animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() animatedcollapse.addDiv('B', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init()         MEET DR. TUULA HOLLMEN Science Director at the Alaska SeaLife Center and Research Associate Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks WHAT SHE STUDIES: - Breeding ecology - Toxicology - Avian physiology EDUCATION: D.V.M. and Ph.D. in Physiological Ecology from the University of Helsinki, Finland HOMETOWN: Helsinki, Finland   "YOU GET TO A POINT... where you can say it is over 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years...well it’s over a quarter century now. I have been working with marine birds for over a quarter century." "I THINK THE WORLD... will be a different place if we lose this unique species that isn’t necessarily similar to any other species." Dr. Tuula Hollmen explains her interest in science and in Steller's eiders. (1:00) Video Transcript I think as long as I remember I have always been interested in the natural environment and that just developed into an interest in science. I was the kid who was collecting mussels and counting things from as long as I remember and I don’t remember a time when I haven’t been interested in science. I think it was just the career that was always there for me. If you see a Steller’s eider in a picture or in the wild even better they’re really beautiful, they’re really a beautiful bird and it really is a cool duck. It is oftentimes just a big challenge to work with because it is so unique. We’re learning new things and we’re learning that things that apply to some other waterfowl species don’t necessarily apply to Steller’s eiders because they have their own ways of doing things, their own biology, ecology and I would say to some degree physiology as well. So they are really a unique species and sometimes they cause some head scratching and probably caused a few of my gray hairs just thinking about how to deal with some of these challenges but it also makes them really interesting to study. I think that everything that I am learning about the species just makes me more convinced that they are a unique species.   CLICK BELOW TO LEARN ABOUT SEADUCK SCIENTISTS!  

animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() animatedcollapse.addDiv('B', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init()         All research starts with one or more questions. Dr. Tuula Hollmen and her team are tackling a broad question: What do Steller’s eiders need to breed successfully? The team isn't going to find the answer just by looking in a textbook. Steller’s eiders are unique. Little is known about their needs and they don’t follow the same breeding behaviors of other well-studied waterfowl like domestic ducks. So, why is Dr. Hollmen interested in this particular question when it comes to eiders? VIDEO: STELLER'S EIDERS RESEARCH QUESTIONS Dr. Tuula Hollmen discusses the factors that led to her research questions and how she plans to investigate those questions. (1:46) Video Transcript The eider is a long-lived species that has a high adult survival but very variable and potentially low annual productivity or reproductive success. And it works because the species lives a long time, so each individual can have a really long reproductive career, and they don’t have to be successful every year, because they have (in eider’s case) they potentially have at least 15 years to breed. Reproductive success is really one of the key questions for the recovery. If that continues to be low or doesn’t reach some certain threshold, recovery will either not happen or take a really long time. But if they can increase productivity then we might see recovery. I would like to ask the question: what does an eider need to breed successfully? We have a suite of sub questions: What makes an eider pairing successful? What kinds of nests are successful? How do you set the incubation conditions for successful hatching? So those are sub-questions. So when we set up to answer the question in our program here, we think about all these factors that the eiders are faced with in the wild and we transfer that to our own virtual reality that we are creating here. The habitat is not the natural habitat, but we are learning from the wild birds as to what are the key features of their habitat that they need to go through all the different steps of the reproductive cycle. So we would try to mimic the available nest sites, the privacy, the ponds, the water quality, all those kinds of things to the best we can and match them to the natural environment. Dr. Hollmen has to think about how to convert the complex, wild system that the eiders come from into a virtual habitat at the Alaska SeaLife Center so that her team can learn from the captive reservoir population. With little existing research, a small wild population in Barrow, sporadic nesting on the Y-K Delta, and hundreds of variables, how will the scientists figure out what a pair of Steller’s eider needs to breed successfully? Here’s the benefit of science: they can try out different materials and techniques (experimentation!) and use careful observation to figure out a strategy that works for the captive eiders. The research question cannot be answered in one year. Every breeding season tests if the scientists’ current arrangement helps the birds breed successfully. Scientific inquiry is a process, and the eider team knows it well as they continue to learn, question, and adapt. It's what they've been doing for over a decade!        CLICK BELOW TO LEARN ABOUT SEADUCK SCIENTISTS!   ADAPT (n) - to change behaviors or physical traits to survive in a specific environment.   BROOD (n) - the offspring of an animal, especially of a bird.   BROOD (v) - to sit on eggs to hatch them.   EXPERIMENT (v) - to do a scientific test in which you perform a series of actions and carefully observe their effects.   INQUIRY (n) - an act of asking or searching for information.   THRESHOLD (n) - a level, point, or value above which something is true or will take place.   VARIABLE (n) - an element, feature, or factor that can vary or change.   VIRTUAL (adj) - very close to being something without actually being it.    

animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() animatedcollapse.addDiv('B', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init()         The Steller's eiders kept the team busy during the 2014 breeding season. The combination of nesting materials, nest placement, privacy, mate choice and staffing worked for the eiders! For the first time in the program’s history, two Steller’s eider hens, Scarlet and Eek, incubated their eggs for the full 26 days and hatched ducklings. Scarlet had three ducklings and Eek had one. Four other ducklings hatched after artificial incubation and were raised by people for a total of eight Steller’s ducklings. The hens fully incubating their eggs was a grand achievement for the eider team! In the early stages of the project, hens would only lay infertile eggs, or not build a nest, or not stay on their nest through the whole incubation. In captivity, Steller’s eider hens had never incubated their eggs completely on their own before now! In addition to the eight ducklings of 2014, the eider team had many eggs that were infertile or that were fertile but never hatched. All the eggs that do not hatch go to the lab where Dr. Katrina Counihan and her lab technicians get to work. Every egg provides further data for researchers to use to learn more about eiders. VIDEO: DATA FROM EGG DISSECTIONS Discover what Dr. Katrina is learning in her eider lab. (1:40) Video Transcript I do various projects with the eiders. The major one is I oversee the processing of the eggs every summer. We get eggs from the captive spectacled and Steller’s eiders. For this summer we got over 300 eggs from both species, so we have help usually in the summer from interns and also volunteers which are often college students. Without them we wouldn’t be able to get through all these samples, because it takes about 30-45 minutes per egg to process it. As you can see here we use a variety of tools: digital calipers to measure the width and length of all of our eggs, and then we have a scale that we [use to] weigh the eggs before we start the dissection. The first thing we do is we’ll use these little just basic knitting scissors and we cut around the center of the egg. And then we’ll dump out as much of the albumen as we can into a large dish and then the yolk into a second one of the large Petri dishes. And then we’ll use really simple things, like just plastic forks to mix up albumen and yolk before we take samples, and then spatulas to scrape up every last little bit to make sure we get the samples. And then just little plastic syringes to suck up the samples into the vials. And then we weigh out the yolk and the albumen. So we literally save every bit of every egg we get. Dr. Katrina Counihan uses parts of the eggs she dissects to study eider health. We know a lot about how people deal with being sick, but not much about what eiders do to stay healthy. One part of the egg she is interested in is the yolk because it contains immunoglobulin (or antibodies) which would help the duck fight off diseases. Dr. Counihan looks at the immunoglobulin in the eggs to understand how the eiders are able to fight diseases. Thanks to Dr. Counihan’s work, if the eiders are reintroduced, the scientists will understand how healthy the captive birds are and how the eiders will be able to handle any diseases that they might encounter in the wild. Dr. Hollmen believes that the collaboration and communication between the research and husbandry staff is the key to the team’s success. The husbandry staff works to make the eiders feel at home and healthy so they lay eggs. Some of those eggs hatch into ducklings that increase the captive reservoir population. Researchers in the lab use the other eggs to find information on the health of the birds. The field team tries to find a wild habitat where the eiders could survive. Each team member contributes a specialized set of skills and everyone is united by the goal of learning about and helping a unique arctic species.       CLICK BELOW TO LEARN ABOUT SEADUCK SCIENTISTS!   ALBUMEN (n) - the white of an egg.   CALIPER (n) - a tool with two moveable arms that is used to measure thickness, diameter, length or width.   COLLABORATION (n) - the action of working with someone to do or create something.   IMMUNOGLOBULIN (n) - also called antibody; a protein that helps the immune system find and get rid of foreign objects like bacteria and viruses.   PETRI DISH (n) - a shallow plastic or glass dish often used in labs to culture bacteria or collect samples.   YOLK (n) - the yellow center of an egg that supplies food to a growing bird before it hatches.    

animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() animatedcollapse.addDiv('B', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init()         WELCOME, TEACHERS! The Alaska SeaLife Center and COSEE-Alaska are excited to present their latest virtual field trip (VFT), Eyes on Eiders. Join Dr. Tuula Hollmen and her team as they investigate the lives of Steller's eiders in Alaska and what it takes for eiders to breed successfully. Learn from field researchers, animal care staff, lab researchers, and the principal investigator (Dr. Hollmen) herself. GRADE LEVEL: 5th-8th TIME NEEDED: Between one and four 1-hour class periods (teachers may choose to use all or some of the supplementary lessons). NUTSHELL: Students will learn about natural history of Stellers' eiders and their recent decline in Alaska. They will also explore the type of research that goes into planning the recovery of a species, as well as encounter several genres of scientific careers. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: After completing this virtual field trip, students will be able to: - Explain the life cycle of Steller’s eiders and how husbandry staff need to understand the life cycle and annual migration of these birds in order to care for the birds in captivity. - Describe this eider research project in terms of the scientific method. - Understand the scope of work, creativity, and inquisitiveness that goes into recovery efforts for a threatened species. BACKGROUND: In this virtual field trip, students will meet Dr. Tuula Hollmen (Principle Investigator), Tasha DiMarzio (Avian Curator), Nathan Bawtinhimer (Aviculturist), Sadie Ulman (Research Coordinator) and Dr. Katrina Counihan (Scientist). They compose the team at the Alaska SeaLife Center working with Steller’s eiders. Your students will follow the eider team into the field, a unique outdoor lab, and a traditional indoor lab as these scientists work to answer questions about Steller’s eiders. This VFT can be used in a number of ways. Individuals may navigate through the pages on their own and meet all the scientists through the links on the right-hand bar. Self-guided exploration can be completed in about an hour. Alternately, teachers may facilitate a structured experience, working through each page of the VFT together as a class. Lesson plans (included in the right-hand column of this page) are available to supplement online content. Lesson plans include activities that help explain taxonomy, explore community ecology, and engage students with hands-on field techniques and an egg dissection. TO USE THIS VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP YOU WILL NEED: - Internet access, video-streaming capabilities - Access to Eyes on Eiders the virtual field trip - Projection system (with audio) to display content or a computer lab (with headphones) - Corresponding lesson plans (arranged as PDFs in the right hand column of this page) UNABLE TO RUN THE STREAMING VERSION? REQUEST A FREE COPY OF ALL MATERIALS ON CD BY EMAILING: education@alaskasealife.org ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: General information on Steller's Eiders: US Fish & Wildlife Service: Steller's Eider Factsheet US Fish & Wildlife Service: Steller's Eider Recovery Plan US Fish & Wildlife Service: Species Profile for Steller's Eiders General information about the Y-K Delta: Video: Alaska's Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge Education Resources Related to Climate Change: NOAA Education Resources: Climate Change Impacts Contact Us: If you have any questions about this virtual field trip, please contact the Alaska SeaLife Center Education Department at education@alaskasealife.org or 907-224-6306. For more information on classes we offer, including our inquiry-based 50-minute Distance Learning programs, visit our website at www.alaskasealife.org.         CURRICULUM SUPPLEMENTS Use the .pdf links below to access classroom activities for each section of the MELTDOWN virtual field trip. Background_Activities.pdf Questions_Activities.pdf Center_Activities.pdf Field_Activities.pdf Results_Activities.pdf Glossary.pdf          

animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() animatedcollapse.addDiv('B', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init()         At the Alaska SeaLife Center, Dr. Hollmen's team provides all the necessary care for the Steller's eiders in their virtual habitat. The eider team monitors the birds’ behaviors and health on a daily basis and makes sure the birds have the proper space and food. The enclosures for the birds aren’t exactly like the habitats they typically live in, so it is up to the husbandry team to figure out what the Steller’s eiders need to succeed. Dr. Tuula Hollmen and her crew work hard to create a habitat that suits the eiders. Remember, Steller’s eiders are migratory birds, so the habitat at the Alaska SeaLife Center has to change season to season, especially during breeding season! VIDEO: Creating a Virtual Habitat Tasha DiMarzio explains how the Steller's eider enclosures at the Alaska SeaLife Center can be altered to create a virtual tundra habitat. (2:19) Video Transcript The area we are sitting in now we call our breeding units. There’s ten individual units or one large unit, and we can create smaller flocks or individual breeding units or one big pen for if we want to winter everybody in this unit, we can do that. Starting in January through March, we’ll really start watching the birds and seeing who is courting with who and who’s pairing off, and then we’ll move them from what we call the non-breeding or wintering unit and they migrate over to our breeding units (which is just across the walkway). In the winter time we switch them all to salt water because that is where they would be in the wild, out in the ocean, and in the summertime they come to these freshwater tundra ponds. When we were in full breeding season we had covers over one of the pools and it was tundra and then pond on the other side. But now since we are in duck rearing mode we have two ponds and they’re both fresh water. Getting birds to breed in captivity is always a big challenge. Luckily we are in a state where these birds are actually from, and so we can go out and see what they are using as nest materials and what sites they prefer, if its grass or lichen, and then we try and replicate that the best we can. We don’t have these big vast tundra fields, so we try and create areas that they can feel secluded and have privacy, but then have it look a little bit like what maybe they would see in the wild. We go to the beach and we collect a lot of driftwood to create visual barriers and blinds and areas that they can be private. Because each female is picky about where she likes, we try and provide each pair with at least three different nesting options. So a nesting option can be a manmade wooden structure that looks like nothing that you would see in the wild, and then another open tundra-like moss nest, and then a combination of the two: maybe driftwood around a plexiglass-covered structure. And then the biggest key is just keeping it dry so that the down in the nests stay dry. Because the areas that they are nesting, even though it is Arctic tundra, it’s actually a desert and so there is very little water and rainfall but here we’re in a very rainy climate and so that’s a big challenge we have, is keeping their nests dry while they’re going through the egg laying process, so we come up with different things to try and tackle that challenge. By altering the virtual habitat, the husbandry staff can try to match the eiders’ needs for the breeding season. Each year, the husbandry team continues to offer the eiders a variety of space and nesting configurations in the habitat, in an attempt to promote successful breeding. If something doesn’t work, they try something different the next year! After years of trial and error, favorable conditions have been created, allowing some of the eiders to feel comfortable enough to nest! As a result, the team is faced with hundreds of eggs. Some of the Steller’s eider hens incubate their own eggs, but many eggs end up in the care of the husbandry staff when hens don't prepare an appropriate nest. See how scientists can try to play the role of a hen incubating her eggs. VIDEO: ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION Nathan Bawtinhimer describes the process involved when humans incubate eider eggs. (1:32) Video Transcript It's a fun challenge trying to get the artificial incubators to accurately mimic the hen incubating which is very tricky. So we’ve been messing around with a lot of different humidity settings and different methods of turning to more accurately imitate the hen and promote better development within the egg during the incubation process and successful hatching. It’s important that we candle the eggs regularly so we can keep track of the development inside the egg. By candling them with a bright LED flashlight we can actually see inside the egg and just by looking we can tell how long it’s been incubating for, if it’s on the right track developmentally, and what the estimated hatch should be. When we are candling the eggs it is actually an important cool down time for the eggs, because we’ll have the top off the incubator which simulates the hen getting off the nest and foraging. And we also weigh the eggs everyday because during the course of incubation there is a certain range that the egg is supposed to lose to hatch successfully, usually between 12 and 16% of its weight. So we watch their weight loss and we adjust the humidity accordingly. The amount of weight they lose is critical for successful hatching. We’ll record and enter all the data in the spreadsheet so we can track the weight loss and the development of the eggs. And we keep very detailed records of everything we see every day when we candle. While scientists are learning about the Steller's eiders at the Alaska SeaLife Center, they also need to learn more about the natural habitat of these birds. If researchers are hoping to increase the nesting population of Steller's eiders in Alaska, there has to be suitable nesting habitat available in the wild. To determine what is available for these birds in the wild, the scientists head out into the field...       CLICK BELOW TO LEARN ABOUT SEADUCK SCIENTISTS!   COURTSHIP (n)- the behavior of male birds and other animals aimed at attracting a mate.   HABITAT (n)- the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.   HUSBANDRY (n)- the care, cultivation, and breeding of crops or animals.   INCUBATE (v)- to keep an egg or organism at an appropriate temperature for it to develop.   MIMIC (v)- to imitate something.   MONITOR (v)- to keep surveillance over something.    

animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() animatedcollapse.addDiv('B', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init()         A typical day doesn’t exist on the Arctic tundra. Even in the summertime, you could wake to a day of hail, snow, fog, rain, or 70-degree sunshine. Luckily, on good weather days there is a lot of daylight when scientists can get their work completed. With a flat landscape, light from the sun lasts almost 24 hours. Researchers sometimes work until one o'clock in the morning! In the 2014 season, Alaska SeaLife Center scientists traveled to the Y-K Delta twice; once in June to investigate habitat for nesting pairs and once in July to study conditions during brood rearing. This fieldwork helped determine if there is suitable habitat on the Delta for the potential rearing of Steller’s eider ducklings in the upcoming years. If the team can hatch and raise Steller's eiders on the Y-K Delta, this may be a way to reintroduce Steller's eiders to that area. The prospective Steller's rearing location needs to have quality habitat for the eiders, but it also needs easy access for the scientists to come and go with supplies. VIDEO: STUDYING SITES FOR REINTRODUCTION Sadie Ulman explains what information the field team gathered in 2014 and why. (1:48) Video Transcript One of the primary goals of my work right now is to help with the reintroduction of Steller’s eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and our focus is on this particular central Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta: Kigigak Island down on the further south, and then all the way up here on the Kashunuk River system were three different locations. We were looking for freshwater ponds, which happen to be mainly on top of these pingos which are essentially upraised tundra, kind of new tundra areas upraised with these deep, clear freshwater ponds on them with different vegetation than the lower, more grassland. This past season we were sampling a suite of habitat types, but a list of factors kept pointing toward these pingo ponds being the highest level of quality for habitat. We’re looking at salinity specifically because it’s been shown to affect the growth and mass of ducklings at an early age. Sea ducks in particular have salt glands that they don’t fully develop until anywhere from 3 to 6 days of age. After the salt glands have developed they can process salt water readily and it does not affect them. With the changing climate and weather there’s been a higher frequency of coastal storm surges coming in. So the seawater essentially is coming up and flooding a lot of the tundra area and therefore increasing the salinity in a lot of those ponds. That is very helpful to know for the reintroduction purposes, as we need to find a location where there’s plenty of freshwater available for these broods and these ducklings to be reintroduced. Click on the tools and equipment in the image below to learn more about what the research team does in the field. Can you find all six items to click on?         CLICK BELOW TO LEARN ABOUT SEADUCK SCIENTISTS!   CONDUCTIVITY (n) - the degree to which a specified material conducts electricity.   DATA (n) - values of something measured.   DELTA (n) - the area of land where a river splits into smaller rivers before it flows into an ocean.   HABITAT (n) - the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.   INVERTEBRATE (n) - an organism that doesn’t have a spine or spinal column; insects are one example of invertebrates.   pH (n) - a number between 0 and 14 that indicates if a substance is an acid or a base.   PINGO (n) - a hill of soil-covered ice pushed up in an area of permafrost.   QUADRAT (n) - a square or rectangular plot of land marked off for the study of plants and animals.   REAR (v) - caring for and raising (offspring) until they are fully grown, especially in a particular manner or place.   SALINITY (n) - the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water.   SEDIMENT (n) - matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.   SLOUGH (n) - an inlet on a river or a creek in a marsh or tidal flat.    

animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() animatedcollapse.addDiv('B', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init()         Next year the eider team will still be hard at work. Each year presents a new opportunity to learn about Steller’s eiders and to grow from past successes and failures. Researchers are expecting another breeding season with hundreds of eggs. They are hoping that they have determined a good setup for the eiders at the Alaska SeaLife Center so more hens will be able to go through the complete incubation process, as Scarlet and Eek did in the summer of 2014. Dr. Tuula Hollmen is hoping to breed “tundra-ready” ducklings that would be able to survive on the tundra, should reintroduction become a reality. If wildlife managers decide that reintroduction is necessary to help these birds recover, the scientists at the Alaska SeaLife Center now have the tools of captive breeding necessary to help make this possible. Reintroduction would present a whole new set of questions for the team. How will they get their rearing techniques to work in the field? In a release facility, they would have to try to repeat what goes on at the Alaska SeaLife Center in the remote setting of the Y-K Delta. Since they would be on the tundra, there would be less manipulation of the habitat, but there wouldn’t be a lab nearby for immediate analysis. Also, Steller’s eiders are migratory birds, so they will travel from the place they are released. How will researchers help released ducklings establish winter and molting grounds? How will they get the eiders to return to the Y-K Delta for the next breeding season? Text goes here! Reintroduction of other bird species has been done successfully, but each species has its own specific needs. As this project continues its trek forward, Steller’s eiders will keep scientists questioning. There is a Facebook page for the Steller’s Eider Y-K Delta Reintroduction Program so you can stay up-to-date by clicking here.   Text goes here!         CLICK BELOW TO LEARN ABOUT SEADUCK SCIENTISTS!   REINTRODUCTION (n) - the relase of members of a species into an area where that species once lived but where there is no current population.                                

Giving Circle Levels and Benefits The Alaska SeaLife Center relies on a combination of grants, donations, and admission sales to operate at a world-class level. Donors like you support Alaska's marine wildlife by helping to fund research, education, and wildlife response programs. We invite you to join a Giving Circle at a level best suited to you. The SeaLife Circle begins at the $300 donation level and the Steller Circle begins at the $1,000 donation level. SeaLife Circle Level SeaLife Associate SeaLife Advocate Cost $300-$499 $500-$999 Family membership including 2 named adults and named dependent children/grandchildren ages 17 and under* Discounts for guests, tours, and gift shop Recognition on the Alaska SeaLife Center website and on the donor board at the Center Invitation to an annual virtual CEO update   Guest Passes 4 8 *Adults and dependent children/grandchildren must be in the same household. Steller Circle Level Steller Partner Steller Guardian Steller Patron Steller Champion Cost $1,000-$2,499 $2,500-$4,999 $5,000-$9,999 $10,000+ Family membership including 2 named adults and named dependent children/grandchildren ages 17 and under* Discounts for guests, tours, café, and gift shop Recognition on the Alaska SeaLife Center website and on the donor board at the Center Invitation to an annual virtual CEO update Guest Passes 8 8 8 8 VIP Tour  For 4 For 4 For 8 For 8 Invitation to quarterly VIP virtual programs   Breakfast or lunch with the CEO     Keeper for a Day, a 5-hour program for one or two people with minimum age of 16       *Adults and dependent children/grandchildren must be in the same household. Please contact the Development Office at development@alaskasealife.org or call Laura Swihart, Development Associate, 907-224-6337, if you have any questions about joining a Giving Circle.

  Recent Publications by ASLC Scientists:   Richard, J. T., Schultz, K., Goertz, C. E. C., Hobbs, R. C., Romano, T. A., and Sartini, B. L. (2022). Evaluating beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) blow samples as a potential diagnostic for immune function gene expression within the respiratory system Conservation Physiology, 10(1). doi:10.1093/conphys/coac045 Schmitt, T. L., Goertz, C. E. C., Hobbs, R. C., Osborn, S., DiRocco, S., Bissell, H., & Harris, W. S. (2022). Erythrocyte, Whole Blood, Plasma, and Blubber Fatty Acid Profiles in Oceanaria-Based versus Wild Alaskan Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Oceans, 3(4), 464-479. doi:10.3390/oceans3040031 Joblon, M. J., Flower, J. E., Thompson, L. A., Biddle, K. E., Burt, D. A., Zabka, T. S., Adkesson, M. J., Halaska, B., Goertz, C. E. C., Rouse, N., Cahoon, S. N., Jetzke, K., Giovanelli, R. P., and Tuttle, A. D. (2022). Investigation Of The Use Of Serum Biomarkers For The Detection Of CardiacDisease In Marine Mammals. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 53(2), 373-382 Pace, C. N., Webber, M. A., Boege Tobin, D. D., Pemberton, S., Belovarac, J., & Goertz, C. E. C. (2022). The Northernmost and Westernmost Records of the Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus philippii townsendi). Aquatic Mammals, 48(6), 592-601. doi.org/10.1578/AM.48.6.2022.592 Thompson, L. A., Goertz, C. E. C., Quackenbush, L. T., Huntington, K. B., Suydam, R. S., Stimmelmayr, R., & Romano, T. A. (2022). Serological Detection of Marine Origin Brucella Exposure in Two Alaska Beluga Stocks. Animals, 12(15), 1932. doi.org/10.3390/ani12151932 Sills, J. M., and Reichmuth, C.,(2022) Vocal behavior in spotted seals (Phoca larcha) and implications for passive acoustic monitoring.  