Innovation To Learn More About Alaska's Deep-Sea Corals and the Species that Live There Post #1

June 13, 2022

On June 14th the Alaska Coral and Sponge Initiative began the Gulf of Alaska Coral and Sponge Model Validation Survey in Homer, Alaska.

Research |

Alaska

fish species swimming around deep-sea coral habitat in Glacier Bay AK

Rockfish swimming around deep-sea coral habitat in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Over the next four weeks, scientists on the R/V Woldstad will collect seafloor images from a specially designed stereo-camera system and water samples for environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses at up to 300 sites.

Pregnant sharpchin rockfish hiding in sponge in Alaska — A pregnant sharpchin rockfish shelters within a sponge on the seafloor off Alaska. Credit: NOAA Fisheries.

The primary objective of this research expedition is to collect density and size estimates for deep-sea corals and sponges at randomly selected sites and document species associations with fish and other invertebrates.

Scientists will also collect eDNA from seafloor water samples to document fish and invertebrate presence and associations. This data will be compared to the seafloor imagery observations.

Next: Innovation To Learn More About Alaska's Deep-Sea Corals and the Species that Live There Post #2

Meet the Bloggers

Pamela Goddard

Pam is the Co-Coordinator for the Alaska Coral and Sponge Initiative. As Co-Coordinator for the Alaska Initiative I help collect and analyze images from the underwater camera coral and sponge surveys. I have been working with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center for over 30 years. My work as a NOAA Fisheries biologist has taken me all over Alaska from Ketchikan to Nome and many places in between.

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Sean Rooney

Sean is fisheries biologist with the Groundfish Assessment Program. He studies groundfish ecology in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands. His research also supports NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program’s Alaska Initiative to provide scientific information needed to conserve and manage deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems and to support the North Pacific Fishery Management Council management needs.

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Meredith Pochardt sampling water for eDNA in Alaska

Meredith R. Pochardt

I'm a contractor working with NOAA's Auke Bay Lab to process eDNA samples. I also do consulting with tribes across Alaska to integrate eDNA monitoring for culturally important species. I grew up on the east coast but have been in AK for 12 years, based in Haines.

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