http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset/1004254
eng; USA
utf8
dataset
Highest level of data collection, from a common set of sensors or instrumentation, usually within the same research project
Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO)
Unavailable
508-289-2009
WHOI MS#36
Woods Hole
MA
02543
USA
info@bco-dmo.org
http://www.bco-dmo.org
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
For questions regarding this resource, please contact BCO-DMO via the email address provided.
pointOfContact
2026-08-07
ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data
ISO 19115-2:2009(E)
Pyrosome fecal pellet composition measurements collected from the cruise RR2105 on R/V Roger Revelle in the California Current Ecosystem from July to August 2021
2026-08-17
publication
2026-08-17
revision
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO)
2026-08-17
publication
https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.1004254.1
Katherine Barbeau
University of California-San Diego Scripps
principalInvestigator
Moira Decima
University of California-San Diego Scripps
principalInvestigator
Natalia Llopis Monferrer
Université de Bretagne Occidentale
principalInvestigator
Stephanie Matthews
University of California-San Diego Scripps
principalInvestigator
Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO)
Unavailable
508-289-2009
WHOI MS#36
Woods Hole
MA
02543
USA
info@bco-dmo.org
http://www.bco-dmo.org
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
For questions regarding this resource, please contact BCO-DMO via the email address provided.
publisher
Cite this dataset as: Cawley, G., Decima, M., Barbeau, K., Matthews, S., Llopis Monferrer, N., Padilla Villa, M. (2026) Pyrosome fecal pellet composition measurements collected from the cruise RR2105 on R/V Roger Revelle in the California Current Ecosystem from July to August 2021. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 1) Version Date 2026-08-17 [if applicable, indicate subset used]. doi:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.1004254.1 [access date]
P2107 Pyrosome Fecal Pellet Composition Dataset Description: <p>Samples were collected on CCE-NSF process cruise (OCE-1637632, Project: California Current Ecosystem Long Term Ecological Research Site).&nbsp;</p> Methods and Sampling: <p>Pyrosome colonies for production and sinking experiments were collected from the upper 40 m of the water column using a vertically towed 202 µm net equipped with a 30 L non-filtering cod-end. Tows were preferentially conducted at night, as organisms exhibited distinct DVM behavior, which was possible during the Offshore cycle; however, for the transects we conducted, these tows were conducted whenever the ship arrived on station. For fecal pellet production experiments, colonies were gently transferred from the cod-end, ensuring that no air entered the common canal of the organism, and placed in an appropriately sized container (allowing the organisms to be submerged in typically ~500 mL, but we used containers of up to 1.5L for a handful of large specimens) filled with filtered 0.2 µm seawater for microscopic evaluation. Pellet production experiments were only conducted during the Offshore cycle and the two transects (CCT and AT), while fecal pellet sinking rate determinations were conducted during Onshore 2, Offshore, and one transect (CCT).</p>
<p>Fecal pellet production was measured following the methods described in Drits et al. (1992). Pyrosome colonies were transferred into containers filled with 0.2-µm-filtered seawater and placed under dissecting microscopes to visualize their common cloacal aperture. The number of fecal pellets produced was counted during continuous observations over 2 min. Initially, we observed colony defecation for 1 to 7 min while determining the count period length. Since we observed a noticeable decrease in production over time, beginning after the first ~2-3 minutes, as noted by Drits et al. (1992), we conducted counts for 2 min immediately after transferring the colonies into the observation container. After the production experiments were concluded, pellets were collected for sinking and aging experiments. A subsample of the produced pellets was allowed to sit in natural seawater for 24 and 48 hours and evaluated for sinking rates; these were referred to as ‘aged’ pellets.</p>
Funding provided by NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) Award Number: OCE-2329559 Award URL: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award?AWD_ID=2329559
Funding provided by NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) Award Number: OCE-2224726 Award URL: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award?AWD_ID=2224726
completed
Katherine Barbeau
University of California-San Diego Scripps
858-822-4339
9500 Gilman Drive Mail Code: 0218
La Jolla
CA
92093
USA
kbarbeau@ucsd.edu
pointOfContact
Moira Decima
University of California-San Diego Scripps
858-246-4710
9500 Gilman Dr #0218
La Jolla
CA
92093-0218
USA
mdecima@ucsd.edu
pointOfContact
Natalia Llopis Monferrer
Université de Bretagne Occidentale
nllopis@sb-roscoff.fr
pointOfContact
Stephanie Matthews
University of California-San Diego Scripps
samatt@uw.edu
pointOfContact
asNeeded
Dataset Version: 1
Unknown
Cycle
day_sta
date
Lat_DD
Long_DD
Image
pellets
Major_um_average
delta13C_permil_VPDB
