Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Ancient terrestrial forests reborn as modern marine ecosystems under shifting sea levels

Abstract Sea-level rise and coastal erosion can submerge terrestrial carbon-rich landscapes, yet the ecological fate and climate significance of such relict coastal carbon deposits remain largely unknown. We report the discovery of submerged tropical peat reefs in the shallow coa...

Quantifying exposure and residence time of migrating Atlantic salmon post-smolts at aquaculture sites in a region of extreme tides

Aquaculture production now exceeds capture fisheries, but concerns persist regarding environmental impacts. Salmon farms within Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) migratory corridors may create hotspots of predation, parasites, or disease that could affect out-migrating post-smolts. H...

Compounding Impacts—Genomic Exploration of the Potential Effect of Domestic Introgression on Climate Adaptation in Atlantic Salmon ( Salmo salar )

ABSTRACT Predicting population, species, and community responses to climate change is critical for the successful management of wild ecosystems. However, climate change does not act alone. Interactions among climate change and other anthropogenic threats could significantly compl...

Complex interactions among invasive fishes and flow barriers combine to maintain an endangered native species

Abstract The Breede River in the Western Cape Province is one of South Africa’s major freshwater systems and of high ecological and socio-economic value. Similar to other freshwater systems worldwide, it is threatened by environmental degradation and multiple invasive species. Un...

The frequency of spawning and skipped migration in a central Canadian population of anadromous Arctic char inferred using acoustic telemetry

Understanding spawning frequency and migration behaviour is essential for managing iteroparous anadromous fishes such as Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). Using a decade of acoustic telemetry data from southern Victoria Island, Nunavut, we examined the frequency of marine migrati...

Environmental DNA Monitoring of Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) and Fish Biodiversity with Inuit Communities

The Northern Hudson Bay (NHB) narwhal (Monodon monoceros) population is geographically and genetically distinct and represents a vital cultural and subsistence resource for Inuit communities in Nunavut. While aerial surveys provide abundance estimates for population models and su...

Centering equity, diversity and inclusion in environmental evidence synthesis: from awareness to action

Abstract Knowledge generated through evidence synthesis is an approach that decision-makers can take to inform policy and management decisions. Evidence syntheses, such as systematic reviews, provide quantitative and qualitative summaries of this evidence, using structured method...

Research on the ecology of the carnivorous sponge-associated iridovirus (CaSpA-IV) reveals its presence in the Cnidaria

Carnivorous sponge–associated iridovirus (CaSpA-IV) is a recently described virus identified in two deep-sea cladorhizid sponge species from the Gulf of Maine and Baffin Bay. To assess its ecological distribution and potential transmission pathways, we molecularly screened for Ca...

Shipping noise may trigger valve closure responses in exploited scallop beds of the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Shipping noise is a pervasive form of underwater noise pollution, yet its effects on benthic invertebrates remain poorly integrated into spatial risk assessments. The Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus), a benthic bivalve supporting the world's largest wild pectinid f...

Multi-year Assessment of Smolt Migrations in a Large, Fragmented River : Hydropower and the Remnant Wild Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) of the River Dalälven

Anthropogenic river modifications can impede diadromous fish migration and passage success. We investigated downstream passage probabilities, migration speeds, and route selection of wild Atlantic salmon smolts in the lower 28 km of the river Dalälven, Sweden, where two hydroelec...

Tissue-specific trace element accumulation, mercury and arsenic speciation in Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus)

Walruses ( Odobenus rosmarus ) are long-lived Arctic marine mammals and play an important ecological and cultural role in northern communities. We quantified and compared concentrations of 34 elements in blubber, liver, and muscle tissues from 97 Atlantic walruses ( Odobenus r. r...

Winter sediment resuspension in a submarine canyon drives the offshore export of toxigenic Alexandrium catenella cysts

Abstract Harmful algal blooms (HABs) caused by the toxigenic dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella recur regularly in the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary (LSLE, eastern Canada). Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to detect A. catenella DNA as a proxy for cyst abundance...

A compilation of global bio-optical in situ data for ocean-colour satellite applications – version four

Abstract. A global in situ dataset for validation of satellite products from the ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) is presented. This version of the compilation, with data starting in 1996, extends to 2025, which is important for the validation of recent algorit...

A collaborative e-library for stressor-response functions to improve the science underlying salmonid management

Stressor-response functions quantify relationships linking environmental stressors to biological responses, underpinning salmonid life-cycle models, restoration planning, regulatory policy, and cumulative effects assessments. Despite their importance, these stressor-response func...

Casting light on the workings of illegal fishing markets

About 3.5 million fishing vessels ply the world’s oceans, providing livelihoods and food for millions of people. Sound management is key to fisheries’ sustainability, but illegal fishing, along with fishing overcapacity generally and environmental change, are putting many fisheri...

The Zooplankton International Geospatial dataset: A global repository of spatiotemporal freshwater zooplankton community composition data from lakes and reservoirs to support ecological research

Abstract Zooplankton transfer substantial energy in aquatic food webs and are used as indicators of environmental change. Syntheses of zooplankton community dynamics globally require datasets that span a wide range of environmental gradients; however, these datasets are limited d...

Contrasting Food Web Dynamics Across Oceanographic Boundaries in Subarctic Pelagic Ecosystems

ABSTRACT Understanding the structure of pelagic food webs across multiple trophic levels is critical for elucidating species interactions, energy flow, and anthropogenic impacts on production. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the eastern North Pacific pelagic food...