Marine Ecology
Zooplankton are the region's smallest animals, yet they are the food source for the largest, baleen whales. No matter the size or abundance of the plants and animals in the waters of the North Pacific Coast, all are connected in an intricate food web.
Illustration adapted by Soren Henrich from food web schematic in: Ecosystem overview: Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area
The ocean environment of the North Pacific Coast changes dramatically throughout the year. With each season comes a different pulse of life. At the base of this transformation are seasonal changes in the abundance of plankton (tiny plants and animals in the sea) that result from changing sunlight and oceanographic conditions throughout the year.
The enormous diversity of life dependent on microscopic plankton may not be obvious to the casual observer. However, plankton's is a foundation of the food chain. Seasonal changes in plankton ripple throughout the entire ecosystem--as abundance of plankton changes, we see parallel changes in concentrations of herring, seabirds, porpoises and grey whales.
The many animals that depend on the seasonal bloom of plankton highlight the interconnectedness of all life in the coastal waters of the North Pacific and the complex and intimate relationships between species and ocean conditions. Planning for the North Pacific Coast must reflect the incredible interconnectedness of this precious ecosystem.
To see maps of many ecological features found in B.C. waters, visit the Ecology pages of the Marine Atlas of Pacific Canada.
