2014

Joint PICES/IMBER Theme Session at the IMBER 2014 Open Science Conference

Timing: June 23-27, 2014

Location: Bergen, Norway

Conveners:  
Thomas Therriault (PICES; Thomas.Therriault@dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
Ian Perry (IMBER; Ian.Perry@dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

Theme Session Description:

A vast array of anthropogenic activities are stressing and altering marine ecosystems, especially in coastal systems.  Further, significant environmental changes are occurring in the world’s oceans due to climate variability and change.  It is unclear if interactions between multiple stressors and climate variability will result in additive or multiplicative impacts on the provision of marine ecosystem services.  However, it is recognized that ecosystem changes are occurring and are directly or indirectly influencing the human societies that depend on them.  The complex interaction between multiple stressors and climate variability creates increased uncertainty for managers and policy makers trying to achieve the sustainability of marine resources and their ecosystem services.  A key question of the Forecasting and Understanding Trends, Uncertainty and Responses of North Pacific Marine Ecosystems (FUTURE) program of PICES is how human activities affect coastal ecosystems and how societies are impacted economically, socially and culturally by changes in these ecosystems. This question overlaps considerably with the goals of IMBER’s Theme 4, dealing with the interactions and feedbacks occurring within complex social-ecological systems.  We intend that this session will provide a forum for sharing of approaches and results on this topic from multiple regions and types of social-ecological studies that will lead to shared knowledge and more rapid progress in this developing activity of both organizations.  We invite contributions dealing with predicted ecosystem changes due to multiple stressors, potential societal responses to changing marine ecosystems, adaptive management strategies and/or adaptation strategies for sustainable use of marine ecosystems.  Contributions from major programs exploring these questions are especially welcome.

Proposed Outputs: PICES will provide a co-convenor and invited speaker for this proposed joint session.  Session participants will be invited to contribute a paper to be published as a special peer-reviewed collection of papers or discussion paper depending on submissions.

Expected number of participants: 75-100

PAST EVENTS

2013

Joint ICES/PICES Theme Sessions at the 2013 ICES Annual Science Conference
Session A, Session B, Session E, Session M

Timing: September 23-27, 2013

Location: Reykjavik, Iceland

ICES/PICES Session A
Marine Litter

Conveners:
Francois Galgani (France; francois.galgani@ifremer.fr)
Thomas Maes (UK; thomas.maes@cefas.co.uk)
Thomas Therriault (Canada/PICES; Thomas.thrriault@dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
Dick Vethaak (Netherlands; dick.vethaak@deltares.nl)

Theme Session Description:

Marine pollution represents one of the most significant environmental problems facing mankind. Over the past decades quantities and types of marine litter went up dramatically following the trends in use. The accumulation of synthetic debris in marine and coastal environments is a result of the intensive and continuous release of highly persistent materials like plastics. Most of the field research takes place on the back of existing fisheries cruises and the effects of marine litter encompasses a wide variety of impacts across marine environments. Marine litter will kill or harm marine life through entanglement or ingestion and thus put an even higher strain on those systems that are already under stress from overfishing and other anthropogenic influences. Around 267 different animals have been reported to suffer from effects of marine litter. The debris also creates new habitats for micro-organisms and other species, allowing would-be invasive species to hitch rides to new areas of the ocean. Other threats to wildlife are, for example, smothering of the seabed or environmental disturbance. Furthermore it causes damage to people, property and livelihood. In addition the presence of marine litter along shorelines can lead to serious economic problems for regions that are dependent on tourism. The marine strategy framework directive requires member states to take measures to achieve or maintain Good Environmental Status (GES) by 2020. One of the descriptors (D10) is related to marine litter and thus information from ongoing national and international initiatives and experience gained from this session, can be used to assess the extent to which key evidence gaps are being addressed through existing programmes of work.

Papers are welcome on the following topics: marine litter monitoring (sediment, water, biota…), distribution, modelling, impacts and effects of marine litter, microplastic types and quantities, polymer degradation and breakdown, chemical sorbance and leaching.

