Moira Galbraith

Zooplankton Biologist

Current research and/or projects

The main scope of my work is identifying to species, sex and staging zooplankton collected through the LaPerouse Monitoring Program; Station Papa and Line P Times Series; and the High Seas Salmon surveys. Plankton is the base of the oceanic food web and how the zooplankton is doing determines how well animals like salmon; sea birds and whales will be faring in the near future. El Niño events change the plankton community structure which causes havoc up the food web. Constant monitoring of what species are in the area and where gives scientists a heads up of potential problems.

Key publications

  1. Mackas, D., R.E. Thomson and M. Galbraith. 2001. Covariation of zooplankton community changes and oceanographic conditions on the British Columbia continental margin, 1995-1998. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 58:1-18.
  2. Mackas, D.L. and M. Galbraith. 2002. Zooplankton distribution and dynamics in a North Pacific eddy of coastal origin. I. Transport and loss of continental margin species. J. Oceanography. 58(5):725-738.
  3. Mackas, D.L. and M. Galbraith. 2002. Zooplankton community composition along the inner portion of Line P during the 1997-98 El Niño event. Progr. Oceanogr. 54:423-437.
  4. Tsurumi, M., D. Mackas, F.A.Whitney, C. DiBacco, M. Galbraith and C.S.Wong. 2005. Pteropods, eddies, carbon flus, and climate variability in the Alaska Gyre. Topical Studies in Oceanography: Haida Eddies: mesoscale transport in the Northeast Pacific. Deep-Sea Research II. 52(7-8):1037-1054.
  5. Mackas, D., M. Tsurumi, M. Galbraith and D. Yelland. 2005. Zooplankton distribution and dynamics in a North Pacific Eddy of coastal origin: II. Mechanisms of eddy colonization by and retention of offshore species. Topical Studies in Oceanography: Haida Eddies: mesoscale transport in the Northeast Pacific. Deep-Sea Research II. 52(7-8):1011-1036.
  6. Galbraith, M. 2005. Identification of larval stages of Caligus cleminsi and Lepeophtheirus salmonis from the Broughton Archipelago. Can.Tech.Rep.Fish.Aquatic Sci. 2548.