Sarah Ann Thompson, M.Sc.

Sarah Ann began her marine science career in intertidal ecology, conducting large-scale biodiversity surveys and experimental research on the sea palm kelp, Postelsia palmaeformis. At the Farallon Institute, Sarah Ann participates in studies of climate variability and predator-prey relationships, including projects on forage fish and seabirds. She is also FI’s technician for processing acoustic krill data, and the data manager and analyst for the at-sea seabirds monitoring project. A resident of the Seattle area, Sarah Ann holds an affiliate staff appointment at the University of Washington.

Involvement in FI projects:

• Seabirds at sea

• Krill acoustic data

• Global seabird breeding success

Selected publications:

• Piatt et al. 2024. Mechanisms by which marine heatwaves affect seabirds. Marine Ecology Progress Series. [pdf]

• Dorman et al. 2023. Environmental variability and krill abundance in the central California Current: Implications for ecosystem monitoring. Frontiers in Marine Science. [pdf]

• Sydeman et al. 2023. Effects of currents and temperature on ecosystem productivity in Unimak Pass, Alaska, a premier seabird and biodiversity hotspot. Progress in Oceanography. [pdf]

• Pistorius et al. 2023. Chapter 8: Climate change: The ecological backdrop of seabird conservation. Pages 245-276 in: Conservation of Marine Birds. Young, L, and E VanderWerf, Eds.

• Garcia-Reyes et al. 2022. Winter oceanographic conditions predict summer bull kelp canopy cover in northern California. PLoS ONE. [pdf]

• Sydeman et al. 2022. Integrating seabird dietary and groundfish stock assessment data: Can puffins predict pollock spawning stock biomass in the North Pacific? Fish and Fisheries. [pdf]

• Orgeret et al. 2022. Climate change impacts on seabirds and marine mammals: The importance of study duration, thermal tolerance and generation time. Ecology Letters. [pdf]

• Sydeman et al. 2021. Hemispheric asymmetry in ocean change and the productivity of ecosystem sentinels. Science. [pdf]

• Crawford et al. 2019. Food habits of an endangered seabird indicate recent poor forage fish availability off western South Africa. ICES Journal of Marine Science. [pdf]

• Thompson et al. 2019. Effects of ocean climate on the length and condition of forage fish in the Gulf of Alaska. Fisheries Oceanography. [pdf]

• Piatt et al. 2018. Biogeography of pelagic food webs in the North Pacific. Fisheries Oceanography. [pdf]

• Thompson et al. 2017. Trends in the Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) metapopulation in the California Current Ecosystem. CalCOFI Reports. [pdf]

• Sydeman et al. 2017. Best practices for assessing forage fish fisheries-seabird resource competition. Fisheries Research. [pdf]

• Sydeman et al. 2015. Climate change and marine vertebrates. Science. [pdf]

• Sydeman et al. 2014. Climate change and wind intensification in coastal upwelling ecosystems. Science. [pdf]

• Poloczanska et al. 2013. Global imprint of climate change on marine life. Nature Climate Change. [pdf]

• Thompson et al. 2010. Population consequences of biomass loss due to commercial collection of the wild seaweed Postelsia palmaeformis. Marine Ecology Progress Series. [pdf]