Oceanography The Official Magazine of
The Oceanography Society
Volume 29 Issue 02

View Issue TOC
Volume 29, No. 2
Pages 273 - 285

OpenAccess

Biological Impacts of the 2013–2015 Warm-Water Anomaly in the Northeast Pacific: Winners, Losers, and the Future

By Letícia M. Cavole, Alyssa M. Demko, Rachel E. Diner, Ashlyn Giddings, Irina Koester, Camille M.L.S. Pagniello, May-Linn Paulsen, Arturo Ramirez-Valdez, Sarah M. Schwenck, Nicole K. Yen, Michelle E. Zill, and Peter J.S. Franks  
Jump to
Article Abstract Citation References Copyright & Usage
Article Abstract

A large patch of anomalously warm water (nicknamed “the Blob”) appeared off the coast of Alaska in the winter of 2013–2014 and subsequently stretched south to Baja California. This northeastern Pacific warm-water anomaly persisted through the end of 2015. Scientists and the public alike noted widespread changes in the biological structure and composition of both open-ocean and coastal ecosystems. Changes included geographical shifts of species such as tropical copepods, pelagic red crabs, and tuna; closures of commercially important fisheries; and mass strandings of marine mammals and seabirds. The ecological responses to these physical changes have been sparsely quantified and are largely unknown. Here, we provide a bottom-up summary of some of the biological changes observed in and around the areas affected by the Blob.

Citation

Cavole, L.M., A.M. Demko, R.E. Diner, A. Giddings, I. Koester, C.M.L.S. Pagniello, M.-L. Paulsen, A. Ramirez-Valdez, S.M. Schwenck, N.K. Yen, M.E. Zill, and P.J.S. Franks. 2016. Biological impacts of the 2013–2015 warm-water anomaly in the Northeast Pacific: Winners, losers, and the future. Oceanography 29(2):273–285, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.32.

References

Agha, M. 2014. Ocean scientists find unusual species off California’s coast. The Sacramento Bee, December 13, 2014, http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article4473722.html.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 2014. Alaska Commercial Salmon Harvests — Exvessel Values. http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/fishing/PDFs/commercial/table_2014_commercial_salmon_harvest_values.pdf.

Allcock, L. 2014. Argonauta argo. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T163080A969616. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T163080A969616.en

Allen, L.G., D.J. Pondella II, and M.H. Horn, eds. 2006. The Ecology of Marine Fishes: California and Adjacent Waters. University of California Press, Oakland, CA, 670 pp.

Atkinson, A., S.L. Hill, M. Barange, E.A. Pakhomov, D. Raubenheimer, K. Schmidt, S.J. Simpson, and C. Reiss. 2014. Sardine cycles, krill declines, and locust plagues: Revisiting ‘waspwaist’ food webs. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 29(6):309–316, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2014.03.011.

Bailey, A. 2016. Guadalupe fur seal loses fight for life. Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News, January 28, 2016, http://www.westerlynews.ca/news/366902351.html.

Bartholomew, G.A. 1967. Seal and sea lion populations of the California Islands. Pp. 229–244 in Proceedings of the Symposium on the Biology of the California Islands. R.N. Philbrick, ed., Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara, CA. 

Bartlett, R.D., and P.P. Bartlett. 2009. Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 304 pp.

Bates, S.S., D.L. Garrison, and R.A. Horner. 1998. Bloom dynamics and physiology of domoic-​acid-producing Pseudo-nitzschia species. Pp. 267–292 in Physiological Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms. D.M. Anderson, A.D. Cembella, and G.M. Hallegraeff, eds, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. 

Bertram, D.F., D.L. Mackas, and S.M. McKinnell. 2001. The seasonal cycle revisited: Interannual variation and ecosystem consequences. Progress in Oceanography 49:283–307, https://doi.org/​10.1016/S0079-6611(01)00027-1.

BirdLife International. 2015a. Sula leucogaster. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T22696698A85098448. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22696698/0.

BirdLife International. 2015b. Hydrobates tristrami. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T22698535A85033731. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22698535/0.

Bond, N.A., M.F. Cronin, H. Freeland, and N. Mantua. 2015. Causes and impacts of the 2014 warm anomaly in the NE Pacific. Geophysical Research Letters 42:3,414–3,420, https://doi.org/​10.1002/2015GL063306.

