Department of Integrative Biology

Seasonal development of dissolved-oxygen deficits (hypoxia) represents an acute system-level perturbation to ecological dynamics and fishery sustainability in coastal ecosystems around the globe(1-3). Whereas anthropogenic nutrient loading has increased the frequency and severity of hypoxia in estuaries and semi-enclosed seas(3,4), the occurrence of hypoxia in open-coast upwelling systems reflects ocean conditions that control the delivery of oxygen-poor and nutrient-rich deep water onto continental shelves(1). Upwelling systems support a large proportion of the world's fisheries(5), therefore understanding the links between changes in ocean climate, upwelling-driven hypoxia and ecological perturbations is critical. Here we report on the unprecedented development of severe inner-shelf (