Research Fisheries Biologist, NOAA Fisheries Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division

Christian Reiss, PhD, has been a research fisheries biologist with NOAA Fisheries since 2002. Since 2004 he has been working for the Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division and is responsible for at-sea research in support of the U.S. Antarctic Marine Living Resources Program. The AMLR Program provides advice to the NOAA and the Department of State in support of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), of which the US is a signatory. Reiss conducts surveys of the pelagic ecosystem of the Southern ocean using ship based surveys to assess the status and trends of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba).

His interests are broad but focus on understanding the relationship between environmental drivers and vital rates of fish and invertebrates, an especially important link in the Southern Ocean where climate changes are occurring and the projected effects are likely to impact all trophic levels. This research has focused on growth rate variability of euphausiids and mesopelagic fish, changes in recruitment dynamics in relation to the environment and changes in the fisheries around the Antarctic peninsula. More recently, his focus is concentrated on the use of autonomous vehicles and instruments to replace ship-based assessments of marine resources.