Branson-Potts, H. 2016. Guadalupe fur seals dying at an alarming rate off California Coast. Los Angeles Times, October 1, 2015, http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-guadalupe-fur-deals-dying-20151001-story.html.

Brennan, D.S. 2015. Whales: Wonders of the sea. Migrating whales can be seen making a splash off the San Diego coast. The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 9, 2015, http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/dec/09/whale-watching-san-diego-blue-whales.

Brinton, E. 1976. Population biology of Euphausia pacifica off southern California. Fishery Bulletin 74(4):733–762, http://fishbull.noaa.gov/74-4/brinton.pdf.

Brooks, A., G. Hanke C. Foote, G. Gillespie, and J. Bedard. 2016. First records of Finescale triggerfish (Balistes polylepis) and Louvar (Luvarus Imperialis) in British Columbia, Canada. Northwestern Naturalist 97:7–12, https://doi.org/10.1898/1051-1733-97.1.7

Bushing, B., 2015. Whitetail damselfish. Divebums: A San Diego Dive Website, August 3, 2015, http://week.divebums.com/2015/Aug03-2015.

CAFW (California Department of Fish and Wildlife). 2015. Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS)/Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Project: Market Squid Landings. https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/CPS-HMS

California Department of Public Health. 2015. Summary of domoic acid levels in crabs. http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/​fdbFrSSda30.pdf.

Cartamil, D., N.C. Wegner, S. Aalbers, C.A. Sepulveda, A. Baquero, and J.B. Graham. 2010. Diel movement patterns and habitat preferences of the common thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) in the Southern California Bight. Marine and Freshwater Research 61:596–604, https://doi.org/10.1071/MF09153.

CDFW News. 2016. Commercial and recreational rock crab and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries open in southern portion of the state. California Department of Fish and Wildlife website: https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/commercial-and-recreational-rock-crab-and-recreational-dungeness-crab-fisheries-open-in-southern-portion-of-the-state.

Cestone, V. 2016. Jackie Speier, Jared Huffman introduce disaster relief funding bill for California crab fishermen. KRON4 TV, The Bay Area, CA, March 3, 2016, http://kron4.com/2016/03/03/​jackie-speier-jared-huffman-​introduce-disaster-​relief-funding-bill-for-california-​crab-fishermen.

Chavez, F.P., J. Ryan, S.E. Lluch-Cota, and M. Ñiquen C. 2003. From anchovies to sardines and back: Multidecadal change in the Pacific Ocean. Science 299:217–221, https://doi.org/​10.1126/science.1075880.

Cheung, W.W., R.D. Brodeur, T.A. Okey, and D. Pauly. 2015. Projecting future changes in distributions of pelagic fish species of Northeast Pacific shelf seas. Progress in Oceanography 130:19–31, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2014.09.003.

Colton, H. 2015. Research cruise investigates Bering Sea warm spell. KDLG, Alaska Public Radio, October 8, 2015, http://kdlg.org/post/research-cruise-investigates-bering-sea-warm-spell.

Columbia Basin Bulletin. 2015. El Niño, ‘Warm Blob’ expected to supercharge storms, redistribute marine species. Chinook Observer, October 13, 2015, http://www.chinookobserver.com/co/local-news/20151013/el-nino-warm-blob-expected-to-​supercharge-storms-redistribute-marine-species.

Conrad, C. 2015. Thousands of red tuna crabs in Pacific Grove. KSBW TV, Monterey, Salinas, and Santa Cruz, CA, October 8, 2015, http://www.ksbw.com/news/Thousands-of-tuna-crab-washing-up-in-Pacific-Grove/35734500

Cook, P.F., C. Reichmuth, A.A. Rouse, L.A. Libby, S.E. Dennison, O.T. Carmichael, K.T. Kruse-Elliot, J. Bloom, B. Singh, V.A. Fravel, and others. 2015. Algal toxin impairs sea lion memory and hippocampal connectivity, with implications for strandings. Science 350:1,545–1,547, https://doi.org/​10.1126/science.aac5675.

