Timing: June 23-27, 2014
Location: Bergen, Norway
PICES/IMBER Session
Conveners:
Thomas Therriault (PICES)
Ian Perry (IMBER)
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
Timing: September 23-27, 2013
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
ICES/PICES Session A
Marine Litter
Conveners:
Francois Galgani (France)
Thomas Maes (UK)
Thomas Therriault (Canada/PICES)
Dick Vethaak (Netherlands)
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.
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)
Ken Drinkwater (Norway)
Anne Hollowed (USA/PICES>)
Myron Peck (Germany)
Vincent Saba (USA)
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.Timing: September 23-27, 2013
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
ICES/PICES Session E
Conveners:
Anna Gårdmark (Sweden)
Jason Link (USA)
R. Ian Perry (Canada/PICES)
Michele Casini (Sweden)
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:
Timing: September 23-27, 2013
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
ICES/PICES Session M
Conveners:
Emanuele. Di Lorenzo (USA/PICES)
Arthur Miller (USA/PICES)
Marc Hufnagl (Germany/ICES)
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.
Timing: September 10-12, 2013
Location: Novotel Ambassador Busan, Busan, Korea
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)
Conveners:
Kyung-Il Chang (School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Korea)
Enrique Curchitser (Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, USA>
Chan Joo Jang (Ocean Circulation and Climate Research Division, KIOST, Korea)
Kelvin Richards (International Pacific Research Center/Department of Oceanography University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
Invited Speakers (total 18 as is on May 18, 2013; will be a couple of more):
Downscaling Session
Sub-mesoscale Session
North Pacific Climate Variability
Other ocean climate-related issues
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.
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.
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)
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.
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 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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
Conveners: Jürgen Alheit (Germany), Dave Reid (UK), and Yoshiro Watanabe (Japan)
This session aims to bring together studies on observed changes in migration patterns. These could include; track, timing, distance or speed. Papers are invited on any documented changes in such migrations, but particularly where potential explanatory phenonema have been identified. These could include:
The Theme Session will be held at the 2006 Annual Science Conference,
opening on Tuesday 19 September and closing on Saturday 23 September.
The venue of the conference will be the Maastricht Exhibitions and Congress
Centre (MECC) in The Netherlands. You will find information about the
centre on the following web address: http://www.mecc.nl/).
The general Call for Papers and Posters for the 2006 Annual Science Conference
will be issued in the beginning of 2006 and will include, among other
things, a list of all the planned Theme Sessions. Anyone is eligible to
submit a paper or poster to this Theme Session.
Participants will be required to send titles and abstracts (up to 200
words) of their contributions to the ICES Secretariat before the deadline
of Thursday 20 April 2006.
Limited travel funds are available for young scientists and for scientists
from countries with “economies in transition”. Especially
first time participation in the ASC is encouraged. The following requirements
qualify for eligibility:
Since funds are limited, travel support can only be partial, e.g. airfare, accommodation, subsistence. The submitted applications will be assessed on the basis of these criteria:
The application form for travel funds will be available on the conference
website and should be submitted to ICES Secretariat.
.
Jürgen Alheit
Baltic Sea Research Institute,
Seestrasse 15, D-18119
Warnemünde, Germany,
e-mail: juergen.alheit@io-warnemuende.de
Dave G. Reid
Fisheries Research Services,
Marine Laboratory, P.O. Box 101,
375 Victoria Road,
Aberdeen AB11 9DB, United Kingdom,
e-mail: reiddg@marlab.ac.uk
Yoshiro Watanabe
Ocean Research Institute,
University of Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: ywatanab@ori.u-tokyo.ac.jp