Anne Hoover-Miller

Alaska SeaLife Center

Photo: DW Miller

Gulf of Alaska Harbor Seal Trend: Gulf of Alaska Harbor Seal Trend: Tugidak IslandTugidak Island

Tugidak Island 1974-1990’s - 90% 1994-2000: Molt 3.0%/yr Pups 5.4%/yr

Kodiak Island area 1993-2002 7.2%/yr

From: Pendleton and Wolfe 2005Alaska Department of Fish & Game

Harbor Seal Population Trend: Harbor Seal Population Trend: Prince William SoundPrince William Sound

PWS 1984-1997 - 63% 1990-1999 - 3.1%/yr 2000-2004 ?

From: Pendleton and Wolfe 2005Alaska Department of Fish & Game

Kenai Fjords Study AreasKenai Fjords Study Areas

Kenai Fjords RegionKenai Fjords Region

– Focal areas:Focal areas:•Aialik Bay: Glacial IceAialik Bay: Glacial Ice

•Day Harbor: Land Day Harbor: Land HauloutsHaulouts

– Regional SurveysRegional Surveys

Aialik Bay: Seals on Ice

Tidewater Glacier Habitat

• Aialik Glacier

• Head of 30 km long fjord

• Pedersen Glacier

• Abuts tidally influenced lake

• Counts have been conducted intermittently since 1979

B. Hoover

Glacier Habitats Differ

Aialik Glacier Pedersen Glacier

B. Hoover

Aialik Glacier: Ice on the move

Pedersen LakePedersen Lake

Past Research: 1979-2001

1979-1981: – Behavior and Ecology of Harbor Seals Inhabiting

Glacial Ice in Aialik Bay (Hoover 1983)

• Population dynamics• Demography• Habitat use

– Response of Seals to Human Disturbance (Murphy and Hoover 1981)

NPS continued monitoring, with emphasis in 1989, 1994, and 1995.

Remote Video Monitoring

– Ecology & Population Biology

– Glacier Ice Environments

– Human Interactions

Caroline Jezierski Poster

Aerial Surveys

Current Research: 2002-2005

2002-2005: 2002-2005: Remote Video MonitoringRemote Video Monitoring

• Camera control commands sent from ASLC to cameras via UHF transmissions

• Video transmission received via microwave

Aialik Bay Trends:1979-2005Total Seals

Pups

1980-1989 - 84% (17%/yr)1989-2002 Stable2002-2005 +90% (45%/yr)

1980-1989 - 74% (13%/yr)1989-1994 -12%/yr2003-2005 +3%/yr

Total Seals Total Seals (Molt) 2002-2005(Molt) 2002-2005

Pups Pups 2002-20052002-2005

Aialik Bay Trends: 2002-2005

Molt:• 1,165 seals in 2004• 1,508 seals in 2005

_______

30% Regional Increase

during Molt

10 25 37 30 4788 93 64 6353

78120

52 42

103 61 1073665

55

82 182 22 22

43

123141

100

15

225

443

422336

138

55

177

207

149

200

331

162

129

7095 223

184

330

295

388

213

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

4/29/2005 5/29/2005 6/28/2005 7/28/2005 8/27/2005

McCarty Fjord

Northwestern Fjord

Aialik Bay

Outer Coast

Day Harbor

Resurrection Bay

2004

2005Pupping, Excluding McCarty Fjord:

• 541 seals in 2004• 546 seals in 2005

_______

Similar numbers during Pupping

Proportion of Tugidak, Aialik, Day Harbor Proportion of Tugidak, Aialik, Day Harbor and Prince William Soundand Prince William Sound

(relative to 1983): 1976-2005(relative to 1983): 1976-2005

Proportion of Harbor Seals Relative to 1983 at Three Haulouts in the Central Gulf of Alaska

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

Year

Pro

port

ion

of

1983

Cou

nt

Aialik Bay Day Harbor Tugidak Is Prince William Sound

Proportion of Harbor Seals Relative to 1983 at Four Haulouts in the Central Gulf of Alaska

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Year

Pro

po

rtio

n o

f 1

98

3 C

ou

nt

Aialik Bay Day Harbor Tugidak Is Prince William Sound

1983-2005How similar are trends throughout the Gulf of Alaska?

Proportion of AT1 Pod Killer Whales Proportion of AT1 Pod Killer Whales relative to seal populations they prey on relative to seal populations they prey on

1983-20051983-2005

Proportion of Harbor Seals Relative to 1983 at Three Haulouts in the Central Gulf of Alaska

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Year

Pro

po

rtio

n o

f 1

98

3 C

ou

nt

Aialik Bay Day Harbor Prince William Sound AT1 Pod Killer Whales

EV

OS

SummarySummary

Population decline of harbor seals included land and glacial ice habitats on the outer Kenai Peninsula

Magnitude of decline since 1983 shows similarities between areas

Recovery in each area shows different trajectories that may be related to local environmental change (bottom-up factors)

Stabilization and recovery in the Kenai Fjords and Prince William Sound coincides with reduced numbers of killer whales (top-down effects).

Collaborators

• P. Armato, OASLC, NPS

• S. Atkinson, ASLC, UAF/SFOS

• SeeMore Wildlife Inc.

• Port Graham Corporation

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Maritime Wildlife Refuge System

• National Marine Fisheries Service

• University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Permits: NMFS 881-1673 881-1724, NPS KEFJ-2004-SCI-0001, USFWS745-03-045

Field and Video Monitoring Personnel:

R. Day, K. Oakley, T. Carpenter, D. Miller, C. Miller, M. Tetreau, J. Pfeiffenberger, S. Pfeiffenberger, G. Smith, K. Link, W. Bryden, J.Welsh, S. Brennan, P. Salzman, K. Wilson,

K. Felitz, S. Aughe, L. O’Brien, L. Dickinson, J. Follin, T. Mauro, M. Sternberg, K. Heffron, R. Pearce and C. Jezierski.