CWPA (California Wetfish Producers Association). 2015. Pacific Bonito and albacore tuna among non-native fish species sighted in Alaska’s warmer waters. October 12, 2015, http://californiawetfish.org/fishingnews/2015/10/12/pacific-bonito-and-albacore-tuna-among-non-native-fish-species-sighted-in-alaskas-warmer-waters.

Daly, E.A., and R.D. Brodeur. 2015. Warming ocean conditions relate to increased trophic requirements of threatened and endangered salmon. PLoS ONE 10(12):e0144066, https://doi.org/​10.1371/journal.pone.0144066

Dewey, R. 2016. The warm Pacific anomaly (The Blob): A Summary on the dynamics and some recent Canadian observations. Paper presented at Pacific Anomalies Workshop 2. University of Washington, January 20–21, 2016, Seattle, WA, http://www.nanoos.org/resources/anomalies_workshop/workshop2/docs/presentations/Richard_Dewey-Presentation.pdf.

Dini, M.L., and S.R. Carpenter. 1992. Fish predators, food availability and diel vertical migration in Daphnia. Journal of Plankton Research 14:359–377, https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/14.3.359.

Dobuzinskis, A. 2015. El Niño sends rare tropical visitors to California waters. Reuters news agency, November 13, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-elnino-fish-idUSKCN0T214X20151113.

Domeier, M.L., D. Kiefer, N. Nasby-Lucas, A. Wagschal, and F. O’Brien. 2005. Tracking Pacific Bluefin tune (Thunnus thynnus orientalis) in the northeastern Pacific with an automated algorithm that estimates latitude by matching sea-surface-temperature data from satellites with temperature data from tags on fish. Fishery Bulletin 103:292–306.

Doughton, S. 2016. Toxic algae bloom might be largest ever. The Seattle Times, June 16, 2015, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/toxic-algae-bloom-might-be-largest-ever.

Dowd, K. 2015. Rare sea turtle from Mexico found in NorCal river. SFgate, November 17, 2015, http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Rare-sea-turtle-from-Mexico-found-in-NorCal-river-​6639417.php.

Drake, N. 2015. Number of starving sea lions in California ‘unprecedented.’ National Geographic, June 5, 2015, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150605-sea-lion-deaths-stranding-california-ocean-animal-science

Duggan, T. 2015. New tests provide glimmer of hope for Dungeness crab season. SFGate, November 20, 2015, http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/New-tests-provide-glimmer-of-hope-for-Dungeness-6646739.php.

Everson, I., ed. 2000. Krill: Biology, Ecology, and Fisheries. Blackwell Science. Malden, MA, 373 pp.

Floyd, M. 2015. OSU/NOAA study: Warm-water years are tough on juvenile salmon. Oregon State News and Research Communications, December 16, 2015, http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2015/dec/osunoaa-study-warm-water-years-are-tough-​juvenile-salmon.

Ford, J.K., G.M. Ellis, P.F. Olesiuk, and K.C. Balcomb. 2010. Linking killer whale survival and prey abundance: Food limitation in the oceans’ apex predator? Biology Letters 6:139–142, https://doi.org/​10.1098/rsbl.2009.0468

Harvell, C.D., K. Kim, J.M. Burkholder, R.R. Colwell, P.R. Epstein, D.J. Grimes, E.E. Hofmann, E.K. Lippo, A.D. Osterhaus, R.M. Overstreet, and others. 1999. Emerging marine diseases: Climate links and anthropogenic factors. Science 285:1,505–1,510, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.285.5433.1505

Hendricks, J. 2015. Bluefin tuna invade southern California waters. Sport Fishing, June 1, 2015, http://www.sportfishingmag.com/bluefin-tuna-invade-southern-california-waters.

Hickey, H., and M. Ma. 2015. UW researcher helping pinpoint massive harmful algal bloom. University of Washington Today, June 25, 2015, http://www.washington.edu/news/2015/06/25/uw-researcher-​helping-pinpoint-massive-harmful-​algal-bloom.

Hicks, G. 2015. Rare fish arrive on US West Coast due to El Niño. Capital Wired (news service), November 17, 2015, http://www.capitalwired.com/rare-fish-arrive-on-us-west-coast-due-to-​el-nino/211039

Hopcroft, R. 2016. Presentation on Alaska regional findings. Pacific Anomalies Workshop 2, University of Washington, January 20–21, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL6_HCM_XTg (see first presentation after introduction in the video). 

