Alaska Marine Mammal Field Work
The Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), conducts research on marine mammals off the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California.
Research projects focus on ecology and behavior, population dynamics, life history, and status and trends. Research results assist NOAA and other agencies in making science-informed decisions for sound management of marine resources.
CETACEAN RESEARCH
Marine Mammal Passive Acoustic Recorders
Location
Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi Seas, and Gulf of Alaska
Timing
May, August, September, October
Funding
NOAA, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), U.S. Navy, North Pacific Research Board (NPRB), Marine Mammal Commission
Project
This project continues over a decade of passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals in the Alaskan high Arctic and Bering Sea. Long-term passive acoustic recorder moorings have been distributed throughout the main migratory pathways and in wintering and summering grounds of many Arctic and subarctic marine mammals. The sensors also monitor noise levels from anthropogenic sources. Most moorings are co-located with long-term oceanographic moorings. Collaborators include NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, NOAA Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering, Cornell University, and Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Contact
Cook Inlet Beluga Aerial Surveys
Location
Cook Inlet
Timing
November 2019, March 2020, June 2020
Funding
NOAA, BOEM
Project
Aerial surveys will be conducted to estimate winter distribution of belugas in November 2019 and March 2020. A survey to determine abundance and trend will be conducted in June 2020. Tracklines are flown along the entire coast north of Augustine Island and sawtooth tracklines cross the inlet. Observations will be compared to passive acoustic recordings obtained year-round at set locations within the inlet.
Contact
Cook Inlet Beluga Aerial Photogrammetry
Location
Cook Inlet
Timing
August – September
Funding
NOAA
Project
Photogrammetry surveys will be conducted to estimate age classes and an index of beluga calf production in late August/early September. A hexacopter unmanned aircraft system equipped with a high-resolution camera will be used to photograph beluga groups. Individuals will be measured to provide blowhole to dorsal ridge lengths, and whales will be assigned to calf, juvenile, and adult age classes based on relative lengths.
Contact
Cook Inlet Beluga Biopsy Study
Location
Cook Inlet
Timing
August – September
Funding
NOAA
Project
A boat-based biopsy survey will be conducted to provide information on the sex, genetics, diet, and hormonal status (for stress, pregnancy, sexual maturity, etc.) of individual beluga whales. In collaboration with GREMM scientists, blubber samples will be collected using a darting gun. Photographs of each biopsied whale, and associated whales, will be taken and analyzed to identify individuals, which will be matched to the existing Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Photo-ID Project catalog.
Contact
Cook Inlet Beluga Acoustic Monitoring
Location
Cook Inlet
Timing
May – June, September – October
Funding
NOAA, BOEM, ADF&G
Project
Passive acoustic recorders will be used in Cook Inlet to identify feeding grounds for the endangered beluga whale population and to characterize potential noise-related disturbance. Recordings will also identify year-round spatial habitat use by other cetaceans such as harbor and Dall's porpoises, and killer whales. This project will maintain thirteen acoustic mooring packages serviced twice per year.
Contact
PINNIPED RESEARCH
Steller Sea Lion Vessel-based Studies 1
Location
Eastern Aleutian Islands and Western and Central Gulf of Alaska
Timing
July
Funding
NOAA
Project
To estimate survival, reproductive rates, and movements of Steller sea lions, direct observations of sea lions will be made in the eastern Aleutian Islands and western and central Gulf of Alaska.
Contact
Steller Sea Lion Vessel-based Studies 2
Location
Western and Central Aleutian Islands
Timing
June – July
Funding
NOAA
Project
To estimate survival, reproductive rates, and movements of Steller sea lions, direct and indirect (from remote camera installations) observations of sea lions will be made in the western and central Aleutian Islands west of Adak, Alaska. An unmanned aerial system will be used to supplement manned aircraft aerial surveys to obtain sea lion counts for determining abundance and distribution. Steller sea lion pups will be captured and sampled for studies of condition and contaminants burden.