Fronteirs in Remote Sensing, 3:862435 Burek Huntington, K. A., Gill, V. A., Berrian, A. M., Goldstein, T., Tuomi, P., Byrne, B. A., Worman, K., and Mazet, J., (2021) Causes of Mortality of Northern Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) in Alaska from 2002 to 2012. Frontiers in Marine Science (8:630582). Coletti, H. A., Bowen, L., Ballachey, B. E., Wilson, T. L., Waters, S., Booz, M., Counihan, K. L., Hollmén, T. E., Pister, B. (2021) Gene Expression Profiles in Two Razor Clam Populations: Discerning Drivers of Population Status. Life, 11(12), 1288. https://doi.org/10.3390/life11121288. Hermann-Sorensen, H., Thometz, N., Woodie, K., Dennison-Gibby, S., & Reichmuth, C. (2021). In vivo measurements of lung volumes in ringed seals: insights from biomedical imaging. Journal of Experimental Biology, 224(2), jeb 235507. doi:10.1242/jeb.235507 Goertz, C. E. C., Woodie, K., Long, B., Hartman, L., Gaglione, E., Christen, D., Clauss, T., Flower, J. E., Tuttle, A. D., Richard, C., Romano, T. A., Schmitt, T. L., Otjen, E., Osborn, S., Aibel, S., Binder, T., Van Bonn, W., Castellote, M., Mooney, T. A., Dennison-Gibby, S., Burek Huntington, K. A., and Rowels, T. K. (2021) Stranded beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) calf response and care: reports of two cases with different outcomes: Polar Research, 40(S1). McGuire, T. L., Shelden, K. E. W., Himes Boor, G. K., Stephens, A. D., McClung, J. R., Garner, C., Goertz, C. E. C., Burek Huntington, K. A., O' Corry-Crowe, G., and Wright, B. (2021) Patterns of mortality in endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales: Insights from pairing a long-term photo-identification study with stranding records: Marine Mammal Science, v. 37, p. 492-511. Rosen, D. S., Thometz, N. M., and Reichmuth, C. (2021) Seasonal and Developmental Patterns of Energy Intake and Growth in Alaskan Ice Seals: Aquatic Mammals, v. 47, p. 559-573. Rouse, N. M., Counihan, K. L., Boege Tobin, D. D., Goertz, C. E. C., and Duddleston, K. N. (2021) Habitat associations between Streptococcus bovis/equinus complex and Streptococcus phocae, the causative agents of strep syndrome in sea otters, and the marine environment. Marine Ecology, 43, e12689. Rouse, N. M., Counihan, K. L., Goertz, C. E. C., and Duddleston, K. N. (2021) Competency of common northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) prey items to harbor Streptococcus lutetiensis and S. phocae: Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, v. 143, p. 69-78. Savage, K. N., Burek Huntington, K. A., Wright, S. K., Bryan, A., Sheffield, G., Webber, M., Stimmelmayr, R., Tuomi, P., Delaney, M. A., and Walker, W. (2021) Stejneger's beaked whale strandings in Alaska, 1995-2020, Marine Mammal Science, 37(3), 843-869. Spies, I., Orr, J. W., Stevenson, D. E., Goddard, P., Hoff, G., Guthridge, J., Hollowed, M., and Rooper, C. (2021) Skate egg nursery areas support genetic diversity of Alaska and Aleutian skates in the Bering Sea: Marine Ecology Progress Series, v. 669, p. 121-138. Spies, I., Orr, J. W., Stevenson, D. E., Goddard, P., Hoff, G. R., Guthridge, J., and Rooper, C. N. (2021) Genetic evidence from embryos suggests a new species of skate related to Bathyraja parmifera (Rajiformes: Arhynchobatidae) in the Bering Sea: Marine Ecology Progress Series, v. 670, p. 155-166. Suryan, R. M., Arimitsu, M. L., Coletti, H. A., Hopcroft, R. R., Lindeberg, M. R., Barbeaux, S. J., Batten, S. D., Burt, W. J., Bishop, M. A., Bodkin, J. L., Brenner, R., Campbell, R. W., Cushing, D. A., Danielson, S. L., Dorn, M. W., Drummond, B., Esler, D., Gelatt, T. S., Hanselman, D. H., Hatch, S. A., Haught, S., Holderied, K., Iken, K., Irons, D. B., Kettle, A. B., Kimmel, D. G., Konar, B., Kuletz, K. J., Laurel, B. J., Maniscalco, J. M., Matkin, C., McKinstry, C. A. E., Monson, D. H., Moran, J. R., Olsen, D., Palsson, W. A., Pegau, W. S., Piatt, J. F., Rogers, L. A., Rojeck, N. A., Schaefer, A., Spies, I. B., Straley, J. M., Strom, S. L., Sweeney, K. L., Szymkowiak, M., Weitzman, B. P., Yasumiishi, E. M., and Zador, S. G. (2021) Ecosystem response persists after a prolonged marine heatwave: Nature, Scientific Reports, v. 11. Tanedo, S., Hollmén, T. E., Maniscalco, J. M., and Ulman, S. E. G. (2021) Using Remote Video Technology to Study Environmental Factors Influencing Productivity of Black-Legged Kittiwakes Rissa Tridactyla: Marine Ornithology, v. 49, p. 293-299. Bishop, A., Brown, C., Sattler, R., & Horning, M. (2020). An Integrative Method for Characterizing Marine Habitat Features Associated with Predation: A Case Study on Juvenile Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus). Frontiers in Marine Science, 7: 576716   Bowen, L., Counihan, K., Ballachey, B., Coletti, H., Hollmén, T., Pister, B., and Wilson, T. L. (2020). Monitoring nearshore ecosystem health using Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula) as an indicator species. Peer J 8:e8761   Counihan, K. L., Tuomi, P.A., and Hollmen, T.E. (2020) Differential Progression of Lymphoma in Two Captive Steller’s Eiders (Polysticta stelleri).  Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, 34(3), 302-305, doi: 10.1647/1082-6742-34.3.302   Levin, M., Jasperse, L., Desforges, J-P., O’Hara, T., Rea, L., Castellini, J. M., Maniscalco, J. M., Fadely, B., and Keogh, M. (2020) Methyl mercury (MeHg) in vitro exposure alters mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine expression in Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) pups. Science of the Total Environment 725: 138308.   Lian, M., Castellini, J. M., Kuhn, T., Rea, L., Bishop, L., Keogh, M., Kennedy, S. N., Fadely, B., van Wijngaarden, E., Maniscalco, J. M., O’Hara, T. (2020) Assessing oxidative stress in Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus): Associations with mercury and selenium concentrations. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C 235: 108786,   Maniscalco, J. M., Springer, A. M., Counihan, K. L., Hollmen, T., Aderman, H. M., and Toyukak, S., M. (2020). Contemporary diets of walruses in Bristol Bay, Alaska suggest temporal variability in benthic community structure. Peer J, (8), e8735.   McGuire, T.L., Shelden, K.E., Himes Boor, G.K.,  Stephens, A.D., McClung, J.R., Garner, C., Goertz, C.E.C., Burek-Huntington, K.A.,  O’Corry-Crowe, G., Wright, B., (2020) Patterns of mortality of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales: Insights from pairing a long-term photo-identification study with stranding records. Marine Mammal Science. doi.org/10.1111/mms.12766    Mooney, T.A., Castellote, M., Jones, I., Rouse, N., Goertz, C.E.C. (2020). Audiogram of a Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas). The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. http://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/10.0002351   Safine, D.E., Lindberg, M.S., Martin, K.H., Talbot ,S.L., Swem, T.R., Pearce, J.M., Stellrecht, N.C., Sage, G.K., Riddle, A.E., Fales, K., and T.E. Hollmén. (2020). Use of genetic mark-recapture to estimate breeding site fidelity and philopatry in a threatened sea duck population, Alaska-breeding Steller’s eiders. Endangered Species Research 41:349-360.   Sattler, R., Bishop, A., and Polasek, L. (2020) Cortisol Levels for Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Human Care: Aquatic Mammals, 2 (46), p.146-151.   Tanedo, S.A., and T.E. Hollmen. (2020). Refining remote observation techniques to estimate productivity of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) in Resurrection Bay in the Northern Gulf of Alaska. Marine Ornithology 48: 61-69.   Van Cise, A.M., Wade, P.R., Goertz, C.E.C., Burek- Huntington, K.A., Parsons, K.M., Clauss, T., Hobbs, R.C., and Apprill, A. (2020). Skin Microbiome of Beluga Whales: Spatial, Temporal, and Health-Related Dynamics. Animal Microbiome 2(39).   Walden, H. S., A. L. Bryan, et al. (2020). Helminth Fauna of Ice Seals in the Alaskan Bering and Chukchi Seas, 2006-15.  Journal of Wildlife Diseases 4(56): p. 863-872.   Allen, K.N., Vazquez-Medina, J.P., Lawler, J.M., Mellish, J.E., Horning, M., and Hindle, A.G. (2019) Muscular apoptosis but not oxidative stress increases with old age in a long-lived diver, the Weddell seal. Journal of Experimental Biology, 222(12) jeb200246   Andrews, R. D., Baird, R. W., Calambokidis, J., Goertz , C. E. C., Gulland, F. M. D., Heide-Jorgensen, M. P., Hooker, S. K., Johnson, M. P., Mate, B., Mitani, Y., Nowacek, D. P., Owen, K., Quakenbush, L. T., Raverty, S. A., Robbins, J., Schorr, G. S., Shpak, O. V., Townsend, F. I., Uhart, M., Wells, R. S., and Zerbini, A., (2019) Best Practice guidelines for cetacean tagging: Journal of Cetacean Research and Management,  20, p. 27-66.   Bishop, A.M., Dubel, A., Sattler, R., Brown, C.L., and Horning, M., (2019) Wanted dead or alive: Characterizing likelihood of juvenile Steller sea lion predation from diving and space use patterns. Endangered Species Research, 40, p. 357-367.   Brown, C., Horning, M., and Bishop, A. (2019) Improving emergence location estimates for Argos pop-up transmitters. Animal Biotelemetry, 7(4), p. 1-10.   Counihan, K. L., Bowen, L., Ballachey, B., Coletti, H., Hollmén, T.E., Pister, B., and Wilson, T.L. (2019) Physiological and gene transcription assays to assess responses of mussels to environmental changes. PeerJ, 7, e78000.   Goertz, C.E.C., Burek-Huntington, K.A., Royer, K., Quakenbush, L., Clauss, T., Hobbs, R., and Kellar, N., (2019) Comparing progesterone in blubber and serum to assess pregnancy in wild beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas): Conservation Physiology, 7, p. coz071.   