Iriarte, J.L., and H.E. Gonzáles. 2004. Phytoplankton size structure during and after the 1997/98 El Niño in a coastal upwelling area of the northern Humboldt Current System. Marine Ecology Progress Series 269:83–90, https://doi.org/​10.3354/meps269083.

Irons, D.B., T. Anker-Nilsen, A.J. Gaston, G.V. Byrds, K. Falk, G. Gilchrist, M. Hario, M. Hjernquist, Y.V. Krasnov, A. Mosbech, and others. 2008. Fluctuations in circumpolar seabird populations linked to climate oscillations. Global Change Biology 14:1,455–1,463, https://doi.org/​10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01581.x.

Izadi, E. 2015. Why these bright, tiny crabs are blanketing Southern California beaches. The Washington Post, June 16, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/06/16/why-these-bright-tiny-crabs-are-blanketing-southern-california-beaches.

Joling, D. 2016. Alaska seabirds are likely starving to death. US News & World Report, January 13, 2016, http://www.w3livenews.com/News/Article/337235.

Keyl, F., J. Argüelles, L. Mariategui, R. Tafur, M. Wolff, and C. Yamashiro. 2008. A hypothesis on range expansion and spatio-temporal shifts in size-at-​maturity of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) in the eastern Pacific Ocean. CalCOFI Reports 49:119–128.

Kintisch, E. 2015. ‘The Blob’ invades Pacific, flummoxing climate experts. Science 348:17–18, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.348.6230.17.

Koslow, J., R. Goericke, A. Lara-Lopez, and W. Watson. 2011. Impact of declining intermediate-water oxygen on deepwater fishes in the California Current. Marine Ecology Progress Series 436:207–218, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09270.

Kosro, P.M., W.T. Peterson, B.M. Hickey, and R.K. Shearman. 2006. Physical versus biological spring transitions: 2005. Geophysical Research Letters 33, L22S03, https://doi.org/​10.1029/2006GL027072.

KQED Science. 2015. Toxic algae is killing sea lions, shows no sign of diminishing. http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/08/17/toxic-algae-is-killing-sea-lions-shows-no-sign-of-diminishing.

Kroh, A., and R. Mooi. 2015. WoRMS Echinoidea: World Echinoidea Database (version 2015-08-01). In Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 26th August 2015. Y. Roskov, L. Abucay, T. Orrell, D. Nicolson, T. Kunze, C. Flann, N. Bailly, P. Kirk, T. Bourgoin, R.E. DeWalt, W. Decock, and A. De Wever, eds, digital resource at Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands, http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col.

Kudela, R.M., W.P. Cochlan, T.D. Peterson, and C.G. Trick. 2006. Impacts on phytoplankton biomass and productivity in the Pacific Northwest during the warm ocean conditions of 2005. Geophysical Research Letters 33, L22S06, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026772.

Larsen, C.F., R.J. Motyka, A.A. Arendt, K.A. Echelmeyer, and P.E. Geissler. 2007. Glacier changes in southeast Alaska and northwest British Columbia and contribution to sea level rise. Journal of Geophysical Research 112, F01007, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000586.

Le, P. 2015. Another baby: 8th endangered orca spotted in Puget Sound. Associated Press, December 17, 2015, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/​ae1f47a1930b45aea42cb2846421d7e7/another-​baby-8th-endangered-orca-spotted-puget-sound.

Lea, R.N., and R.H. Rosenblatt. 2000. Observations on fishes associated with the 1997–98 El Niño off California. CalCOFI Report 41:117–129.

Leising, A.W., I.D. Schroeder, S.J. Bograd, J. Abell, R. Durazo, G. Gaxiola-Castro, E.P. Bjorkstedt, J. Field, K. Sakuma, R. Robertson, and others. 2015. State of the California Current 2014–15: Impacts of the Warm-Water “Blob.” CalCOFI Reports 56:31–68.

Leschin-Hoar, C. 2015. Why is this fisherman selling threatened bluefin tuna for $2.99 a pound? NPR, June 11, 2015, http://www.npr.org/sections/​thesalt/2015/06/11/412943456/why-is-this-​fisherman-selling-threatened-bluefin-tuna-for-​2-99-a-pound.

