial structures of these areas. The Northern Marine Economic Circle exhibited a slightly higher degree of coevolution than the other two economic circles, showing a stable trend of coevolution and wide spatial development. The eastern and southern circles displayed high degrees of coordination in developing their industrial structures. The research results provide a reference for regional adjustment and optimization of industrial structure.

Teleostei fishes of the North Coast of Brazil and adjacent areas

The North Coast of Brazil is a biogeographical area of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Brazil that share environmental features with region under influence of the Plume of the rio Amazon and Orinoco. Despite the relevance of the region’s fish fauna, in biogeo-graphic, ecologic, and commercial terms, this area is poorly known. This study presents the most complete and updated list of the bony fish fauna from the North Coast of Brazil, aiming to minimize our knowledge gap on such region's biodiversity. The main sources of infor-mation were records from zoological collections, inventories obtained during the surveys of the Research and Conservation National Center of Northern Marine Biodiversity and collec-tions from the authors. A total of 787 species of the Teleostei were recorded off the North Coast of Brazil and adjacent waters, representing 156 families and 45 orders. Most (531) of these species are coastal, 256 inhabit deeper water, and 31 pelagic (oceanic) species are com-mon to both the internal and external continental shelf, of which 54 represent new records. Given the progressive intensification of fisheries and increasing incentives for the exploita-tion of the local gas and oil reserves, a more adequate inventory of the marine fish fauna of the North Coast of Brazil is fundamentally important for the management of the region’s aquatic biodiversity.

Restoration of Abundance and Dynamics of Coastal Fish and Lobster Within Northern Marine Protected Areas Across Two Decades

This article reviews a suite of studies conducted in a network of coastal Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Skagerrak, Southeast Norway. In 2006, Norway’s first lobster reserves were implemented, with the aim of protecting European lobster (Homarus gammarus) through a ban on fixed gear. A before–after control-impact paired series (BACIPS) monitoring program was initiated to evaluate effects of protection on depleted lobster populations. Experimental trapping and capture-recapture techniques were combined to track demography of populations, also including movement of individuals within and beyond MPAs and adjacent control areas. Further, population genetics and parentage studies were applied, allowing for estimation of gene flow, and novel work on sexual selection in lobsters. Additional studies have evaluated MPA effects on coastal cod (Gadus morhua), and on commercially harvested labrids (Ctenolabrus rupestrisandSymphodus melops) and anadromous brown trout (Salmo trutta). Together, these studies reported effects of protection pertaining to increased population density, survival, body size and phenotypic diversity, changes in emigration and interaction with surrounding fisheries, and alteration of selection pressure on morphological- and behavioral traits. Designation of MPAs in close collaboration with fishers and managers, long-term monitoring, inclusion of citizen science and evolving research protocols—also including fisheries data—have revealed novel effects of protection and harvesting on marine populations, thus providing substantial contributions to conservation science. Moreover, knowledge of MPA effects on coastal species has impacted harvest regulations showing the utility of MPAs as empirically documented management tools in Norway.

Destructive activity of hydrocarbon-oxidizing micromycetes extracted from the substrates of the coastal areas, the Barents and White Seas

We analyzed the hydrocarbon-oxidizing activity of 33 micromycetes strains isolated from water and soils of the White Sea and Barents Sea coastal territories. The microscopic fungi studied were represented by the following genera: Acremonium, Aspergillus, Meyerozyma, Oidiodendron, Paradendryphiella, Penicillium, Pseudoqymnoascus, Tolypocladium, Trichoderma, Sarocladium, Talaromyces, Umbelopsis. Hydrocarbon-oxidizing activity of fungi was carried out in a laboratory experiment for two time periods: 14 and 28 days. The residual concentration of oil hydrocarbons in the medium was determined by the infrared spectrometry method. We revealed that micromycetes had different oil-destructive activity. The decrease in oil content for the strains over 14 days ranged from 11 to 83 %. Tolypocladium inflatum st.1, T. inflatum st.2, Penicillium thomii, Meyerozyma guilliermondii, P. simplicissimum, P. camemberti, P. solitum and Trichoderma minutisporum strains had the greatest oil destructive activity, reducing the concentration in the medium by 57-83 %. These micromycetes were isolated from coastal substrates, the content of oil products in which did not exceed the MPC. We found that some individual strains of microscopic fungi had high oil-destructive activity for a longer period of time: Tolypocladium cylindrosporum reduced the content of oil hydrocarbons for 28 days by 95 %. No clear relationship between the fungal biomass and the degree of decomposition of oil products was found, but some tolerant species of micromycetes can actively decompose oil hydrocarbons without significantly increasing their biomass. The identified active strains of hydrocarbon-oxidizing micromycetes can be used to create biopreparations with the prospect of their further use for bioremediation of oil spills in the northern marine ecosystems.

