Herring key food for land-based species: study
January 11, 2014
“We often talk about how salmon subsidize and influence ecosystems by providing food but herring are also one of these species — and we have them in abundance,” said Caroline Fox, the lead researcher on a study released by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the University of Victoria. After a worrisome decline, herring stocks look to be bouncing back.
While the effects of herring on marine life have been studied, scientists haven’t really looked at what happens in other ecosystems when waves of eggs wash ashore during spawning.
“It is a spectacular natural event,” Fox said, describing a milky wave of fish sperm that fertilize eggs on gravel, beach and kelp beds, with birds flocking to feed…
To read the full article please visit the Times Colonist website.
Protect what you love
We just launched an exciting project to advance our understanding of killer whale communication by using hydrophones, drones, and subsequent machine learning. It represents a unique opportunity to truly understand what their calls reveal about their societies, relationships, and resilience in a changing and noisier ocean.
Your donation helps us listen to, understand, and protect these extraordinary killer whales.