Lindegren, M., D.M. Checkley Jr., T. Rouyer, A.D. MacCall, and N.C. Stenseth. 2013. Climate, fishing, and fluctuations of sardine and anchovy in the California Current. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110(33):13,672–13,677, https://doi.org/​10.1073/pnas.1305733110.

Lluch-Belda, D., D.B. Lluch-Cota, S. Hernandez-Vazquez, C.A. Salinas-Zavala, and R.A. Schwartzlose. 1991. Sardine and anchovy spawning as related to temperature and upwelling in the California Current system. CalCOFI Reports 23:105–111.

Lluch-Belda, D., D.B. Lluch-Cota, and S.E. Lluch-Cota. 2005. Changes in marine faunal distributions and ENSO events in the California Current. Fisheries Oceanography 14(6):458–467, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2419.2005.00347.x.

Love, M.S. 2016. The reef cornetfish, Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1838, new to the California marine fish fauna. Bulletin, Southern California Academy of Sciences 115(1):81–83, https://doi.org/​10.3160/soca-115-01-81-83.1.

Love, M.S., C.W. Mecklenburg, T.A. Mecklenburg, and L.K. Thorsteinson. 2005. Resource inventory of marine and estuarine fishes of the West Coast and Alaska: A checklist of North Pacific and Arctic Ocean species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon Border. US Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey, National Biological Information Infrastructure, Washington, 276 pp.

MacCall A.D., K.T. Hill, P. Crone, and R. Emmett. 2012. Weak evidence for sardine collapse. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109(19):E1131, https://doi.org/​10.1073/pnas.1203526109.

Mack, C. 2015. Male Largemouth Blenny in breeding colors. Divebums: A San Diego Dive Website, July 20, 2015, http://week.divebums.com/2015/Jul20-2015.

Manugian, S., M.L. Elliott, R. Bradley, J. Howar, N. Karnovsky, B. Saenz, A. Studwell, P. Warzybok, N. Nur, and J. Jahncke. 2015. Spatial distribution and temporal patterns of Cassin’s auklet foraging and their euphausiid prey in a variable ocean environment. PLoS ONE 10(12):e0144232, https://doi.org/​10.1371/journal.pone.0144232.

Mapes, L.V. 2015. Toxic algae creating deep trouble on West Coast. The Seattle Times, November 15, 2015, http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/toxic-algae-creating-deep-trouble-on-west-coast.

McClatchie, S., J. Field, A.R. Thompson, T. Gerrodette, M. Lowry, P.C. Fiedler, W. Watson, K.M. Nieto, and R.D. Vetter. 2016. Food limitation of sea lion pups and the decline of forage off central and southern California. Royal Society Open Science 3:150628, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150628.

McDermott, A. 2015. Red crab tide: Tuna crabs washing up on local beaches. Monterey Herald, October 7, 2015, http://www.montereyherald.com/article/NF/20151007/NEWS/151009807

Medred, C. 2014. Unusual species in Alaska waters indicate parts of Pacific warming dramatically. Alaska Dispatch News, September 14, 2014, http://www.adn.com/article/20140914/unusual-​species-alaska-waters-indicate-parts-​pacific-​warming-dramatically.

Miller, M. 2015a. Hello Charlie Tuna, meet Mr. Bear. ​KTOO Alaska Public Media, November 18, 2015, ​http://www.ktoo.org/2015/11/18/hello-charlie-tuna-meet-mr-bear.

Miller, M. 2015b. Warm-water fish increasingly spotted in Alaska waters. KTOO Alaska Public Media, September 15, 2015, http://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/09/15/warm-water-fish-increasingly-​spotted-in-alaska-waters

Milstein, M. 2015. Oncoming El Niño likely to continue species shakeup in Pacific. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Northwest Fisheries Science Center, October 2015, http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/news/features/el_nino/index.cfm

Nakanowatari, T., K.I. Ohshima, and M. Wakatsuchi. 2007. Warming and oxygen decrease of intermediate water in the northwestern North Pacific, originating from the Sea of Okhotsk, 1955–2004. Geophysical Research Letters 34, L04602, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL028243.