Goertz , C.E.C., Reichmuth, C., Thometz, N.M., Ziel, H., and Boveng, P.L. (2019) Comparative health assessments of Alaskan Ice seals. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6(4), p. 1-15. Horning, M., Andrews, R.A., Bishop, A.M., Boveng, P.L., Costa, D.P., Crocker, D.E., Haulena, M., Hindell, M., Hindle, A.G., Holser, R.R., Hooker, S.K., Huckstadt, L.A., Johnson, S., Lea, M.A., McDonalds, B.I., McMahon, C.R., Robinson, P.W., Sattler, R.L., Shuert, C.R., Steingass, S.M., Thompson, D., Tuomi, P.A., Williams, C.L., and Jamie N. Womble. (2019) Best practice recommendations for the use of external telemetry devices on pinnipeds.  Animal Biotelemtry, 7:20 Miller, M.W.C., Lovvorn, J. R., Matz, A.C., Taylor, R.J., Latty, C.J., Brooks, M.L., and Hollmén, T.E. (2019) Interspecific patterns of trace elements in sea ducks: Can surrogate species be used in contaminants monitoring? Ecological Indicators, 98, p. 830-839.   Shelden, K.E.W., Burns, J.J., McGuire, T., Burek Huntington, K.A., Vos, D.J., Goertz , C.E.C., O' Corry-Crowe, G., and Mahoney, B.A., (2019) Reproductive status of female beluga whales from the endangered Cook Inlet Population: Marine Mammal Science, p. 1-10.   Steingass, S., Horning, M., and Bishop, A. (2019) Space use of Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) from two haulout locations along the Oregon coast. PLoS ONE, 14(7), e0219484. Christie, K.S., Hollmén, T.E., Huntington, H.P., and Lovvorn, J. (2018) Structured decision analysis informed by traditional ecological knowledge as a tool to strengthen subsistence systems in a changing Arctic. Ecology and Society,23(4):42 Sattler, R., Bishop, A., Woodie, K., and Polasek, L. (2018) Characterizing estrus by trans-abdominal ultrasounds, fecal estrone-3-glucuronide, and vaginal cytology in the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). Theriogenology,120, p.25-32. Counihan, K.L. and Hollmén, T.E. (2018) Immune parameters in different age classes of captive male Steller's eiders (Polysticta stelleri). Developmental and Comparative Immunology, 86: p.41-46. Jacob, J.M., Subramaniam, K., Tu, S.L., Nielsen, O., Tuomi, P., Upton, C., and Waltzek, T.B. (2018) Complete genome sequence of a novel sea otterpox virus. Virus Genes, p.1-12. Mooney, T.A., Castellote, M., Jones, I.T., Quakenbush, L., Hobbs, R., Gaglione, E., & Goertz, C. (2018). Local acoustic habitat relative to hearing sensitivities in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Journal of Ecoacoustics, 2. doi.org/10.22261/JEA.QZD9Z5 Counihan, K.L. (2018) The physiological effects of oil, dispersant and dispersed oil on the bay mussell, Mytilus trossulus, in Arctic/Subarctic conditions.  Aquatic Toxicology, 199: p.220-231. Churchwell, R.T., Kendall, S., Brown, S.C., Blanchard, A.L., Hollmén, T.E., Powell, A.N. (2018) The first hop: use of Beaufort Sea deltas by hatch-year semipalmated sandpipers.  Estuaries and Coast, 41(1) 280-292. Mooney, T.A., Castellote, M., Quakenbush, L., Hobbs, R., Gaglione, E., & Goertz, C. (2018). Variation in hearing within a wild population of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Journal of Experimental Biology.  221(9), jeb171959.   Bishop A, Brown C, Rehberg M, Torres L, Horning M (2018) Juvenile Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) utilization distributions in the Gulf of Alaska. Movemement Ecology 6:6. Allen, K., Hindle, A., Vazquez-Medina, J.P., Lawler, J.M., Mellish, J.E. and M. Horning (2018) Age and muscle specific oxidative stress management strategies in a long-lived diver, the Weddell seal. The FASEB Journal 2018 32:1_supplement, 861.5-861.5  Hocking, D.P., Marx, F.G., Sattler, R., Harris, R.N., Pollack, T.I., Sorrel, K.J., Fitzgerald, E.M.G., McCurry, M.R., and Evans, A.R. (2018) Clawed forelimbs allow northern seals to eat like their ancient ancestors, Royal Society Open Science, 5:172393. Latty, C.J., Hollmén, T.E., Petersen, M.R., Powell, A.N. and R.D. Andrews (2018) Erratum: Biochimical and clinical responses of Common Eiders to implanted satellite transmitters. The Condor, 120(1) 185-187. Maniscalco, J.M., and Parker, P. (2018) Maternal and offspring effects on the timing of parturition in western Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus).  Canadian Journal of Zoology, 96(4), p. 333-339. Miller, C.N., L. Polasek, A.M.C. Oliveria, and J. Maniscalco. (2017).  Milk fatty acid composition of perinatal and foraging Steller sea lions: examination from pup stomachs. Canadian Journal of Zoology doi:10.1139/cjz-2016-0015. Sattler, R., and Polasek, L. (2017)  Serum estradiol and progesterone profiles during estrus, pseudopregnancy and active gestation in Steller sea lions. Journal of Zoo Biology 2017:1-9, https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21381 Burgess, T.L., Kreuder Johnson, C., Burdin, A., Gill, V.A., Doroff, A.M., Tuomi, P., Smith, W.A., and Goldstein, T. (2017) Brucella Infection in Asian Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris lutris) on Bering Island, Russia. Journal of Wildlife Diseases.  epub, DOI 10.7589/2016-09-220 Morey, J.S., Burek Huntington, K.A., Campbell, M., Clauss, T.M., Goertz, C.E., Hobbs, R.C., Lunardi, D., Moors, A.J., Neely, M.G., Schwacke, L.H., Van Dolah, F.M. (2017) De novo transcriptome assembly and RNA-Seq expression analysis in blood from         beluga whales of Bristol Bay, AK, Marine Genomics, epub, DOI 10.1016/j.margen.2017.08.001 Richard, J.T., Schultz, K., Goertz, C.E.C., Hobbs, R., Romano, T., and Sartini, L. (2017) Assessing the Quantity and Downstream Performance of DNA Isolated from Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) Blow Samples. Aquatic Mammals,43(4), p. 398-408. Horning M, Haulena M, Tuomi PA, Mellish JE, Goertz CE, Woodie K, Berngartt RK, Johnson S, Shuert CR, Walker KA, Skinner JP, Boveng PL. (2017) Best practice recommendations for the use of fully implanted telemetry devices in pinnipeds. Animal Biotelemetry (2017)5:13. Horning M, Haulena M, Rosenberg JF, Nordstrom C. Intraperitoneal implantation of life-long telemetry transmitters in three rehabilitated harbor seal pups. BMC Veterinary Research (2017)13:139. Steingass S, Horning M. (2017) Individual-based energetic model suggests bottom up mechanisms for the impact of coastal hypoxia on Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) foraging behavior. Journal of Theoretical Biology 416:190-198. Andrews, R.D. and Enstipp, M.R. (2016) Diving physiology of seabirds and marine mammals: Relevance, challenges and some solutions for field studies. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology, 202, 38-52. Belonovich, O.A., Fomin, S.V., Burkanov, V.N., Andrews, R.D., and Davis, R.W. (2016) Foraging behavior of lactating northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) in the Commander Islands, Russia. Polar Biology 39:357–363 Beltran, R., Peterson, S. McHuron, E., Reichmuth, C., Huckstadt, L., Costa, D. (2016) Seals and sea lions are what they eat, plus what? Determination of trophic discrimination factors for seven pinniped species. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 30(9), 1115-1122 Cornick, L.A., Quakenbush, L.T., Norman, S.A.,  Pasi, C., Maslyk, P., Burek, K.A., Goertz, C.E.C., and Hobbs, R.C. (2016) Seasonal and developmental differences in blubber stores of beluga whales in Bristol Bay, Alaska using high-resolution ultrasound.  Journal of Mammology, 1-11                 Cortez, M., Goertz, C.E.C., Gill, V.A., and Davis, R.W. (2016) Development of an altricial mammal at sea:  II. Endery budgets of female sea otters and their pups in Simpson Bay, Alaska.  Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 481, 81-91 Goertz, C.E.C., Polasek, L., Burek, K., Suydam,  R., and Sformo, T., (2016)  Demography and pathology of a Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) mass-mortality event at Icy Cape, Alaska, September, 2009. Polar Biology, DOI 10.1007/s00300-016-2023-x Hay,G.C. …Horning, M., et al (2016) Key Questions in Marine Megafauna Movement Ecology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution online. Evolution 31(6): 463-475.  Latty, C.J. ,  Hollmén, T.E., Petersen, M.R., Powell, A.N., and Andrews, R.D.  (2016) Biochemical and clinical responses of Common Eiders to implanted satellite transmitters. Condor 118:489-501. Fregosi A, Klinck H, Horning M, Costa DP, Mann D, Sexton K, Hückstädt LA, Mellinger DK, Southall BL (2016) An animal-borne active acoustic tag for minimally invasive behavioral response studies on marine mammals. Animal Biotelemetry 4:1. Nichols, J.D., Hollmén, T.E., and Grand, J.B. (2016) Monitoring for the Management of Disease Risk in Animal Translocation Programmes. Eco Health 1-11. McHuron, E.A., Walcott, S.M., Zeligs, J., Skrovan, S., Costa, D.P., and Reichmuth, C. (2016) Whisker growth dynamics in two North Pacific pinnipeds: implications for determining foraging ecology from stable isotope analysis. Marine Ecology Progress Series,554: 213-224. Mooney, T.A.Castellote, M., Quackenbush, L., Hobbs, R., Goertz, C.E.C., and Gaglione, E. (2016) Measuring Hearing in Wild Beluga Whales. The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life II.  A.N. Popper, A. Hawkins (eds). Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, New York Owen, K., Jenner, C.S., Jenner, M.N.M., and Andrews, R.D. (2016) A week in the life of a pygmy blue whale: migratory dive depth overlaps with large vessel drafts. Animal Biotelemetry 4:17. Polasek, L., Frost, C., David, J.H.M, Meyer, M.A., and Davis R.(2016)  Myoglobin distribution in the locomotory muscles of Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus). Aquatic Mammals 42(4), 421-427.  

animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() animatedcollapse.addDiv('B', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() animatedcollapse.addDiv('C', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init()   While talking with Yosty, Sonia mentioned a lot of important processes that happen in the Gulf over the course of the year and described what was different during these strange years. During periods of warmer than average water offshore, species of phytoplankton that were indicators of lower nutrient conditions in the Gulf began to make up a large part of plankton blooms in the Gulf of Alaska. Some incidences of species of phytoplankton that can produce harmful toxins were reported in Alaska during those periods. If toxic phytoplankton were consumed by zooplankton, this could impact the higher levels of the food chain of the Gulf of Alaska. Sonia also pointed out that she expected the abnormally warm water that began at the end of 2013 to have an impact on the plankton, and did it ever! Picking up these clues, Yosty digs even deeper into the oceanic conditions in the Gulf when water temperatures were higher than average by talking to Seth Danielson, an Oceanographer with Gulf Watch Alaska. Watch the video below to hear about the ocean conditions Seth has observed in the Gulf of Alaska. VIDEO: Seth Danielson and Ocean Conditions Seth Danielson describes his observations of recent ocean conditions in the Gulf of Alaska. (4:28) Video Transcript Narrator: Okay, so clearly something was really different during these years and it affected the whole system. The clues led Yosty to talk to Seth Danielson, a Gulf Watch oceanographer with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Yosty: Hey Seth, so what do you mean when you use the term “oceanic conditions”? Seth: As oceanographers, we can measure the temperature and the salinity of the water column, and from temperature and salinity we can compute the water density. Just like warm air rises, the ocean is layered with colder, more dense water sitting below warmer and fresher waters near the surface. Yosty: Was there anything unusual about the oceanic conditions in 2015? Seth: 2015 was one of a number of years in a row where the ocean conditions in the northern Gulf of Alaska were particularly warm. We’ve been measuring temperature and salinity at the mouth of Resurrection Bay since 1970, and over the past 45 years we’re finding the warmest temperatures that we’ve ever seen. In the winter of 2013-2014, some scientists from Canada noticed that we had extremely strong temperature anomalies in the North Pacific. These were anomalies that were three to four standard deviations away from average, which is an anomaly that would happen once every couple thousand years if it was just a random event. So we assume that this is not just a random event, it’s been forced by something in the atmosphere. And through analysis of the sea surface data and our understanding of the weather patterns, we see that the North Pacific Ocean was able to retain a lot of heat in the last few winters, and that led to the creation of this “blob”. The blob is a feature that was created, in large part, by a lack of cooling during the winter months. Yosty: Anomalies? Deviations? Blob? Wait, did he say “blob”? Seth: An anomaly is a deviation from what we consider to be normal conditions. Cool anomalies are when the water is not as warm as we expect it to be. We had a prolonged period of cool anomalies in the early 1970s and another period of cool anomalies in the first decade of the 2000s. Interspersed between this long-term trend of warming over the Gulf of Alaska, we have periods of warm anomalies and cool anomalies. Often the warm anomalies are associated with events such as El Niño. That happened in 2015 for example: there was a large El Niño event. Yosty: How could this anomaly of warmer water – this “blob” – cause problems for animals living in the Gulf of Alaska? Seth: The temperature and the salinity both help regulate the “communication” of subsurface waters to the near-surface waters, and it’s the availability of nutrients and light up near the surface that make those waters productive for phytoplankton growth. By increasing our stratification – for example during years where it’s warmer than normal near the surface layers – you can cut down the communication between the subsurface waters and the near-surface waters, and that reduces the nutrient supply to the surface layers. So an increase of stratification would tend to reduce the amount of nutrients available for phytoplankton growth, and over the course of the last three years – 2014, 2015 and 2016 – we’ve seen stronger than average stratification across the Gulf of Alaska shelf. Below are two visuals of what Seth, and the other Gulf Watch Alaska Scientists, observed happening to the ocean conditions and organisms in the Gulf of Alaska. The first of two animations depicts what a normal calendar year looks like in the Gulf, while the second portrays how the Gulf was impacted by "The Blob". VIDEO: Normal Ocean Conditions Animation of oceanographic conditions in "normal" years. (4:47) Video Transcript As Yosty learned from Seth, the processes going on in the Gulf of Alaska can be quite complex. In the Gulf of Alaska during a normal cooling season from October to March, the water column is separated into an upper and lower section with a thermocline diving the two layers. Let’s pop over to the laboratories in the Alaska SeaLife Center to discover what a thermocline is. Hi everyone, and welcome to the laboratories here at the Alaska SeaLife Center. I’ve set up a quick demonstration to show you visually what a thermocline is. Bodies of water – like oceans or lakes – are broken up into layers, and these layers are determined by two different things: temperature and salinity. Variations in the temperature and salinity create variations in the density of water, and density is what determines whether some water will sink below or rise above other layers of water. Now warm water is generally less dense than cold water, which means that warm water will actually sit above cold water. And the area where the warm water and cold water meet – that’s called the thermocline. So the thermocline is just that layer between the two different densities of water. Have any of you ever jumped into a lake? If you have, when you were diving down deep – just a little bit below the surface – did you feel a large change in the temperature of the water? If so, then you’ve felt a thermocline! Over here, I have created a little demo to show us what that looks like. On one half of this container I have cool, blue water; and on the other half I have warm, red water. Now let’s watch what happens when I remove the divider and the two waters combine. As you can see here, the two layers of water are going to start to separate. And once they are separated this will be called “stratified” water. At the top we will have the warmer, less dense water; and at the bottom we will have the colder, denser water. And that purple layer that will form right in between? That will be the thermocline. So our thermocline is just the area of rapid transition between the two different layers. Now in bodies of water, the thermocline isn’t the only cline that exists. And that’s because there are many more factors that go into determining the density of water. For instance, in the ocean, salinity – or the salt content – actually plays a much larger role in determining density than does the temperature. Now these variations in density within the ocean actually drive a global pattern of ocean water mixing. And this global pattern of ocean mixing played a vital role in the cause and effect of the “blob”. So now back to our animation to learn just exactly what is happening in the Gulf of Alaska. As we begin the fall season, storms build, bringing with them a strong easterly wind, which causes a mixing effect in the water. As we take a closer look into the upper layer, we can see that important nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are delivered from the lower layer due to this strong mixing effect. Now we see a normal warming season. After the winter, the upper water layer is now rich with nitrogen and phosphorus. Combined with the increased amount of daylight, these increased nutrient levels create a phytoplankton bloom that depletes the surface nutrients by late spring. This abundance pf phytoplankton is met by an abundance pf zooplankton. Zooplankton feed upon the phytoplankton and recycle some of the nutrients back into the ocean. The abundance of phytoplankton and zooplankton allow for other animals in the Gulf to thrive. As zooplankton abundance increases, so does the abundance of fish in the Gulf that eat the zooplankton. Predators like common murres, marine mammals, and humans are then drawn into the Gulf to catch the abundant fish. As you can see, the nutrients that allow the phytoplankton to bloom are important for the health of the entire ecosystem. The unusual warming event in the ocean first detected at the end of 2014 was very different from the seasonal weather pattern of cooling and warming considered normal for the Gulf of Alaska. Watch the next set of animations below to observe the normal pattern of seasonal changes in the ecosystem that scientists have observed and what was different about the “blob” pattern and the effects it may have had on the Gulf of Alaska. VIDEO: Anomaly "Blob" Conditions Animation of oceanographic conditions in "Blob" years. (2:10) Video Transcript In the Gulf of Alaska, during a winter season with less-than-normal cooling, the upper water layer stays warmer than average leading to stronger separation between the upper and lower layers. During this period, there is a ridge of high pressure in the atmosphere that reduces the amount of winds in the winter leading to a weaker mixing effect between the lower and upper layers. Additionally, with less cooling there is glacial melt and river input into the Gulf year-round. This means that the upper water layer receives a lot of fresh water that is less dense than the salt water. Mixing between the upper and lower water layers weakens and the thermocline stratification of the water column strengthens, reducing the transport of nutrients from the lower to upper water layer. The lack of nutrient mixing over the winter leads to a nutrient-starved upper water layer in the spring. The lack of nutrients in the upper layer greatly reduces the bloom of phytoplankton. In 2014, 2015 and 2016 much of the phytoplankton left was a smaller, thinner variety that may have been less nutritious for the animal zooplankton that fed on them. This lack of nutrition would have worked its way up the food chain, with less nutritious plankton leading to malnourished and less nutritious forage fish – typically a large food source for marine birds like the common murre. A lack of these forage fish may explain the empty stomachs found by researchers examining the dead murres and why some murres were found inland. They may have been hopelessly looking for the food they weren’t finding in the ocean. The impacts of this unusually warm "blob" of water were not limited to the Gulf of Alaska. The blob was first seen along the coasts of California and Oregon, and the entire Northeast Pacific has been subject to its impacts. The