Researchers continue to develop a bioenergetics model for Hood Canal, which will provide a who-eats-who description of the waterway. Until Sunday’s story in the Kitsap Sun, I have never really focused on this model. Check out the associated video to see the operation of a purse seine and plankton net.
It was a beautiful day to be on the water, as you can see from the photo.
Purse seiner Memories //
Kitsap Sun photo
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The bioenergics analysis is the third piece of the overall computer model that describes how Hood Canal works. The first model is called the physical model, which shows Hood Canal in terms of its tides, currents, winds, sunlight and so on.
The second model is the terrestrial model, which includes freshwater and groundwater flows. As data become available, the model may eventually show how nitrogen gets from particular sources into the canal.
The bioenergetics model, as I understand it, will take the chemical inputs to Hood Canal and determine phytoplankton growth based on conditions described in the physical model. Phytoplankton, at the base level of the food web, trigger the growth zooplankton, tiny fish and all other sea life. The model can show mathematically how small creatures grow and get eaten by larger creatures.
All of these studies are being used to help solve the low-oxygen problems, determine when and where fishing may be allowed and predict when fish kills can be expected.