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). 2016. Earth Data—Giovanni: Ocean Color Radiometry Online Visualization and Analysis, Global Monthly Products. http://gdata1.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/daac-bin/G3/gui.cgi?instance_id=ocean_month.

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). 2016a. NOAA’s Climate Change Web Portal. http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/ipcc/ocn.

NOAA. 2016b. Visualize NOAA High-Resolution Blended Analysis Data. http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd.

NOAA AFSC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Alaska Fisheries Science Center). 2016. North Pacific Groundfish Stock Assessments. http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/refm/stocks/assessments.htm.

NOAA Climate (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate). 2015. Record-setting bloom of toxic algae in North Pacific. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/record-setting-bloom-toxic-algae-north-pacific.

NOAA ESRL (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory). 2016. What happens in the atmosphere during ENSO? http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/enso/enso.description.html.

NOAA Fisheries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries). 2015a. 2013-2015 California sea lion unusual mortality event in California. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/health/mmume/californiasealions2013.htm.

NOAA Fisheries. 2015b. California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (CCIEA) State of the California Current Report, 2015. NMFS Report 2.

NOAA Fisheries. 2015c. Guadalupe Fur Seal Unusual Mortality Event in California. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/health/mmume/guadalupefurseals2015.html.

NOAA Fisheries West Coast (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries West Coast Region). 2015. 2015 elevated California sea lion strandings in California: FAQs. http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/mediacenter/faq_2015_ca_sea_lion_strandings.pdf.

NOAA NWFSC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Northwest Fisheries Science Center). 2015a. Annual summary of ocean ecosystem indicators for 2015 and pre-season outlook for 2016. http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/fe/estuarine/oeip/b-latest-updates.cfm

NOAA NWFSC. 2015b. NOAA Fisheries mobilizes to gauge unprecedented West Coast toxic algal bloom. http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/news/features/west_coast_algal_bloom/index.cfm.

NOAA NWFSC. 2015c. Oncoming El Niño likely to continue species shakeup in Pacific. http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/news/features/el_nino/index.cfm.

NOAA Ocean Service (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Service). 2015. West Coast harmful algal bloom. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sep15/​westcoast-habs.html.

NOAA SWFSC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Southwest Fisheries Science Center). 2015a. Sardine Survey. https://swfsc.noaa.gov/textblock.aspx?Division=FRD&id=1340.

NOAA SWFSC. 2015b. Tagged Hammerhead Shark Travels Widely in Warm Pacific Waters. https://swfsc.noaa.gov/news.aspx?ParentMenuId=39&id=20903.

Newbern, A. 2016. Massive bird die-off puzzles Alaska scientists. Livescience, February 1, 2016, http://www.livescience.com/53557-massive-bird-die-off-puzzles-scientists.html.

O’Connor, S., R. Campbell, H. Cortez, and T. Knowles. 2009. Whale Watching Worldwide: Tourism Numbers, Expenditures and Expanding Economic Benefits. Special report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Yarmouth MA, USA, prepared by Economists at Large, 295 pp.

Ono, K.A., D.J. Boness, and O.T. Oftedal. 1987. The effect of a natural disturbance on maternal investment and pup behavior in the California sea lion. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 21:109–118, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02395438.

Pauly, D., A.W. Trites, E. Capuli, and V. Christensen. 1998. Diet composition and trophic levels of marine mammals. ICES Journal of Marine Science 55:467–481, https://doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1997.0280.

Pearcy, W.G. 1992. Ocean Ecology of the North Pacific Salmonids. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA, 179 pp.

Peterson, W.T., J.L. Fisher, C.A. Morgan, J.O. Peterson, B.J. Burke, and K. Fresh. 2015a. Ocean Ecosystem Indicators of Salmon Marine Survival in the Northern California Current. NOAA Northwest Fishery Science Center, 94 pp., http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/fe/estuarine/oeip/​documents/Peterson_etal_2015.pdf.

Peterson, W., M. Robert, and N. Bond. 2015b. The warm Blob continues to dominate the ecosystem of the northern California Current. PICES Press 23(2):44–46.