Gulf Watch Alaska team has been able to piece together the mystery of these unusual events using the power of systems thinking. The lingering oil studies occur in western Prince William Sound, which is where the oil from the Exxon Valdez oil spill landed, and actually there’s still some oil out there today – small pockets of oil that’s buried in sediments on beaches, throughout western Prince William Sound. So that’s where the lingering oil issues are still important to track. From the USGS perspective, we’re looking at effects of that lingering oil on wildlife. So considering effects of exposure to that lingering oil, and also to understand what that might mean to individuals and populations of the wildlife that live out there. The main species that we’re thinking about in terms of lingering oil are harlequin ducks and sea otters, and that’s because there’s a long history of understanding that lingering oil’s been an important constraint on population recovery of those two species, and so we’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand the timeline and the mechanisms by which those species are recovering from the oil spill. We’ve measured exposure in a number of different ways. For example, with harlequin ducks we’ve used an enzyme called cytochrome P450 1A. It’s a long word basically for an enzyme that gets induced when any vertebrate’s exposed to hydrocarbons. So if you and I were exposed to oil, we would have an induction of that enzyme that would be measurable and then could tell us whether one has been exposed to that. The enzyme itself is part of a cascade of physiological processes that any vertebrate goes through once they’ve been exposed to oil. And it could be indicative of physiological harm, or it could be indicative of just exposure without physiological harm. So we’re not inferring harm from induction of the enzyme, what we’re inferring is that they’re still exposed to oil with the potential for harm.         Who is watching the Blob?   Abundance (n): the number of individuals per population or per species   Anomaly (n): deviation from normal conditions   Density (n): measure of mass per unit of volume   Downwelling/Upwelling (n): the downward (or upward) movement of fluid, especially in the sea   El Niño (n): large climate disturbances in the tropical Pacific Ocean that occur every 3-7 years and affect ocean water temperature patterns   Inorganic (adj): not made of living matter   Near-surface (n): layer of water that lies just beneath the surface   Salinity (n): the saltiness of a body of water, usually measured in parts per thousand (ppt) by weight   Standard deviation (n): a measure of how different a set of numbers are   Stratification (n): when water masses with different properties form layers that act as barriers to water mixing   Sub-surface (n): layer of water below the surface   Thermocline (n): transition layer or boundary between two water layers of different temperatures  

  animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() The Gulf of Alaska is part of the North Pacific and reaches from the Alaska Peninsula in the west to the Alaska archipelago in the southeast.  The coastline includes mountains, glaciers, temperate forests, towns, and cities. Powerful currents in the Gulf of Alaska have helped shape the surrounding land and communities, and circulate necessary nutrients and marine life from the deep waters to the surface. These circulation patterns allow the Gulf of Alaska to thrive with life and sustain some of the largest United States’ fisheries, as well as provide essential habitats for seabirds, marine mammals, and fish to feed and reproduce. As described in Gulf Watch Alaska: Long-term Monitoring, the Gulf of Alaska was impacted by a major oil spill on March 24, 1989. The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and spilled nearly 11 million gallons of oil. An estimated  250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, up to 22 orcas, and billions of salmon and herring eggs were lost to the spill. Since the spill, scientists have been conducting a long-term ecosystem monitoring study to gain a better understanding of both natural and human-caused impacts to the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem. The Gulf Watch Alaska long-term monitoring program consists of a team of scientists who work together to measure and watch different parts of the ecosystem spill area. Through cooperation in this project, scientists can see the links, or connections, between all of their areas of study. In science, we call this “systems thinking.” Systems thinking looks at the web of relationships where individual pieces respond on their own and together as a whole. An ecosystem like the Gulf of Alaska is not just a collection of individual animals and plants. It is all living things interacting with each other and with the non-living components around them that drive physical and chemical processes and affect the conditions for survival. The process of systems thinking allows the Gulf Watch Alaska team to harness the power of a network of scientists that all specialize in different research subjects. This power makes the team of scientists well-equipped to solve any mysteries unfolding in the Gulf of Alaska. One such mystery arose in 2014 when people across the Pacific West coast began to notice large quantities of dead or dying birds washing up all along the shore from California to Alaska. As this event expanded, scientists began investigating the intricate network of natural processes in the Gulf to try and uncover the mystery of these dying birds. Yosty Storms is a former colleague at Gulf Watch Alaska. She is now working for the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program in Anchorage. Recently, Yosty has heard a lot of talk regarding the birds washing ashore, as well as other very unusual events happening throughout the Gulf and surrounding land areas. Let’s follow along as Yosty visits with the Gulf Watch Alaska team and investigates these odd occurrences. Watch the video below and meet Yosty! VIDEO: Meet Yosty Storms Meet Yosty Storms and learn about a mystery occurring in the Gulf of Alaska. (1:42) Video Transcript Narrator: Meet Yosty Storms. Yosty works at the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program in Anchorage. But when she was a student she worked with Gulf Watch Alaska. That's a long-term monitoring program looking at a large range of the North Pacific Ocean, especially the area impacted by a massive oil spill back in 1989. This area has taken a very long time to recover, because some of that oil is lingering on the beaches and offshore. That oil continues to affect the health of fish and other wildlife. Gulf Watch Alaska is a team of amazing scientists who are "on watch" for this ecosystem, keeping tabs on its recovery from the oil spill, and to see if they can detect other sorts of changes – the kinds that might be the result of global climate change. The majority of Alaskans live in communities along the coastline of the Gulf of Alaska, or within the watersheds that drain into it. Some of these communities, like here in Cordova, are dependent on the Gulf of Alaska for their local economy and jobs. Others, like the Native Village of Eyak, have over 10,000 years of history in this region. Everyone at Gulf Watch Alaska agreed that 2014, 2015, and 2016 were very, very unusual years for the ecosystem. So let’s go along with Yosty to see if we can put the mystery together. The first question Yosty wanted to ask some of the scientists was: just how unusual were these years?         Who is watching the Blob?   Archipelago (n): a section of water containing many islands   Cooperation (n): working together to accomplish a goal   Ecosystem (n): a community of living things and nonliving surroundings linked together by energy and nutrient exchange   Essential (adj): something that is necessary or very important   Habitat (n): a place that provides an animal or plant with adequate food, water, shelter, and living space to feed, breed, seek shelter, and raise young   Intricate (adj): very detailed, complex   Lingering (adj): sticking around, lasting for a long time   Sustain (v): strengthen or support physically or mentally   Thrive (v): to be healthy and successful   Watershed (n): an area of land that contains a common set of streams or rivers that all drain into a single larger body of water, such as the ocean    

  animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() Talking with Kathy, Yosty learned that the common murres in the Gulf of Alaska were starving during this period of uncharacteristically warm water. This common murre die-off event was very puzzling for scientists because there was not a clear reason as to why the birds were behaving abnormally. If the birds were not getting enough food, there must be something in the Gulf of Alaska impacting the food chain. Scientists study all levels of marine food webs, beginning with the organisms at the base — the plankton. Plankton are a diverse group of living organisms that spend at least part of their life floating through the water column, unable to swim against the current. Plankton consist of both plants and animals and help to form the base of the marine food chain. Every organism that relies on the ocean for food depends on an adequate supply of plankton to keep the ecosystem properly fed. Even animals that don’t eat plankton themselves, like the common murres, require enough healthy plankton to feed the fish and invertebrates that they prey upon. So, if the common murres were starving, causing them to move close to shore and inland to search for food, and dying in large numbers, there might be some evidence that maybe something was different about the amount or types of plankton in the Gulf of Alaska those years. Following this lead, Yosty moves forward in the investigation by questioning Gulf Watch scientist Sonia Batten, who specializes in monitoring plankton populations to understand what had been happening at the base of the Gulf’s food chain that might have been related to the murre die-off. Watch the video below to hear what Sonia has observed with the plankton in the Gulf of Alaska. VIDEO: Sonia Batten and Plankton Sonia Batten describes her observations of plankton in the Gulf of Alaska. (4:17) Video Transcript Narrator: Hmm… It all seemed to go back to the murres’ food chain. Why did these seabirds starve to death? Was something wrong with their food source? Yosty needed to start at the bottom of the food chain. She needed to talk to Sonia Batten, A Gulf Watch scientist monitoring plankton in the Gulf of Alaska. Yosty: Hi Sonia, what evidence do you have that 2014-2015 were unusual times for plankton in the Gulf of Alaska? Sonia: We’ve been looking at plankton in the northern Gulf of Alaska since 2000, so we have quite a long time series now. We look at the plankton from spring through fall of each year. We noticed in 2014 and then again in 2015 that there was something unusual happening, and we were kind of expecting it because we knew that the waters offshore were really warm from the end of 2013 through the next two years (really unusually warm, and it’s been called “the blob” by some people). So we were expecting to see something unusual. What we typically see in the plankton… There are two types of plankton. There’s the plant