Joint ICES/PICES Theme Sessions at the 2013 ICES Annual Science Conference

Timing: September 23-27, 2013

Location: Reykjavik, Iceland

ICES/PICES Session B
Responses of living marine resources to climate change and variability: Learning from the past and projecting the future

Conveners:  
William Cheung (Canada; w.cheung@fisheries.ubc.ca)
Ken Drinkwater (Norway; ken.drinkwater@imr.no)
Anne Hollowed (USA/PICES; anne.hollowed@noaa.gov)
Myron Peck (Germany, myron.peck@uni-hamburg.de)
Vincent Saba (USA; vincent.saba@noaa.gov)

Theme Session Description:

Shifts in distribution and abundance of living marine resources can have dramatic ecological and economic consequences and challenge fisheries managers faced with providing effective advice and stewardship using an ecosystem-based approach. Over the past three decades, warming has occurred in many ecosystems that produce high fishery yieldsand research worldwide has documented historical/ongoing shifts in the geographical / latitudinal distribution and/or abundance of key species of marine plants and animals and, in some cases, whole communities. However, projecting future changes may not be a straightforward exercise and some studies suggest that future range shifts are unlikely when critical habitat and local reorganization of populations are considered. Furthermore, there is disparity in the projected response of primary and secondary producers at local and large-scale ecosystems. The dichotomous nature of these assessments and projections calls for a greater focus on historical and contemporary data from marine ecosystems that have experienced substantial climate variability and/or change. Understanding how various factors have interacted to affect historical responses of species to climate variability and change and the development of process-based knowledge of the causes and consequences of range shifts will be critical if we hope to project future changes in distribution and productivity of living marine resources.

The present theme session invites presentations on changes in the distribution, abundance, and productivity of living marine resources that take into account historical patterns to explore underlying processes and develop tools to help build predictive capacity of future changes. Presentations are particularly welcome that address community- and/or ecosystem-level processes and projections. This session hopes to continue the dialogue between fisheries biologists and biophysical modellers by also inviting presentations that discuss how process knowledge has been utilized within models to project changes in key ecosystem characteristics such as ocean circulation, temperature, oxygen, lower trophic level productivity, and keystone predators. Finally, this session also offers a venue for more mature examples of research linking patterns/observations to processes/mechanisms and predictions/projections to “real world” management concerns/implications.

The session invites presentations that cover the following topics:

• Historical, contemporary, and projected impacts of climate variability and change on living marine resources. Studies that exclusively focus on future projections (using IPCC-class climate and earth system models) will be considered but must also describe how historical and contemporary data were used


• Multiple trophic levels including phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish, sea birds, turtles, and marine mammals


• Conservation, management, and recovery plans that consider the impacts of climate on marine ecosystems


• Assessments and models of single species, populations, trophic groups, and ecosystems as related to climate


• New and existing methodologies that incorporate climate variables into marine ecosystem and single species models

Joint ICES/PICES Theme Sessions at the 2013 ICES Annual Science Conference

Timing: September 23-27, 2013

Location: Reykjavik, Iceland

Conveners: 
Anna Gårdmark (Sweden; anna.gardmark@slu.se)
Jason Link (USA; jason.link@noaa.gov)
R. Ian Perry (Canada/PICES; Ian.Perry@dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
Michele Casini (Sweden; michele.casini@slu.se)

Theme Session Description:

The world-wide occurrence of abrupt shifts in marine ecosystem function and structure, trophic cascades in exploited food-webs, and altered species interactions preventing recovery of depleted fish stocks, show the importance of accounting for food-web dynamics in the management of human activities in marine systems. While there has been much recent progress in the understanding of food-web dynamics in marine ecosystems, however, the application of this knowledge in marine management is still scarce. Overcoming this 'application gap' is essential to advance marine management using an ecosystem approach as well as sectorial approaches like ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM). Using EBFM as an example, bridging this gap would require knowledge on (1) How can food-web responses to exploitation be monitored and predicted?; (2) How do food-web dynamics mediate the impacts of fisheries on marine ecosystems, and the effects of system productivity on fisheries?; (3) Which aspects of food-web dynamics are necessary to account for in fisheries management to ensure sustainable use of marine ecosystems, and which are not? Applying such knowledge into advice for management will require evaluation of existing advice and management performance, as well as development of new decision support tools highlighting, for example, how food-web interactions affect trade-offs between management objectives, determine the time and probability to achieve management objectives, or provide guidance on the robustness of the advice.