Peterson, W.T., and F.B. Schwing. 2003. A new climate regime in Northeast Pacific ecosystems. Geophysical Research Letters 30, 1896, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GL017528.

Potter, I.F., and W.H. Howell. 2010. Vertical movement and behavior of the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, in the northwest Atlantic. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 396:138–146, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2010.10.014.

Putnam-Abbott, D., and E.C. Haderlie. 1980. Intertidal Invertebrates of California. Stanford University Press, 690 pp.

Ramirez-Valdez, A., O. Aburto-Oropeza, J.C. Villaseñor-Derbez, I. Dominguez-Guerrero, D.S. Palacios-Salgado, J.J. Cota-Nieto, G. Hinojosa-Arango, F. Correa-Sandoval, H. Reyes-Bonilla, and A. Hernandez. 2015. The nearshore fishes of the Cedros archipelago (North-Eastern Pacific) and their biogeographic affinities. CalCOFI Reports 56:1–25.

Rasmusson, E.M., and J.M. Wallace. 1983. Meterological aspects of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation. Science 22:1,195–1,202, https://doi.org/​10.1126/science.222.4629.1195.

Riahi, K., S. Rao, V. Krey, C. Cho, V. Chirkov, G. Fischer, G. Kindermann, N. Nakicenovic, and P. Rafaj. 2011. RCP 8.5: A scenario of comparatively high greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Change 109:33–57, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0149-y.

Rosen, Y. 2015. Scientists probe effects of unusual warming pattern in fish-rich Bering Sea. Alaska Dispatch News, September 22, 2015, http://www.adn.com/article/20150922/scientists-probe-effects-unusual-warming-pattern-fish-rich-bering-sea.

Samenow, J. 2015. Red crabs swarm Southern California, linked to ‘warm blob’ in Pacific. The Washington Post, June 17, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/06/17/red-crabs-swarm-southern-​california-linked-to-warm-blob-in-pacific.

Sekula-Wood, E., C. Benitez-Nelson, S. Morton, C. Anderson, C. Burrell, and R. Thunell. 2011. Pseudo-nitzschia and domoic acid fluxes in Santa Barbara Basin (CA) from 1993 to 2008. Harmful Algae 10(6):567–575. 

Seminoff, J.A. 2004. Chelonia mydas. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T4615A11037468. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T4615A11037468.en

Siegel, V., ed. 2011. Euphausiidae Dana, 1852. World Euphausiacea database. World Register of Marine Species.

Simons, E. 2015. Today in El Niño Advice: Don’t worry about the Blob. BayNature, September 1, 2015, https://baynature.org/articles/today-in-el-nino-advice-dont-worry-about-the-blob.

Smith, S.E., R.C. Rasmussen, D.A. Ramon, and G.M. Cailliet. 2008. The biology and ecology of thresher sharks (Alopiidae). Pp. 60–68 in Sharks of the Open Ocean. M.D. Camhi, E.K. Pikitch, and E.A. Babcock, eds, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, San Francisco, CA.

Stephens, T. 2015. Spread of algal toxin through marine food web broke records in 2015. University of California, Santa Cruz, Newscenter, December 17, 2015, http://news.ucsc.edu/2015/12/toxic-algae.html.

Stouder, D.J., P.A. Bisson, and R.J. Naimen, eds. 1997. Pacific Salmon and Their Ecosystem. Chapman and Hall, New York, New York, USA, 685 pp.

Sugimoto, T., S. Kimura, S., and K. Tadokoro. 2001. Impact of El Niño events and climate regime shift on living resources in the western North Pacific. Progress in Oceanography 49:113–127, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-6611(01)00018-0.

Swain, D.L. 2013. The extraordinary California dry spell continues: 2013 will probably be the driest year on record. The California Weather Blog, December 13, 2013, http://www.weatherwest.com/archives/1021

Swain, D.L. 2015. A tale of two California droughts: Lessons amidst record warmth and dryness in a region of complex physical and human geography. Geophysical Research Letters 42:9,999–10,003, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066628.

Sydeman, W.J., R.W. Braddley, P. Warzybok, C.L. Abraham, J. Jahncke, K.D. Hyrenbach, V. Kousky, J.M. Hipfner, and M.D. Ohman. 2006. Planktivorous auklet Ptychoramphus aleuticus responses to ocean climate, 2005: Unusual atmospheric blocking? Geophysical Research Letters 33, L22S09, https://doi.org/​10.1029/2006GL026736.

