Whale-ista - 3-18-2014 at 12:03 PM
If you want NOAA info go here
For really long-term/dense academic info, try http://www.calcofi.org/publications/calcofireports/v33/Vol_3...
And for recent news report LA Times
To blame is the biggest sardine crash in generations, which has made schools of the small, silvery fish a rarity on the West Coast. The decline has
prompted steep cuts in the amount fishermen are allowed to catch, and scientists say the effects are probably radiating throughout the ecosystem,
starving brown pelicans, sea lions and other predators that rely on the oily, energy-rich fish for food.
If sardines don't recover soon, experts warn, the West Coast's marine mammals, seabirds and fishermen could suffer for years.
The reason for the drop is unclear. Sardine populations are famously volatile, but the decline is the steepest since the collapse of the sardine
fishery in the mid-20th century. And their numbers are projected to keep sliding.
One factor is a naturally occurring climate cycle known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, which in recent years has brought cold, nutrient-rich
water to the West Coast. While those conditions have brought a boom in some species, such as market squid, they have repelled sardines.
If nature is responsible for the decline, history shows the fish will bounce back when ocean conditions improve. But without a full understanding of
the causes, the crash is raising alarm.
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-sardine-crash-20140106,...
wessongroup - 3-18-2014 at 12:27 PM
This guy had a very interesting approach ... "Billing's Ball of Yarn" ... picked it up in collage in 1970 ... from an instructor that found it a
simple and elegant way to illustrate ... how things are tied together
Here is an illustration ... which might aid in visualizing the concept ...
always stuck with me ... go figure
http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/chronob/BILL1910.htm
[Edited on 3-18-2014 by wessongroup]
thanks iata ... appreciate the input on these topics ... affects all
[Edited on 3-18-2014 by wessongroup]