We welcome papers on the following topics:

• Observation or modeling studies on dynamics and functioning of exploited marine food-webs, identifying intra- and inter-specific interactions within or across ecosystems that are key for fisheries management


• Comparative simulation studies of single-species vs. multi-species or food-web based management strategies


• Studies advancing food-web indicators for marine management (e.g. within the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Descriptor 4) by linking them to food-web functioning and dynamics


• Modeling studies addressing the inclusion of food-web dynamics in operational assessment and management


• Innovative decision support tools for marine management accounting for food-web dynamics, and their uncertainty
  

Joint ICES/PICES Theme Sessions at the 2013 ICES Annual Science Conference

Timing: September 23-27, 2013

Location: Reykjavik, Iceland

Conveners:  
Emanuele. Di Lorenzo (USA/PICES; edl@gatech.edu)
Arthur Miller (USA/PICES; ajmiller@ucsd.edu)
Marc Hufnagl (Germany/ICES; marc.hufnagl@uni-hamburg.de)

Theme Session Description:

Climate variability and change in the ocean is now recognized as a significant driver of marine ecosystem response, from primary production to zooplankton composition, and through the trophic chain to fish, marine mammals and other top predators. Past studies have often relied upon existing datasets to draw correlative conclusions (associated with indices and discovered time-lags in the system) regarding the possible mechanisms that may control these linkages.
In the proposed session, we focus on studies that seek to identify and model key processes that enable us to succinctly and quantifiably explain the mechanisms underlying the correlative relationships in physical-biological datasets, both in the North Pacific and North Atlantic. The description and modeling of these key processes may (a) involve few or several variables (but not full complexity), (b) use dynamical (e.g. eddy-resolving ocean models, NPZD, IBM, etc.) or statistically based methods (e.g. Bayesian, linear inverse models, etc.), (c) explain variability in low or high tropic levels (although we seek to emphasize secondary and higher producers), and (d) include uncertainty estimation.
We also solicit ideas and hypotheses concerning new mechanisms of physical-biological linkages that can only be tested by establishing novel long-term observational strategies, where the harvest of understanding will eventually be reaped by future generations of ocean scientists, as well as by developing creative modeling datasets, where ecosystem complexities can be effectively unraveled.

The session builds on the co-sponsored GLOBEC/PICES/ICES workshop WKECOFOR on “Forecasting ecosystem indicators with process-based models” (http://wg27.pices.int/ecofor) held at Friday Harbor Labs in September 2012.

Workshop on Development and application of Regional Climate Models-II

Timing: September 10-12, 2013

Location: Novotel Ambassador Busan, Busan, Korea

Registration: Please fill in the registration form and send to kichang@snu.ac.kr (Kyung-Il Chang) until July 31, 2013

Submission of extended abstract:
All invited and contributing speakers are requested to submit extended abstracts of 5 up to 10 pages including figures. There is no specific format for the abstracts, but they should be produced using MS Word so that we can edit the abstracts. We may also request to submit original figure files.
Send your abstract to kichang@snu.ac.kr (Kyung-Il Chang).
The deadline for abstract submission is August 15, 2013.

Travel arrangement for overseas invited speakers:
A Korean travel agent will contact each invited speaker to arrange flight schedule. If you have any difficulty in the arrangement with the travel agent, please do not hesitate to contact the local organizer (kichang@snu.ac.kr). Your final destination from your countries will be the Gimhae International Airport in Busan, Korea (http://www.airport.co.kr/mbs/gimhaeeng/).

