At Hakai, we want our research to flow seamlessly across the artificial boundary between land and sea. That transitional zone between the two worlds is called the “nearshore.” The nearshore comprises the strip of coastline between the winter high-tide line and a depth of about 20 meters. Nearshore habitats are typically the most productive and biodiverse parts of the ocean. Because of the complex and convoluted coastline around our research centers, Hakai is blessed with a quantity, quality, and diversity of nearshore habitats that rival anywhere on the planet: rocky reef, rocky intertidal, and many types of soft sediment; shorelines that are exposed, sheltered, and intermediate. The dynamics that structure nearshore systems everywhere—foundation species, keystone species, disturbance, resilience—are evident in many different permutations. These attributes led to Hakai sites being selected among the founding nodes in the Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO) network of nearshore sites sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, which has, in turn, led to a growing web of collaborations. Perhaps more than any other research area, our work in the nearshore epitomizes the way we achieve science of global consequence by combining the excellence of our own research teams with the power of active collaboration across the Pacific region and farther afield.
Nearshore Ecology
