Euphausiids are among the most important links
in coastal and oceanic food webs, transferring energy from primary
and secondary producers to higher trophic level animals such as
salmon, herring, sardines, mackerels, Pacific whiting, sablefish,
many rockfish species, auklets, shearwaters, and whales. Given their
importance in the food chain, euphausiids may be regarded as keystone
sentinel taxa. Moreover, many PICES scientists are interested in
formulating ecosystem models that better parameterize the euphausiid
component. This session invites scientific papers that review and
discuss results of research on the ecology and life history of euphausiids
in the North Pacific Ocean, with a focus on comparative studies
in continental shelf and slope waters around the Pacific Rim.