Contact
Steller Sea Lion Aerial Surveys
Location
Western Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands
Timing
June – July
Funding
NOAA
Project
High-resolution aerial photographic surveys of Steller sea lions will be conducted using manned and unmanned aircraft during the peak of the breeding season. Sea lion pups, juveniles, and adults hauled out on terrestrial sites will be surveyed throughout the Aleutian Islands west of Samalga Pass using manned aircraft, while unmanned aircraft associated with a research vessel will be used in the central and western Aleutian Islands. Time series of counts dating from the mid-1970s are used to track overall and regional trends in population abundance to monitor recovery of the endangered western population.
Contact
Northern Fur Seal Demographic Studies
Location
Pribilof Islands
Timing
June – August
Funding
NOAA
Project
On the Pribilof Islands, counts of adult male and newborn fur seals will be conducted to assess the status and trends of the Eastern Pacific stock. Previously tagged seals will be observed to collect information for demographic studies of survival and reproduction. Collectively, this information will be used to understand potential mechanisms limiting recovery of the northern fur seal population in the Pribilof Islands.
Contact
Vessel-based Studies of Ice-associated Seals
Location
Bering Sea, ice edge zone
Timing
April
Funding
NOAA
Project
Ribbon, spotted and bearded seals will be tagged with satellite-linked transmitters and sampled to monitor their abundance, health, condition, foraging ecology and habitat requirements. Small boats based on the NOAA Research Vessel Oscar Dyson will be used to access the seals on the ice floes.
Contact
Aerial Surveys of Ice-associated Seals and Polar Bears
Location
Beaufort Sea (based out of Deadhorse and Utqiaġvik)
Timing
April – May
Funding
NOAA, USFWS, USGS
Project
Multispectral (i.e., infrared, visual, ultraviolet) aerial surveys will be flown over the sea ice habitat of the southern Beaufort Sea. Imagery will be used to detect and classify the species of animals on the sea ice to estimate abundance for ice seals and polar bears. Imagery will also be used to improve deep learning algorithms to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the image processing and survey results. Survey flights will maintain a 30 mile buffer around the communities of Utqiaġvik, Wainwright, and Pt. Lay.
Contact
Unmanned Surveys of Pinnipeds in the Aleutian Islands
Location
Western Aleutian Islands (Attu, Agattu, Alaid, Nizki, and Shemya Islands)
Timing
September
Funding
NOAA
Project
A medium-range, fixed-wing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) based at Eareckson Air Station, Shemya Island, will be used to survey Steller sea lion and harbor seal sites in the western Aleutian Islands. Our goals are to evaluate the feasibility of transitioning from manned to unmanned aerial surveys of pinnipeds in remote parts of Alaska to reduce risks to NOAA personnel and aircraft, and to advance the application of beyond visual line-of-sight UAS operations in the United States.
Contact
Unmanned Surveys of Harbor Seals in the Pribilof Islands
Location
St. Paul, St. George, Walrus and Otter islands
Timing
July – September
Funding
NOAA
Project
We will conduct surveys for harbor seals using a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) in the Pribilof Islands in order to develop an image-based, community approach to monitoring this isolated harbor seal stock. We will leverage UAS expertise and local knowledge from the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island to conduct the surveys. This project is part of our ongoing efforts to collaborate with local community partners and improve our understanding of harbor seals throughout the Pribilof Islands.
Contact
Surveys of Harbor Seals in Glacial Fjords
Location
Glacial fjord habitats in Prince William Sound, Gulf of Alaska, and Southeast Alaska
Timing
August
Funding
NOAA
Project
We will conduct aerial surveys for harbor seals using a NOAA Twin Otter aircraft over glacial fjord habitats in Prince William Sound, Gulf of Alaska, and Southeast Alaska. These surveys will collect visual and infrared imagery of harbor seals resting on ice floes within the fjords.