Guest investigator at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Background
I am a marine ecologist studying how climate change influences zooplankton communities at high latitudes. Most of my work has focused on Calanus copepods, which dominate zooplankton biomass in Arctic and subarctic regions and play important ecological roles as consumers of microplankton and prey for other animals. I combine data-driven (statistical) and numerical (mechanistic) modeling to understand spatial and temporal variation in zooplankton populations on regional and pan-Arctic scales. Complementing modeling with observational studies in the field, I aim to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that drive observed changes in polar ecosystems.
I was a PhD student at CEES from 2012 to 2015, with a thesis focusing on climate effects on Calanus finmarchicus in the Norwegian Sea - Barents Sea. The project was part of NorMER (Nordic Centre for Research on Marine Ecosystems and Resources under Climate Change). Thereafter, I spent one year at CEES as a researcher in the project Sustain (Sustainable management of renewable resources in a changing environment), where I investigated drift patterns of cod larvae in the North Sea using numerical modeling. From December 2016 to May 2018, I was a postdoctoral scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in the USA, mentored by Dr. Carin Ashjian and Dr. Rubao Ji. I returned to CEES in July 2018 as a postdoc funded by VISTA, a collaborative program between Statoil (now Equinor) and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (project description below). In parallel, I am continuing as a guest investigator at WHOI and the research group on Polar Ocean Life & Ecology (POLE).
Timing of the active period for Calanus copepods in the Arctic
Retreating sea ice due to climate change creates new opportunities for petroleum exploitation in the Arctic. However, Arctic ecosystems are considered vulnerable to oil spills due to the remoteness, high seasonality of ecosystems, and low degradation rates of oil in polar regions. As petroleum activities move northward, potential oil spills may coincide with the short growth season of Calanus copepods, which dominate zooplankton biomass in Arctic regions and play important roles as consumers of microplankton and prey for other animals. In response to the highly seasonal environment at high latitudes, Calanus copepods perform seasonal vertical migrations. A short growth season is spent in upper waters, followed by an extended period dormant in deep waters. However, we have limited knowledge about the drivers behind the timing of the active period.
In my current postdoc project, I will use complementary approaches to investigate drivers behind the timing of the active period in Arctic Calanus: (1) statistically analyze compiled pan-Arctic survey data to estimate the timing of the active phase across latitudinal gradients and identify potential environmental drivers; (2) perform laboratory experiments to investigate mechanisms behind the end of the active period; and (3) numerically model the optimal timing of the active period for different species and environmental conditions. Key questions I will address are how the timing of the active period of Calanus varies geographically and between years, and which mechanisms – including predation risk, food availability and abiotic factors – explain this variation. Results from this project can provide information on the seasonal variation in Arctic Calanus’ vulnerability to potential oil spills, and contribute towards a mechanistic understanding of the drivers behind seasonal migrations, a critical and elusive aspect of Calanus life history.