Marine Regions for the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program

ABSTRACT: A total of 16 marine regions on the Bering Sea shelf and slope were drawn based on a consensus across researchers of the joint Bering Ecosystem Study - Bering Sea Integrated Research Program. The consensus is based on observed oceanography, bathymetry, benthic fauna, fish, seabird and marine mammal distribution, as well as established survey strata and ecological domains (for the Pribilof Islands). These regions by no means preclude the development of process-specific maps by individual projects, nor do they represent strictly biogeographic domains. Rather they are a negotiated practical spatial division weighted by the spatial aggregation of biological data and/or large scale oceanographic characteristics.