Sponsors:
OCCAPA Program funded by Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea
Research Institute of Oceanography (RIO), Seoul National University
North Pacific Martine Science Organization (PICES)

Invited Speakers (total 18 as is on May 18, 2013; will be a couple of more):
Downscaling Session

• Ping Chang (Texas A&M Univ., USA)
• Yang-Ki Cho (SNU, Korea)
• Enrique Curchitser (Rutgers Univ., USA)
• Michael Foreman (IOS, Canada)
• Jason Holt (NOC, UK)
• Kwang-Yul Kim (SNU, Korea)
• Hyodae Sea (WHOI, USA)
• Liwei Zou (IAP, China)

Sub-mesoscale Session

• Hidenori Aiki (JAMSTEC, Japan)
• Annalisa Bracco (Georgia Tech, USA)
• Paulo Calil (FURG, Brasil)
• Chris Edwards (UCSC, USA)
• Patrice Klein (IFREMER, France)
• Marina Levy (UPMC, France)
• Kelvin Richards (Univ. of Hawaii, USA)
• Leif Thomas (Stanford Univ., USA)

North Pacific Climate Variability

• Shoshiro Minobe (Hokkaido Univ., Japan)

Other ocean climate-related issues

• Robert Reben (Univ. Colorado, USA)
• Benjamin Hamlington (Univ. Colorado, USA)

Sesssions:
Regional Ocean Climate Projections: Status and lessons learnt
North Pacific climate vartiability and change from models and data
Ocean sub-mesoscale
Miscellaneous

General information
We have the pleasure of announcing the Regional Climate Modeling Workshop II following its successful first workshop in Seoul, Korea in 2011. The workshop was motivated with the realization that physically-based regional climate projections are the starting point for many socio-economic impact and adaptation considerations to future climate. While the global coupled models capture large-scale climate behavior, they have limitations for regional assessment due to their coarse spatial resolutions and lack of regionally important physical processes. As was the case in the 1st workshop, we invite presentations that discuss the regional climate projections based on ocean or coupled models, novel downscaling techniques including implementation of surface and lateral boundary conditions, and existing roadblocks. We also encourage papers to consider both physics and biogeochemistry.
Extending the scope of the workshop, we also invite presentations for the 2nd workshop that discuss some pivotal physical and biological processes important to climate projections focusing on ocean’s sub-mesoscale motions. There is considerable current interest in motions in the ocean on the sub-mesoscale and their impact on the marine ecosystem. Understanding the fundamental physics of these motions, their influence on lateral and vertical transports, and how they influence the functioning of the marine ecosystem is necessary in order to be able to assess likely changes and shifts to the system under a changing climate. The presentations will discuss the following key questions; How much do we know? Do we know enough to be able to say with confidence how conditions at these scales may change? What are the major unanswered questions? Other oceanographic processes important to the regional climate projections will also be addressed.
Also invited are presentations on the climate variability of and changes in physical and biogeochemical properties in the North Pacific based on long-term observational data and climate models.

Details on Novotel Ambassador Busan
http://www.novoelbusan.com
Address : 1405-16, Jung-Dong, Haeudaegu, Busan, Korea
Tel : 82-51-743-1234 Fax : 82-51-743-1250
From GIMHAE International Airport (http://www.airport.co.kr/mbs/gimhae)
A. Limousine Bus:
Cost : Adult-KRW 7,000, Kid-KRW 4,500
Operation Hours : every 20 minutes
To Hotel 7:10 ~ 21:40 Airport 5:10 ~ 19:50
B. Bus No.: 307
C. Taxi:
1hour, Fee: About KRW 25,000

Joint PICES/ICES Workshop on “Global assessment of the implications of climate change on the spatial distribution of fish and fisheries (WKSICCME-Spatial)

Timing: May 22-24, 2013

Location: St. Petersburg, Russia

Agenda / Presentations / Breakout group assignments

Workshop Report

List of Participants

Conveners:  Anne Hollowed (USA/PICES), Suam Kim (Korea/PICES) and Myron Peck (Germany/ICES)

Workshop Description:

Climate change will impact the spatial distribution of fish and fisheries around the globe.  These changes are expected to disrupt current fisheries, alter species interactions, and may result in conflicts over quota allocations.  Previous studies have demonstrated that fish and fisheries are responding to shifts in environmental conditions in selected regions.  Future projections from bio-climatic window models, individual based models and coupled biophysical ecosystem models show climate change will impact spatial distributions of fish and fisheries.  An Atlas of observations and model projections is needed to develop a global synthesis of the implications of climate change on fish and fisheries.  Participants will review the available observations and model output to: 1) develop and test analytical methods for detecting changes in distribution; 2) assess the skill of different modeling approaches; 3) develop methods for quantifying uncertainty in projected changes; 4) produce design specifications for a global database of marine observations; 5) evaluate the influential factors governing vulnerability to shifting distributions.  Products of this effort will be used to develop regional and latitudinal differences in the vulnerability of species or species groups to climate change induced shifts in ocean conditions.  The synthesis will be used to inform future decisions regarding the governance and management of marine resources.

