Marine food webs and their components influence
and respond to the abundance and distribution of biogenic elements
in the ocean. Organic matter produced by phytoplankton is continuously
transferred from lower to higher trophic levels, and transferred
back to constituent elements through decomposition and re-mineralization
by detritivores and microbes. Changes in microbial and phytoplankton
activity, due to changes in the availability of macro and micronutrients,
can alter the composition, production and transfer of organic matter
to upper trophic levels and its subsequent degradation. A better
understanding of the fundamental interactions between biogeochemical
cycles and food webs is necessary to advance our understanding and
prediction of the responses of marine ecosystems to natural and
anthropogenic perturbations, such as changes in physical dynamics
and carbon cycle chemistry, dust events, eutrophication and marine
harvest. The North Pacific and adjacent seas include a wide range
of ecosystems and some unique environmental conditions, providing
opportunities to investigate and compare the role of biological
processes on biogeochemical cycles in different systems. In this
session, we encourage presentations that expand our understanding
of the interactions between biogeochemical cycles and marine food
webs in the North Pacific Ocean, and the sensitivity of biogeochemical
cycles, ecosystems and their interactions to global change.
Invited speakers: Kon-Kee Liu (Institute of Hydrological
Sciences, National Central University, China-Taipei) and George
A. Jackson (Texas A&M University, College Station, U.S.A.)