The overall goal of this project relates to providing an exceptional level of ecological detail by: 1) tracing the seasonal inputs of specific fatty acid biomarkers deriving from sea ice alga and open ocean phytoplankton through the marine food web using sophisticated fatty acid profiling and novel compound-specific stable isotope analyses (CSIA); 2) tracing the seasonal (spring and summer) changes in the proportions of these biomarkers in sympagic, pelagic and benthic arctic marine invertebrates; 3) investigating the presence of these seasonally derived biomarkers in ice seals, which are an important subsistence resource to Alaskan Native communities in the region. Our detailed and seasonal perspective will contribute to ongoing food web studies in the Bering Sea (e.g., the Bering Ecosystem Study and Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program - BEST/BSIERP, funded by the NSF and North Pacific Research Board).

Sean Brennan and Jared Weems (both SFOS graduate students) have both taken part in some of the cruises that have sampled in the Bering Sea for this project.  Samples were taken during three cruises in each of two years (2009 and 2010).  Collection of the cruise samples for this project has been led and coordinated by collaborators Drs. Rolf Gradinger and Katrin Iken.  Samples of marine mammals have and are being supplied to the project through collaborations with Alaskan Native subsistence hunters and Alaska Department of Fish and Game (Dr. Lori Quakenbush and Anna Bryan), the Alaska Marine Advisory Program (Gay Shefield) and collaborator Dr. Lara Dehn (SFOS, UAF).  Many of the samples are being prepared (i.e. fatty acid extraction and production of fatty acid methyl esters - FAME) for analysis in Dr. Sue Budge’s laboratory.  They are then sent to the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility for compound specific stable isotope analyses.  These isotopic analyses are being conducted by Shiway Wang and Laura Oxtoby (both PhD students in SFOS, UAF).  Laura and Shiway are being assisted by Cory Graham a Fisheries undergraduate student in SFOS.

The map to the right shows the locations of some of the samples taken during one of the BEST/BSIERP cruises.  Highlighted in red (POM) and green (ice algae) are the preliminary samples that were analyzed for their compound specific (fatty acid) stable carbon isotope composition.