PICES Workshop on “Radionuclide Science and Environmental Quality of Radiation in the North Pacific”

By Invitiation Only

Timing: March 14-15, 2013

Location: Xiamen, Fujian Province, P.R. China

Host Institute: Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration (SOA)

2012

International Workshop on "Forecasting Ecosystem Indicators with Climate-driven Process Models"

Timing: Sept 8-10, 2012
Location: Incheon, Korea
Place: Friday Harbor Labs, WA, USA
Sponsors/Organizers: Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynaics (GLOBEC), PICES, The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)
URL

International Workshop on "Introduction to Rapid Assessment Survey methodologies for detecting non-indigenous marine species"
Place: Nagasaki, Japan
Sponsors/Organizers: PICES, The Fisheries Research Agency (FRA), Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP), IOC sub-commission for Western Pacific (WESTPAC)
Details: pdf

2011

International Workshop on “Development and application of Regional Climate Models”

Scientific program and detailed information

Timing: October 11–12, 2011 (immediately prior to the 2011 PICES Annual Meeting)

Location: Incheon, Korea

Conveners: Kyung-Il Chang (Korea), Michael Foreman (Canada), Chan Joo Jang (Korea) and Angelica Peña (Canada)

Workshop Description
Both global and regional numerical climate models are important tools in understanding physical mechanisms involved in and controlling climate change and variability at multiple spatio-temporal scales. They may also provide the unique possibility to construct physically based future climate projections, the starting point for many socio-economic impact and adaptation considerations to future climate change. Global and regional modeling complement each other. While the global coupled general circulation models (GCMs) may be capable of capturing the large-scale mean climate behavior, especially those related to anthropogenic forcing, they often cannot be directly used for assessing regional climate impacts mainly due to their coarse spatial scale. Furthermore, they are usually not successful in capturing regionally important physical processes and reproducing higher order statistics and extreme events. Regional climate modeling has been introduced to fill the gap between the GCMs and the growing demand of climate predictions and scenarios on highly-resolved spatio-temporal scales. Various approaches and parameterizations have been adopted in existing regional climate models (RCMs). This two-day workshop will provide a platform to discuss various aspects of regional climate modeling such as different approaches, downscaling, parameterizations, and coupling to the GCMs. It will also encompass the coupling of RCMs to ecosystem models.

Joint ICES/PICES Theme Session for the 2011 ICES Annual Science Conference:

Title: Atmospheric forcing of the Northern Hemisphere ocean gyres, and the subsequent impact on the adjacent marine climate and ecosystems

Conveners: Jürgen Alheit (ICES/Germany), Hjálmar Hátún (ICES/Faroe Islands), Emanuele Di Lorenzo (PICES/USA) and Ichiro Yasuda (PICES/Japan)

Description: Recently, it has become apparent that the dynamics of the North Pacific and Atlantic subpolar and subtropical gyres have considerable impacts on the adjacent marine ecosystems:

• The large decline of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre after the mid-1990s resulted in a) much elevated temperatures and salinities in the northeastern Atlantic (Hátún et al. 2005), b) increased abundances of phytoplankton in this region, c) decreased abundances of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus, d) increased abundances of several warmer-water copepods, e) expanded spawning distribution and a more westerly post-spawning migration of the pelagic gadoid blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) and f) a large increase in the spawning stock of this fish species (Hátún et al., 2009a; Hátún et al. 2009b).


• Notable changes in the fish and zooplankton communities (invasions, changes in abundance and biogeographic range shifts) in the North and Baltic seas were observed in the mid-1990s in association with the contraction of the subpolar gyre of the Atlantic (Alheit et al. 2010, ICES CM/S: 14).


