MASTS Open Forum Session “Biogeochemistry”

The MASTS Biogeochemistry Forum was excited to host this free online Open Forum Session.

A Recording of the Session is available on the MASTS Biogeochemistry Forum Webpage.

Is the Ocean losing Nitrogen?

Speaker: Marta Santos Garcia, SAGES, PhD at the University of Edinburgh

This talk will explore how ongoing climate change has led to a shift in the biogeochemical status of the Arctic Ocean. Annual nutrient samples from the Fram Strait from 1998 to 2022 reveal that fixed nitrogen concentrations have declined in the polar outflow waters after 2009. Increasing denitrification rates on the Siberian shelves are proposed as a critical driving force behind this change. The loss in nitrogen is likely to continue with the projected decline of sea ice cover and will be key in driving future environmental changes in the Arctic Ocean.

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Test pilot: Using biomolecular proxies to identify physiological status and feeding history in a large pilot whale mass stranding event

Speaker: Anna Kebke, PhD at the University of Glasgow

Anna Kebke, a PhD candidate at the University of Glasgow with the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) utilizes fatty acids and stable isotopes to enhance our understanding of cetacean ecophysiology and explore their applications in understanding factors in marine mammal stranding events. The focal point of her PhD is the 2023 pilot whale (Globicephala melas) mass stranding event on the Isle of Lewis, involving 55 individual animals. This mass stranding serves as a pivotal case study for understanding pilot whale ecology in Northeast Atlantic waters and informing Scottish marine mammal management. This research contributes to an international and multidisciplinary investigation that seeks to shed light on the health and ecology of the animals prior to stranding. In this talk, Anna will present preliminary data from the event with the goal of developing a standardized protocol for incorporating stable isotopes and fatty acids into the routine analysis of stranded cetaceans.

Images:  (1 & 2) Unsplash, (3) Anna Kebke