CCE-LTER & Pyrosomes

I work in the California Current Ecosystem (CCE-LTER) using a mix of shipboard measurements, long-term datasets, image classification, and ecological theory to understand how pyrosomes fit into the system.

My main questions include: - When and where do pyrosomes appear in the Southern California Bight and CCE-LTER region? - How do pyrosome “blooms” alter zooplankton community structure in a trait-based sense (feeding modes, body size, behavior)? - What are the consequences for carbon export, grazing, and energy flow when pyrosomes are present?

This work combines: - Long-term CCE-LTER and CalCOFI time series - Shipboard process cruises - Image-based zooplankton data and machine learning classifiers - Trait-based interpretations of community change