Paul McElhany, Ph.D.

Background

Paul McElhany has been a research ecologist in the CB division since 1998. Initial work at the NWFSC focused on salmon risk assessment and recovery planning. Salmon projects included research on viable salmonid populations and serving as Chair of the Willamette/Lower Columbia Technical Recovery Team. He has a Ph.D. from Indiana University.

Current Research

Paul McElhany is currently leader of the ocean acidification research project at the NWFSC. The ocean acidification research project explores the ecosystem impact of the changes in marine chemistry cause by the ocean uptake of anthropogenic CO2. The research involves species response experiments where organisms are grown in seawater with controlled CO2 conditions, ecosystem modeling to evaluate effects of acidification on the food web and field measurement linking biological patterns to ocean carbon chemistry.