Marine-Derived Nutrients The Aquatic Food Web FREEING THE ELWHA

Marine-Derived Nutrients The Aquatic Food Web FREEING THE ELWHA

Algal Blooms The North Pacific Turns Green FREEING THE ELWHA

The Marine Food Web eals feed on small fish and salmon Orca feed on salmon and/or seals Adult Salmon feed on small fish nchovies are common schooling fish Juvenile salmon can be prey for adults Juvenile salmon feed on plankton Small forage fish feed on plankton ooplankton feed on algae and smaller plankton Algae produce food from photosynthesis FREEING THE ELWHA

Trophic Levels 4th level Consumers 1 energy unit – sharks, eagles, killer whales, marlins, and other large predators Tertiary 10 energy units – large fish and other predators (squid, salmon, seals, tuna, etc) Consumers Secondary Consumers Primary Consumers Producers 100 energy units – small fish and filter-predators like jellyfish 1000 energy units – zooplankton and tiny filterfeeders 10,000 energy units - Phytoplankton FREEING THE ELWHA

Biomagnification 4th level Consumers 10,000 chemical units– sharks, eagles, killer whales, marlins, and other large predator Tertiary Consumers Secondary Consumers Primary Consumers 1000 chemical units – large fish and other predators (squid, salmon, seals, tuna, 100 chemical units – small fish and filter-predators like jellyfish 10 chemical units – zooplankton and tiny filter-feeders 1 unit – Phytoplankton and algae Producers FREEING THE ELWHA

Decomposition of Salmon Carcasses FREEING THE ELWHA

vement of Marine-Derived Nutrients Across Generatio Adult salmon return from sea Juvenile salmon head to sea Salmon Carcass Nutrients enter water uvenile salmon feed on aquatic insects Nutrients used by algae and bacteria on rocks Aquatic insects feed on algae and bacteria It is estimated that up 95% of the food consumed by a salmon fry may have originated from FREEING the salmon THE ELWHA

ovement of Marine-Derived Nutrients in the Food Cha Adult salmon return from sea Adults deposit eggs in gravel Eggs eaten by predators Alevin hatch from eggs Alevin eaten by predators Fry feed on aquatic insects Smolts head to sea Fry eaten by predators FREEING THE ELWHA

This project was made possible in part by a grant from Washington’s National Park Fund. FREEING THE ELWHA