Earth Observation and Artificial Intelligence for Improving Safety to Navigation in Canada Low-Impact Shipping Corridors

In 2014, through the World-Class Tanker Safety System (WCTSS) initiative, the Government of Canada launched the Northern Marine Transportation Corridors (NMTC) concept. The corridors were created as a strategic framework to guide Federal investments in marine transportation in the Arctic. With new government investment, under the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP), the corridors initiative, known as the Northern Low-Impact Shipping Corridors, will continue to be developed. Since 2016, the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) has been using the corridors as a key layer in a geographic information system (GIS) model known as the CHS Priority Planning Tool (CPPT). The CPPT helps CHS prioritize its survey and charting efforts in Canada’s key traffic areas. Even with these latest efforts, important gaps in the surveys still need to be filled in order to cover the Canadian waterways. To help further develop the safety to navigation and improve survey mission planning, CHS has also been exploring new technologies within remote sensing. Under the Government Related Initiatives Program (GRIP) of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), CHS has been investigating the potential use of Earth observation (EO) data to identify potential hazards to navigation that are not currently charted on CHS products. Through visual interpretation of satellite imagery, and automatic detection using artificial intelligence (AI), CHS identified several potential hazards to navigation that had previously gone uncharted. As a result, five notices to mariners (NTMs) were issued and the corresponding updates were applied to the charts. In this study, two AI approaches are explored using deep learning and machine learning techniques: the convolution neural network (CNN) and random forest (RF) classification. The study investigates the effectiveness of the two models in identifying shoals in Sentinel-2 and WorldView-2 satellite imagery. The results show that both CNN and RF models can detect shoals with accuracies ranging between 79 and 94% over two study sites; however, WorldView-2 images deliver results with higher accuracy and lower omission errors. The high processing times of using high-resolution imagery and training a deep learning model may not be necessary in order to quickly scan images for shoals; but training a CNN model with a large training set may lead to faster processing times without the need to train individual images.

Otolith Chemistry Reveals Natal Region of Larval Capelin in Coastal Newfoundland, Canada

Identifying natal origins of animals is key to determining the relative productivity of natal habitats, dispersal of individuals among local populations (i.e. connectivity), and, ultimately, metapopulation dynamics. As marine fish larvae have a high potential for dispersal, natural tags such as otolith chemistry are often used to determine natal origins. Trace elements may be incorporated into embryonic otoliths while larvae are developing in the egg, resulting in chemical signatures in the pre-hatch region of the otolith that reflect the natal habitat. Our goal was to determine whether the natal origins of 1-3 day old larval capelin (Mallotus villosus), a key forage fish in many northern marine ecosystems, could be determined using otolith chemistry. We sampled larvae from five Newfoundland regions (i.e. embayments: Placentia Bay, St. Mary’s Bay, Witless Bay, Trinity Bay, Notre Dame Bay) during July-August, 2019 to quantify regional differences in otolith chemistry. Additionally, eggs/larvae were field-reared within two regions over multiple years (Notre Dame Bay: 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019; Trinity Bay: 2018, 2019) to quantify interannual variation in region-specific otolith chemistry. Multi-elemental otolith signatures (i.e., Mg, Mn, Zn, Sr, Ba), as determined by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA ICP-MS), differed significantly among regions, with individuals classified into their natal region with 78% success (region-specific success: 68-100%). Classification success into natal region remained high (67-76%) despite interannual variation in otolith trace element concentrations within regions. Characterizing region-specific otolith chemical signatures that reflect natal origins of capelin larvae is the first step in determining the productivity and relative contributions of different regions of coastal Newfoundland to capelin recruitment.

What is Effective Research Communication? Towards Cooperative Inquiry with Nunavut Communities

Communication is recognized as the foundation of developing partnerships in science. In this study, we assess the effectiveness of several communication processes, practices, and tools used by wildlife researchers in northern communities in Arctic Canada. A case study was conducted in the communities of Cape Dorset and Coral Harbour (Salliq), Nunavut, Canada, to assess the effectiveness of research communication approaches carried out by the northern marine bird research group of Environment and Climate Change Canada, which has a long-standing research relationship with these two communities. Our objectives were to 1) explore local experiences with research—marine bird research in particular, 2) examine what communication approaches and tools Nunavummiut viewed as most effective for learning about research activities and feeling engaged in the process, and 3) identify new and emerging communication needs in Nunavut communities to support more effective research partnerships. Our findings indicate that several communication methods used by wildlife researchers, such as community meetings, have become less effective because of changing information-sharing practices at the community level. Other communication practices, such as using social media, hold much promise, but as of yet are underutilized by researchers, though of interest to northern communities. Acknowledging that every northern community is unique, with context-specific priorities, capacities, and needs, effective research partnerships should be built upon communication approaches that foster cooperative inquiry and learning. In progress towards this goal, we explore two emerging and related themes: first, access to information and communication technologies in the two communities, and second, the engagement of youth in Arctic research communication and delivery.