In the northern Bering Sea, ice coverage and retreat timing were low and early, respectively, in the 2017–2018 winter. To evaluate the effect of these anomalous ice conditions, we quantified various environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, mixed-layer depth, nutrients) and the standing stocks of various planktonic taxa (phytoplankton counts, meso- and macrozooplankton mass, jellyfish abundance) during July of 2017 and 2018. For each year, the interaction between each parameter was evaluated by structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis. Large yearly differences were detected for the interactions between environmental parameters and planktonic stocks. Thus, for 2017, a total of fifteen interactions were present between environmental parameters and various planktonic stocks. In 2018, however, only eight interactions were present. Among the interactions, four were common to the two years. It is notable that the path coefficients of these four interactions were all lower in 2018 than in 2017. These findings suggest that the small magnitude and short pulse of the phytoplankton bloom in 2018 may have failed to transfer production and energy to a higher trophic level even within the planktonic food web. Indeed, in 2018, mass mortality was reported for seabirds (two murre species) feeding on planktivorous fishes.

在白令海北部，2017-2018年冬季的冰覆盖率和退缩时间分别较低和较早。为了评估这些异常冰层条件的影响，我们在7月量化了各种环境参数（温度，盐度，混合层深度，养分）和各种浮游生物类的常备种群（浮游植物数量，中微和大型浮游动物的质量，水母的丰度）。分别是2017年和2018年的数据。通过结构方程模型（SEM）分析，每年对每个参数之间的相互作用进行评估。检测到环境参数与浮游种群之间的相互作用存在较大的年度差异。因此，2017年，环境参数与各种浮游生物之间总共存在十五种相互作用。但是，在2018年，仅存在八次交互。在互动中，四年共有四个。值得注意的是，这四种相互作用的路径系数在2018年都比2017年低。这些发现表明，2018年浮游植物开花的小幅度和短脉冲可能无法将生产和能量转移到更高的营养水平，甚至在浮游食物网中。确实，在2018年，据报导以浮游鱼类为食的海鸟（两种鱼物种）大量死亡。