Taylor, B.L., R. Baird, J. Barlow, S.M. Dawson, J. Ford, J.G. Mead, G. Notarbartolo di Sciara, P. Wade, and R.L. Pitman. 2008. Feresa attenuata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008:e.T8551A12921135. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T8551A12921135.en.

The Marine Mammal Center. 2015. Another sea lion crisis underway as toxic algal bloom grows. September 3, 2015, http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/about-us/News-Room/2015-news-archives/toxic-algal-bloom.html.

Thomas, P. 2015a. ‘Godzilla El Niño’ looms as a possible drought buster for California. GrindTV, August 13, 2015, http://www.grindtv.com/nature/godzilla-el-nino-looms-as-a-possible-drought-​buster-for-california.

Thomas, P. 2015b. Warm ‘blob’ credited for rare sightings of whales, other sea creatures. GrindTV, May 27, 2015, http://www.grindtv.com/wildlife/warm-blob-credited-for-rare-sightings-of-whales-other-sea-creatures/#bLw2okMyLlUKyBjg.97.

Urton, J. 2014. Squid harvest has been bountiful in Monterey Bay. Monterey Herald, December 6, 2014, http://www.montereyherald.com/article/NF/20141206/SPORTS/141209843

WDFW (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife). 2015. 2015 Adult Returns and 2016 Expectations: Columbia River Preliminary Draft–December 14, 2015. 6pp, http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/forecasts/columbia_river/2015-results_2016-expects.pdf

Weber, E.D., and S. McClatchie. 2011. Effect of environmental conditions on the distribution of Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicas) larvae in the California Current system. Fishery Bulletin 110:85–97.

Wekell, J.C., E.J. Gauglitz, H.J. Bamett, C.L. Hatfield, D. Simons, and D. Ayres. 1994. Occurrence of domoic acid in Washington state razor clams (Siliqua patula) during 1991–1993. Natural Toxins 2:197–205, https://doi.org/10.1002/nt.2620020408.

Welch, C. 2015. Mass death of seabirds in western US is ‘Unprecedented.’ National Geographic, January 24, 2015, http://news.nationalgeographic.​com/news/2015/01/150123-seabirds-mass-die-off-​auklet-california-animals-environment.

Welch, D., Y. Ishida, and K. Nagasawa. 1998. Thermal limits and ocean migrations of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): Long-term consequences of global warming. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 55:937–948, https://doi.org/10.1139/f98-023.

Werner, C. 2015. Present oceanic conditions in the North Pacific. Presentation given at Pacific Fishery Management Council, September 11, 2015, Sacramento CA. 

West, A. 2016. The wild, wild West Coast. University of California, Santa Cruz, Newscenter, http://reports.news.ucsc.edu/west-coast

Whitney, F.A. 2015. Anomalous winter winds decrease 2014 transition zone productivity in the NE Pacific. Geophysical Research Letters 42:428–431, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062634.

Workman, K. 2016. Venomous sea snakes showing up in distress at beaches. The New York Times, January 7, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/science/yellow-bellied-sea-snake.html?_r=0.

Yulsman, T. 2015. Godzilla, The Blob, and Son of Blob: An El Niño reality check. Discover, October 14, 2015, http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/​2015/10/14/godzilla-the-blob-son-of-blob-el-nino-​reality-check/#.VunAkcclcnU.

Zaba, K., and D.L. Rudnick. 2016. The 2014–2015 warming anomaly in the Southern California Current System observed by underwater gliders. Geophysical Research Letters 43:1,241–1,248, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL067550.

Zeidberg, L.D., and B.H. Robinson. 2007. Invasive range expansion by the Humboldt squid, Dosidicus gigas, in the eastern North Pacific. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104(31):12,948–12,950, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702043104

Zwolinski, J.P., and D.A. Demer. 2012. A cold oceanographic regime with high exploitation rates in the Northeast Pacific forecasts a collapse of the sardine stock. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109(11):4,175–4,180, https://doi.org/​10.1073/pnas.1113806109

Copyright & Usage

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.