• Low-frequency changes in the large-scale transport of the North Pacific gyres drive large-amplitude fluctuations of physical and biological parameters along the eastern boundary current systems of the California Current and Gulf of Alaska (Di Lorenzo et al. 2008; 2009). There is also evidence that changes in gyre-scale circulation are propagated by Rossby waves to the western boundary in the Kuroshio & Oyashio region (Nonaka et al. 2006; Taguchi et al., 2005; 2007; Ceballos et al., 2009). This east-west connection across the North Pacific, and the fact that a large fraction of the atmospheric variability that drives the changes in the North Pacific gyres originates from ENSO dynamics (Di Lorenzo et al. 2010), provides a mechanism to understand coherent ecosystem variations across the North Pacific and potentially across the Northern Hemisphere ocean gyres.


• SST and MLD regime shifts in the Kuroshio/Oyashio system in the late 1980s probably caused the collapse of the Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) (Noto and Yasuda,1999; Nishikawa and Yasuda, 2008) and the recovery of the Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus) (Itoh et al. 2009), and a relation to meridional shifts of gyre sytem fronts is likely (Alheit and Bakun 2010).


• Anchovy/sardine alternation in the Humboldt Current in response to large-scale water mass advection (Alheit and Bakun 2010).

The theme session aims at bringing together marine scientists from the Pacific and the Atlantic, respectively, to compare results from both oceans in order to gain a better understanding of the apparent gyre-ecosystem linkages. We invite atmospheric scientists, physical oceanographers and biologists to present papers on (1) the atmospheric driving mechanisms of these basin-scale gyres, (2) the internal dynamics of gyre systems, and (3) the impact of the gyres on the adjacent marine ecosystems.

Joint ICES/PICES Theme Session for the 2011 ICES Annual Science Conference:

Title: Atlantic redfish and Pacific rockfish: Comparing biology, ecology, assessment and management strategies for Sebastes spp.

Conveners: Benjamin Planque (ICES/Norway), Paul Spencer (PICES/USA), Christoph Stransky (ICES/Germany) and Steve Cadrin (ICES/USA)

Description: Redfish in the Atlantic Ocean and rockfish in the Pacific Ocean (Sebastes spp.) are closely related and commercially important species. Active research is taking place in both oceanic basins but, despite the similarity of Sebastes species, little work has been done to compare the current state of knowledge for Atlantic redfish and Pacific rockfish. Recent genetic studies have identified new species and provided novel insight in populations’ spatial structure. Observation methods are being developed on the habitat use of rockfish for various life-history stages, and new survey methodologies involving both trawl and acoustic gear are being investigated to address the occurrence of Sebastes in untrawlable grounds. The objective of this theme session is to review current progress and key questions on the biology, ecology, observation methodologies, assessment models, and management approaches of Sebastes in the Atlantic and Pacific basins. The synthesis of information from these areas would not only enhance our knowledge of Sebastes populations, but also provide an opportunity to address practical issues such as survey techniques, assessment methods, and management strategies.

Joint ICES/PICES Theme Session for the 2011 ICES Annual Science Conference:

Title: Recruitment processes: Early life history dynamics – from eggs to juveniles

Conveners: Richard D.M. Nash (ICES/Norway), Ed Houde (ICES/USA), and Rick Brodeur (PICES/USA)

Description: Variability in recruitment success remains a significant issue in understanding the reproductive dynamics of marine organisms. The issue has been prominent since the days of Hjort in the early 20th century. Recently, there has been resolution of many questions related to recruitment variability and its causes, but the roles of life stages in control and regulation remain largely unresolved. Recruitment processes determine numbers of individuals surviving from eggs through to the stage joining the adult stock. Survival rates vary widely among species, within a species, between stocks and over temporal and spatial scales. While the preponderance of ‘recruitment research’ emphasizes fishes, there is opportunity and need to compare recruitment processes in marine vertebrates and invertebrates. Pre-recruit survival rates and processes differ during ontogeny in both groups. Nevertheless, until recently research and understanding have been focused on the earliest life stages, primarily eggs and larvae, rather than early life history as a whole. In the sea, variability in reproductive dynamics is initially generated by the adults through variable egg production or quality, which then is amplified or dampened through the egg-larval pelagic phases, during metamorphosis/settlement, and through the juvenile stage on the nursery ground. In addition, survival through the first winter can be critical in determining recruited year-class size. The relative importance of density-independent and density-dependent processes acting on early life stages continues to be poorly understood.
The theme session will welcome contributions on:

• Comparative research on factors controlling survival in early life (pre-recruit) stages of marine invertebrates and vertebrates;


• Research that considers parental effects on early life stages and recruitment;


• Research that considers the contribution of temporally and spatially separated components of the reproductive output to ‘recruitment’;


• The importance of transition stages e.g. hatch, metamorphosis and settlement on the survival of young stages of marine vertebrates and invertebrates.

ICES/PICES Workshop on “Biological consequences of a decrease in sea ice in Arctic and Sub-Arctic Seas”

Timing: May 22, 2011

Location: Seattle, U.S.A. (in conjunction with the 2nd ESSAS Open Science Meeting (http://www.pices.int/meetings/international_symposia/2011/ESSAS/default.aspx

Conveners: Anne Hollowed (PICES/USA) and Harald Loeng (ICES/Norway)

Workshop Description
This workshop will review life history information and habitat associations to assess the risk of immigration and settlement of new biological populations in the Arctic and surrounding shelf seas in response to the retreat of sea ice. Criteria necessary to establish new species in the Arctic Ocean and surrounding areas will be developed and compared to expected conditions based on climate scenarios. Ways for cooperation in information sharing between groups charged with managing the Arctic will be explored and the results of the workshop will be reported to both PICES and ICES scientists working on these issues.

Workshop on “Comparative analyses of marine bird and mammal responses to climate change”

Timing: May 22, 2011

Location: Seattle, U.S.A. (in conjunction with the 2nd ESSAS Open Science Meeting (http://www.pices.int/meetings/international_symposia/2011/ESSAS/default.aspx

Conveners: Rolf Ream (USA), William J. Sydeman (USA) and Yutaka Watanuki (Japan)

Workshop Description
This workshop will focus on how to best integrate ongoing and new research on marine birds and mammals into long-term PICES and ESSAS programs and objectives; the overarching goal is to produce a strategic vision and plan for activities of the PICES MBMAP over the next 5 years. Specific workshop objectives include (1) producing an outline of potential new goals reflecting climate change impacts on marine birds and mammals in the northern hemisphere, (2) design and implementation of sub-groups to work on specific areas of interest including (i) models of climate impact (e.g., NEMURO.BIRD), (ii) conservation of threatened and endangered species, and (iii) communication, and (3) initial writing of strategic plan documents. The workshop will include some oral presentations, but the emphasis will be on discussions leading to planning documents.

ICES/PICES Workshop on “Reaction of Northern Hemisphere ecosystems to climate events: A Comparison”

Timing: May 2–6, 2011

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Conveners: Jürgen Alheit (ICES/Germany), Christian Möllmann (ICES/Germany), Sukgeun Jung (PICES/Korea) and Yoshiro Watanabe (PICES/Japan)

Workshop Description (more on goals and description, methods)
Regime shifts have been observed, espcially during the late 1980s, in several northern hemisphere marine ecosystems in the Atlantic and the Pacific such as the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Alaska/Northern California Current, the Oyashio-Kuroshio System and the Japan/East Sea which all have important small pelagic resources. A respective multi-authored manuscript has been drafted by an earlier joint ICES/PICES workshop describing the associated climatic teleconnection patterns between these ecosystems which are widely separated from each other. The present workshop will extend this descriptive exercise in a quantitative way. Long-term time series of physical, chemical and biological variables from these regional ecosystems will be compared and analyzed by a team of experts from PICES and ICES countries using multivariate statistics. These studies will yield further insight into how ecosystems change state, as, for example, the rates and magnitudes of change are not the same for the different systems reflecting regional specific differences in the forcing factors. In any one geographical ecosystem the expression of changes resulting from climatic forcing may take on different patterns reflecting the detailed mechanisms and local processes that are influential within the constraints of the larger scale forcing. However, there is growing evidence that although climate forcing appears to be a significant trigger for many regime shifts, those ecosystems subject to high levels of human activity such as fishing pressures appear to be at greater risk to this phenomena).