delta15N_permil_AIR
microg_C
microg_C_blank
microg_N
microg_N_average_blank
C_N
nanoEA-Delta Plus XP
Reeve Net
theme
None, User defined
sample identification
date
latitude
longitude
file_name
count
length
d13C
d15N
Elemental carbon (C)
Nitrogen
Carbon to Nitrogen ratio (C:N)
featureType
BCO-DMO Standard Parameters
Isotope-ratio Mass Spectrometer
Reeve Net
instrument
BCO-DMO Standard Instruments
RR2105
service
Deployment Activity
California Current System, Northeastern Pacific Ocean
place
Locations
otherRestrictions
otherRestrictions
Access Constraints: none. Use Constraints: Please follow guidelines at: http://www.bco-dmo.org/terms-use Distribution liability: Under no circumstances shall BCO-DMO be liable for any direct, incidental, special, consequential, indirect, or punitive damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the materials in this data submission. If you are dissatisfied with any materials in this data submission your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue use.
Collaborative Research: Assessing the causes of the pyrosome invasion and persistence in the California Current Ecosystem
https://osprey.bco-dmo.org/project/916814
Collaborative Research: Assessing the causes of the pyrosome invasion and persistence in the California Current Ecosystem
<p><em>NSF Award Abstract:</em><br />
A key component of the ocean food web is comprised of floating animals, or zooplankton, that transfer energy from phytoplankton to fish, whales, and birds. Zooplankton include many different types of organisms that can be broadly categorized as crustacean or gelatinous, with most fish and whales preferring crustaceans as a fat-rich food source over gelatinous animals, which are higher in water content. Historically, the California Current ecosystem off the U.S. West Coast has been dominated by crustacean zooplankton, such as krill and copepods, but in 2014 there were huge abundances of a type of colonial, gelatinous zooplankton known as pyrosomes, which caused widespread damage to fisheries by fouling fishing gear and dominating catch. Although the arrival of pyrosomes coincided with an extensive marine heatwave, lower abundances have since persisted despite a return to cooler ocean temperatures. Analysis of time series data from the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) indicate that pyrosomes were also observed in the California Current many decades ago when the ocean was not particularly warm. This study combines analysis of past samples from CalCOFI, ocean circulation models, and biological models to understand the causes of these quickly growing pyrosome populations in the California Current. It supports training for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, the project is reaching K-12 students through a unique partnership with the San Diego County Office of Education that is developing Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-aligned resources for middle and high school science teachers in California. The educational resources are being disseminated through the California Science Project and California Environmental Literacy Initiative. Public outreach in San Diego (CA) is through the Enhancing Your Horizons San Diego conference and the San Diego Regional Competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, and in Santa Cruz (CA) through the Seymour Marine Discovery Center.</p>
<p>Predicting how ecosystems respond to accelerating climate change is a major challenge. The recent appearance of the pyrosome Pyrosoma atlanticum in the California Current is a major perturbation to the ecosystem, and the cause remains unknown. Both ocean physics and plankton food-web dynamics are key determinants of variability in pelagic community composition in this ecosystem, yet unraveling the degree to which variability in physics (through warming and advection) combines with shifting biological interactions (through nutrient cycling and altered food-web dynamics) to determine composition and function is complicated. This project combines the analysis of past historical samples from seven decades of the CalCOFI time series, data-assimilative and non-data assimilative ocean circulation models, and biological population models to determine the role ocean physics and biological interactions have played in shaping pyrosome abundance, trophic dynamics, and population growth and mortality in the California Current. This novel framework is providing mechanistic understanding that is required to predict how plankton communities respond to climate change.</p>
<p>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.</p>
Pyrosomes in the CCE
largerWorkCitation
project
eng; USA
oceans
California Current System, Northeastern Pacific Ocean
-130.5421
-120.8396
34.477
35.5661
2021-07-29
2021-08-11
California Current ecosystem off the U.S. West Coast
0
BCO-DMO catalogue of parameters from Pyrosome fecal pellet composition measurements collected from the cruise RR2105 on R/V Roger Revelle in the California Current Ecosystem from July to August 2021
Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO)
Unavailable
508-289-2009
WHOI MS#36
Woods Hole
MA
02543
USA
info@bco-dmo.org
http://www.bco-dmo.org
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
For questions regarding this resource, please contact BCO-DMO via the email address provided.
