Petersburg, Alaska
Today we visited the small fishing community of Petersburg, known as the town that fish built. Not too long ago, more millionaires per capita resided here than any other city in the United States. The town’s unique history and present economy revolves around the productivity from local waters. Humans and other species alike benefit from the oceanic and environmental processes that ultimately result in this economically and ecologically rich community.
Oceans are a fundamental source of planetary productivity. Fueling rain clouds that blanket terrestrial habitats, recycling nutrients from within, and being a sink and source for terrestrial nutrification, oceanic processes are indispensable for all aspects of life on the planet.
The productive waters of Southeast Alaska are the product of oceanic currents causing an upwelling of nutrients from the ocean floor. This nutrification provides the necessary elements of the first tier in the oceanic food web, the phytoplankton. This rich biomass is consumed by a myriad of zooplankton and these then become prey to larger zooplankton and planktivorous fish. The evolution up the food chain continues and the top predators are the beneficiaries of all the smaller critters that fed before them.
The food chain is not limited to life in the sea. In addition to the numerous fisheries in Petersburg, the nutrient cycle continues on land as numerous other species consume prey from the ocean. Spawning salmon are favorites for bears and bald eagles. Also, the table is most certainly set at the low tide exposing invertebrate and algal species fit for consumption. The processes culminate in the continual flow of nutrients from land to the sea and vice versa.
The economic prosperity of this community is evident. As our understanding of the global patterns that bring the salmon, crab, halibut, and other market fisheries to this area increases, we can also begin to appreciate how each aspect of nature is integral to the functioning of the other, whether at the top, or the bottom.
Today we visited the small fishing community of Petersburg, known as the town that fish built. Not too long ago, more millionaires per capita resided here than any other city in the United States. The town’s unique history and present economy revolves around the productivity from local waters. Humans and other species alike benefit from the oceanic and environmental processes that ultimately result in this economically and ecologically rich community.
Oceans are a fundamental source of planetary productivity. Fueling rain clouds that blanket terrestrial habitats, recycling nutrients from within, and being a sink and source for terrestrial nutrification, oceanic processes are indispensable for all aspects of life on the planet.
The productive waters of Southeast Alaska are the product of oceanic currents causing an upwelling of nutrients from the ocean floor. This nutrification provides the necessary elements of the first tier in the oceanic food web, the phytoplankton. This rich biomass is consumed by a myriad of zooplankton and these then become prey to larger zooplankton and planktivorous fish. The evolution up the food chain continues and the top predators are the beneficiaries of all the smaller critters that fed before them.
The food chain is not limited to life in the sea. In addition to the numerous fisheries in Petersburg, the nutrient cycle continues on land as numerous other species consume prey from the ocean. Spawning salmon are favorites for bears and bald eagles. Also, the table is most certainly set at the low tide exposing invertebrate and algal species fit for consumption. The processes culminate in the continual flow of nutrients from land to the sea and vice versa.
The economic prosperity of this community is evident. As our understanding of the global patterns that bring the salmon, crab, halibut, and other market fisheries to this area increases, we can also begin to appreciate how each aspect of nature is integral to the functioning of the other, whether at the top, or the bottom.