This workshop will conduct a meta-analysis of changes in ecosystem structure and function over several northern hemisphere ecosystems in relation to climate and other anthropogenic drivers. The goals of the workshop are to:
a) Assemble multivariate data sets of long-term time series of physical, chemical and biological variables from regional ecosystems;
b) Identify trends and abrupt changes (i.e. regime shifts) in the regional data sets using multivariate statistical and discontinuity analyses;
c) Identify the region-specific importance of climate events relative to anthropogenic forcing factors such as eutrophication and exploitation;
d) Conduct a meta-analysis of ecosystem trends and their potential drivers over all northern hemisphere ecosystem.

Inter-sessional Science Board meeting (ISB-2011)
Closed meeting (for PICES Science Board Committee Members)

Timing: April 29–30, 2011

Location: Honolulu, HI, U.S.A.
This meeting will be held at the Ala Moana Hotel, tentatively we have different rooms on the two days: Carnation Room on April 29 and Plumeria Room on April 30. (This SB Meeting includes a meeting of the Joint PICES/ICES Study Group on “Developing a Framework for Scientific Cooperation in Northern Hemisphere Marine Science”, structure and details to be announced.)

Travel: The airport code of Honolulu is “HNL”. Other than domestic flights from many cities in the US, there are also international direct flights from Canada, Japan and Korea.

Dinner: A group dinner for the SB Meeting is planned for April 30. Details will be announced later.

Accommodation and Visa

Indicators of Status and Change within North Pacific Marine Ecosystems: A FUTURE Workshop

(by invitation and application only)

Timing: April 26–28, 2011

Location: East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.
This workshop will be held in the Asia Room at the East-West Center (EWC) on the University of Hawaii campus, bus transportation between the Ala Moana Hotel and the venue will be provided.

Travel: The airport code of Honolulu is “HNL”. Other than domestic flights from many cities in the US, there are also international direct flights from Canada, Japan and Korea.

Accommodation and Visa

Conveners: Thomas Therriault (AICE-AP; Canada), Jacquelynne King (COVE-AP; Canada) and Sachihiko Itoh (Japan)

Workshop Description
Ecosystems are affected by a number of natural stressors and, more recently, an increased number of anthropogenic ones. Ultimately, these stressors result in changes to ecosystem structure and function, which in turn can affect their overall productivity and the societies that depend on them. Metrics of ecosystem status are required to measure impacts of stressors and monitor change. Ecosystem indicators also could be used to identify systems that are resilient or vulnerable to stressors.

One of the themes of the PICES FUTURE Science Plan focuses on ecosystem resiliency and vulnerability to stressors and how these attributes might change in the in the future. In order to ensure scientists have the ability to detect ecosystem-level changes in a consistent and standardized way, common metrics must be developed. Further, in an attempt to understand the amount of inherent variability in marine ecosystems, these metrics also need to incorporate measures of uncertainty that can be conveyed to end users, including managers and policy makers.

The goals of this workshop will be to identify:
1) means of determining ecosystem resilience or vulnerability;
2) ecosystem-level indicators of status and change, including but not limited to fisheries-based indicators;
3) methods to characterize uncertainty in these indicators;
4) common ecosystem indicators to be used for regional comparisons by the PICES’ community.

Please review the FUTURE Science Plan prior to this workshop (http://www.pices.int/members/scientific_programs/FUTURE/FUTURE-main.aspx). It outlines the key research questions (on pages 3-4) that underlie the objectives of this workshop.

List of participants

Abstracts

Discussion Elements

PRESENTATIONS

Supporting Information:
This proposed workshop will consider progress since:

• the 2004 IOC/SCOR/GLOBEC/ICES/PICES-sponsored symposium “Quantitative Ecosystem Indicators for Fisheries Management” with an emphasis on North Pacific ecosystems (papers published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science : http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/content/62/3.toc);


• the Report of PICES Working Group 19 on Ecosystem-based Management Science and its Application to the North Pacific. PICES Sci. Rep. No. 37, which provided some recommendations on fisheries-based ecosystem indicators for the PICES’ regions.