pointOfContact
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004284.rdf
Name: Cycle
Units: unitless
Description: <p>Sampling cycle identifier</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004285.rdf
Name: day_sta
Units: unitless
Description: <p>Day and/or station identifier</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004286.rdf
Name: date
Units: unitless
Description: <p>date</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004287.rdf
Name: Lat_DD
Units: unitless
Description: <p>Latitude in decimal degrees</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004289.rdf
Name: Long_DD
Units: unitless
Description: <p>Longitude in decimal degress</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004291.rdf
Name: Image
Units: unitless
Description: <p>Associated image</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004292.rdf
Name: pellets
Units: unitless
Description: <p>Number of pellets analyzed</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004293.rdf
Name: Major_um_average
Units: um
Description: <p>Major axis average of the group of pellet used</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004294.rdf
Name: delta13C_permil_VPDB
Units: ‰ VPDB
Description: <p>Stable carbon isotope ratio relative to VPDB standard</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004295.rdf
Name: delta15N_permil_AIR
Units: ‰ AIR
Description: <p>Stable nitrogen isotope ratio relative to AIR standard</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004296.rdf
Name: microg_C
Units: µg C
Description: <p>Measured carbon mass in micrograms</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004297.rdf
Name: microg_C_blank
Units: µg C
Description: <p>Carbon mass corrected for blank values</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004298.rdf
Name: microg_N
Units: µg N
Description: <p>Measured nitrogen mass in micrograms</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004299.rdf
Name: microg_N_average_blank
Units: µg N
Description: <p>Nitrogen mass corrected for average blank values</p>
http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset-parameter/1004300.rdf
Name: C_N
Units: atm:atm
Description: <p>Atomic carbon-to-nitrogen ratio</p>
GB/NERC/BODC > British Oceanographic Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, United Kingdom
Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO)
Unavailable
508-289-2009
WHOI MS#36
Woods Hole
MA
02543
USA
info@bco-dmo.org
http://www.bco-dmo.org
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
For questions regarding this resource, please contact BCO-DMO via the email address provided.
pointOfContact
https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.1004254.1
download
onLine
dataset
<p>Pyrosome colonies for production and sinking experiments were collected from the upper 40 m of the water column using a vertically towed 202 µm net equipped with a 30 L non-filtering cod-end. Tows were preferentially conducted at night, as organisms exhibited distinct DVM behavior, which was possible during the Offshore cycle; however, for the transects we conducted, these tows were conducted whenever the ship arrived on station. For fecal pellet production experiments, colonies were gently transferred from the cod-end, ensuring that no air entered the common canal of the organism, and placed in an appropriately sized container (allowing the organisms to be submerged in typically ~500 mL, but we used containers of up to 1.5L for a handful of large specimens) filled with filtered 0.2 µm seawater for microscopic evaluation. Pellet production experiments were only conducted during the Offshore cycle and the two transects (CCT and AT), while fecal pellet sinking rate determinations were conducted during Onshore 2, Offshore, and one transect (CCT).</p>
<p>Fecal pellet production was measured following the methods described in Drits et al. (1992). Pyrosome colonies were transferred into containers filled with 0.2-µm-filtered seawater and placed under dissecting microscopes to visualize their common cloacal aperture. The number of fecal pellets produced was counted during continuous observations over 2 min. Initially, we observed colony defecation for 1 to 7 min while determining the count period length. Since we observed a noticeable decrease in production over time, beginning after the first ~2-3 minutes, as noted by Drits et al. (1992), we conducted counts for 2 min immediately after transferring the colonies into the observation container. After the production experiments were concluded, pellets were collected for sinking and aging experiments. A subsample of the produced pellets was allowed to sit in natural seawater for 24 and 48 hours and evaluated for sinking rates; these were referred to as ‘aged’ pellets.</p>
Specified by the Principal Investigator(s)
