PISCO - Partners Oregon State University University of California Santa Barbara University of California Santa Cruz Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station
PISCO was created to answer key questions about coastal marine ecosystems that were previously unapproachable due to limitations in traditional marine ecological or oceanographic research
Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans: A Long-Term Ecological Consortium-PISCO- was established in January 1999 with a major grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The goal was to investigate the nearshore marine ecosystems of the West Coast of the U.S. in an innovative, coordinated, and interdisciplinary fashion in order to advance scientific frontiers and to provide better understanding for conservation and management decisions.
PISCO was created to answer key questions about coastal marine ecosystems that were previously unapproachable due to limitations in traditional marine ecological or oceanographic research. Weﾠare documenting the patterns of abundance of marine organisms, and beginning to uncover their causes. We are identifying oceanographic mechanisms involved in the delivery of young to marine communities. And we are identifying essential links between systems that determine ecological patterns. Our pursuit of these primary goals has enabled us to discover unexpected changes in coastal ecosystems such ascoastal hypoxia event in Oregon, and dramatic changes in ecological processes following a large-scale oceanographic regime shift.