<p>Pyrosomes were imaged and measured through ImageJ.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Elemental analysis of fecal pellets required pooling pellets from multiple incubations to ensure sufficient biomass for detection in an elemental analyzer. Subsamples of 40 to 100 pellets were imaged using the setup described above (to enumerate the exact number of pellets per filter) and filtered onto pre-combusted GF/F filters (450° C for 4 h), folded with material facing inside, placed into pre-combusted glass vials, and dried at 60° C for 24 h. A blank pre-combusted GF/F filter was processed in a similar way every 5-10 samples and added to the analysis queue. Samples were processed at the UC Santa Cruz Stable Isotope Laboratory using a nanoEA-Delta Plus XP, designed to detect small amounts of carbon and nitrogen. To estimate carbon per pellet, we first subtracted the blank value. Blank values were determined separately for each analytical batch and applied to their associated samples. As a result, blank corrections varied among samples depending on the corresponding batch blank. Ten samples had values ranging from 84-99 µg C filter-<sup>1,</sup> and the associated blank was 83 µg C filter-<sup>1</sup>. We thus interpret this as a batch of GFFs with organic carbon contamination, which was corrected using the associated blank. Importantly, the locations with higher carbon per pellet were not those associated with these high blanks, as the contaminated samples were restricted to the AT transect. After subtracting the associated blank, the value was divided by the number of pellets included in the assay. For nitrogen, only 2 blanks were above the detection limit. We averaged these values (0.7) and subtracted this from each sample. The resulting value (minus the blank) was used to calculate nitrogen per pellet. While extreme care was taken in the transfer and estimation of pellet numbers, accurately quantifying the exact number of pellets was sometimes challenging due to pellet fragility (they lack a peritrophic membrane), as some disassemble during transfer, likely contributing to the variability observed. F</p>
Specified by the Principal Investigator(s)
* Loaded the Cawleyetal_2026_PelletComposition.csv file treating blank values and "nd" as missing data
* Adjusted column names to use consistent, machine-friendly names (no spaces or special characters)
* Corrected the Long_DD longitude values by adding negative signs where needed
* Renamed the final table from cawleyetal_2026_pelletcomposition to 1004254_v1_pelletcomposition
Specified by BCO-DMO Data Managers
asNeeded
7.x-1.1
Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO)
Unavailable
508-289-2009
WHOI MS#36
Woods Hole
MA
02543
USA
info@bco-dmo.org
http://www.bco-dmo.org
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
For questions regarding this resource, please contact BCO-DMO via the email address provided.
pointOfContact
nanoEA-Delta Plus XP
nanoEA-Delta Plus XP
PI Supplied Instrument Name: nanoEA-Delta Plus XP PI Supplied Instrument Description:nanoEA-Delta Plus XP Instrument Name: Isotope-ratio Mass Spectrometer Instrument Short Name:IR Mass Spec; IRMS Instrument Description: The Isotope-ratio Mass Spectrometer is a particular type of mass spectrometer used to measure the relative abundance of isotopes in a given sample (e.g. VG Prism II Isotope Ratio Mass-Spectrometer). Community Standard Description: http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/L05/current/LAB16/
Reeve Net
Reeve Net
PI Supplied Instrument Name: Reeve Net PI Supplied Instrument Description:Reeve Net with 202-µm mesh and 30L non-filter cod end to collect live pyrosomes. Instrument Name: Reeve Net Instrument Short Name:Reeve Net Instrument Description: A Reeve Net is a conventional ring net with a very large acrylic cylindrical cod-end (30 liters) designed to collect fragile gelatinous animals. The net is lowered to a particular depth and then hauled slowly back to the surface (5-10 m/min). Reeve (1981) also described a double net system with no bridle and flotation at the net mouth that is attached to a roller mechanism that rides on a tow wire.
The roller system is locked in place by a pressure release device. Once below a set pressure, the roller
and nets are released and they float slowly up the wire, gently collecting the zooplankton, without being
influenced by the motion of the vessel and associated vertical wire movements. (from Wiebe and Benfield, 2003) Community Standard Description: http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/L22/current/NETT0147/
Cruise: RR2105
RR2105
R/V Roger Revelle
Community Standard Description
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
R/V Roger Revelle
vessel
RR2105
Michael R. Stukel
Florida State University
R/V Roger Revelle
Community Standard Description
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
R/V Roger Revelle
vessel