plankton and those are little tiny single-celled plants that float around and take the sun’s energy to grow – and they typically get blooms of those in the spring because there’s lots more sunlight in the spring, there’s lots of nutrients from the winter storms that have been mixed up, and it starts warming up. All those things are really good for them to grow, so we typically see those take off in the spring. And then as they grow they get eaten by the animal plankton and their numbers die back a little and they run out of nutrients and so on, so there’s lower levels of them through the summer. And then sometimes in the autumn we get another bloom because we get a few storms come in and mix things up again and give them more nutrients. That’s the typical pattern. What we saw in 2014 was we didn’t see anywhere near as many of those plant plankton as normal, and we saw big numbers of very small animal plankton that were around. It was quite unusual – we hadn’t seen anything quite like that in the whole 50 years of sampling that we’ve done. Yosty: What impacts could this have on the rest of the Gulf? Sonia: It’s still a question we’re working on. Plankton support everything in the ocean. All of the fish and mammals either feed on plankton themselves, or they feed on something that’s been eating plankton already. If there’s not so many of one type of plankton that might be bad, but there were quite a lot of animal plankton around so there obviously eating something. They may be eating something that we don’t see… One of the things we saw was that the types of plant plankton were slightly different: there were more of the smaller type of cell that are longer and thinner. Those cells typically do better in years when there’s not so many nutrients around, because they find it’s easier to take the nutrients up. It’s possible that those are not such a good food source for some of the animal plankton, or maybe the animal plankton weren’t finding as much of what they wanted and in turn that could mean that there’s not enough animal plankton for the fish and seabirds and mammals. But we still don’t really know – those kinds of patterns take a long time to be revealed. Yosty: Kathy mentioned something called domoic acid and its potential to impact seabirds. How is this related to the plankton that you’ve been studying? Sonia: Some phytoplankton – that’s the plant plankton – can produce a toxin called domoic acid. They don’t necessarily produce it over time, sometimes they produce it as a response to a stress in their environment. One of those stresses could be being eaten, so they produce it to put off zooplankton from eating them. There were reported instances of domoic acid in Alaska, and actually through a wide area of the North Pacific a lot of places were reporting it. Although the plankton have evolved to deal with the domoic acid that’s produced by the phytoplankton when other animals eat the zooplankton they concentrate the toxin, and as you go up the food chain the poison gets concentrated and it can potentially cause problems in larger animals that never ate plankton themselves but have eaten other organisms that have concentrated it. So it’s one explanation for why some of the seabirds may have been struggling in that year.   Plankton are considered one of the environmental drivers, so they’re the link between what happens in the ocean – in terms of water chemistry, temperature, the water conditions – and the fish, because plankton respond to their environment really quickly, and fish feed on plankton and larger organisms feed on fish, so the plankton are the link between the oceanography and the fish. We know that plankton respond really quickly because they have life cycles that are really short, sometimes even days, but all of them less than a year or at least a year is the longest life cycle. So if changes happen in their environment they respond quite quickly, and you can see that in changes in their numbers, and the types of plankton and where they’re at. So by monitoring them it gives you a really rapid response to a change in the environment. In the early part of the twentieth century in the UK, it was kind of hard to know where to send the fishing boats, you know, where they were going to find the herring, and Alister Hardy invented this instrument that could be towed behind ships, measuring the plankton, and it’s called the continuous plankton recorder. Continuous because, rather than taking a sample as a snapshot across, it continuously samples the plankton as it goes. His idea was that if you could understand the food of the herring, the food of the fish, maybe you could predict where they were going to be and then send the fishing boats there. You would build a map, a bit like a weather map, of where plankton were and when they were, and then you could send the fishers. So that was his idea, back in the early part of the early part of the twentieth century. And it took a few years to get routine, but from the 1930s onwards they were using this instrument to do that – to build up a picture of plankton meteorology, basically.         Who is watching the Blob?   Abnormally (adv): different from what is normal   Diverse (adj): a lot of variety   Invertebrate (n): an organism lacking a backbone   Organism (n): an individual life form   Phytoplankton (n): freely floating, often minute plants that drift with water currents   Productive (adj): producing enough energy to sustain life   Zooplankton (n): freely floating animals that drift with water currents  

  animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() Meet Dr. Kathy Kuletz Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Kathy's role in Gulf Watch Alaska: Pelagic Ecosystems Co-Principal Investigator, Prince William Sound Marine Bird Population Trends Important skills for her position: "Biometric and GIS skills are of course important for working in science, but writing and communication skills are more important for me now, at this stage in my career. And of course, getting outdoors when possible, to recharge interest and enthusiasm, even get new ideas." Challenges in her work: "Obtaining the support needed for a scientific project, especially something long-term, takes an enormous amount of time and effort - and is usually not why one goes into science. But it has to be done... these aren't the fun aspects of science, but they also help you to refine your goals, objectives, and approach." Kathy's advice to young people interested in science: "Get some field experience, and even work on several types of studies to see what really stokes your interest in learning more. Often, biologists start out as volunteers (I did) and move to seasonal field work, or help with data and reports. When you're on a project, do some background searching and reading on the subject or your specific project (so easy to do these days), and find out what questions the project leader is focused on. If you do a good job, work well in difficult conditions, and stay in contact, chances are you'll be called back." Dr. Kathy Kuletz describes her career as a seabird biologist. (3:14) Video Transcript I’ve always been interested in the working with wildlife. I grew up in the desert, so the ocean was exotic to me. Anything that had to do with the ocean was very exotic, and that’s probably what attracted me to that aspect. I wanted to see Alaska, so I came up for a summer job like most people here. I worked in fisheries to begin with because that’s where a lot of the jobs were – there’s not a lot of funding to study birds. I was doing fisheries work, but then I wound up getting a summer job on Naked Island in Prince William Sound, and that was my first job with seabirds. My one year there turned into four, which turned into my Master’s degree studying pigeon guillemots there. Of course that was before the oil spill – I started back there in 1978. After the oil spill, it turned out that was one of the few places where we had some baseline data on seabirds – how they raised their chicks, what they fed on, and how many birds there actually were in these colonies. I went back after the oil spill, again as a seasonal employee of Fish & Wildlife Service, and eventually it became a term appointment. I stayed on in prince William Sound studying marbled murrelets. I became interested in what was going on at sea. Back in the 70s and 80s there was a large ecosystem study going on because they were looking at oil lease sales in the Bering Sea and the Gulf. They had what they called the OCSEAP program – the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment program. Then there was a huge gap where not much was done out at sea, and of course seabirds spend most of their lives out at sea, but mostly people study what goes on at a colony. I was interested in that other aspect of their lives and what happened the other three quarters of their lives out at sea. For the most part, this was before we had little tiny satellite tags and GPS dataloggers, but we didn’t know what they really did. We didn’t have a good idea of where birds went, and a large part of what we found out was by counting birds at sea – going out on big ships, research vessels that were doing fisheries work or oceanographic work, and doing surveys in conjunction with those. That’s what we’ve continued to do, of course we have more technology now and we can log location of every sighting very accurately and tie that data into what the oceanographers found on the same cruise, or the plankton people, the fish people, the marine mammal folks. So we’re trying to identify the hot spots, trying to found out where birds go in the non-breeding season as well as during the breeding season offshore. That’s what’s attracted me – the idea of being able to put together all this information and understand the big mystery of what seabirds do out at sea, that’s what draws me into it.   Who is watching the Blob?    

  animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() As Yosty mentioned, during the years of 2014 and 2015 scientists with Gulf Watch Alaska began to notice multiple strange occurrences happening in the Gulf, and they wondered how these could be connected. The area of water monitored by the team of scientists at Gulf Watch Alaska is crucial for the survival of animals in and surrounding the Gulf, as well as the populations of people situated on the coast. Using the power and capabilities of the Gulf Watch Alaska team, scientists have begun to piece together the mystery of these strange events. But before figuring out how these events are connected, the scientists needed to fully understand the scope of what was happening in 2014 and 2015. Starting in the winter of 2014, residents of communities surrounding the Gulf of Alaska were witness to a very concerning phenomenon happening to one of the area’s most familiar seabirds, the common murre. Striking numbers of common murres were washing up dead along the coast, and thousands were traveling unusually far inland and away from their feeding grounds in the Gulf of Alaska. It is considered normal for common murre populations to intermittently experience large-scale die-offs, known as wrecks, but the series of die-offs beginning in the winter of 2014 and extending through 2016 were unparalleled in the historic record, both in terms of geographic area and length of time. As the initial reports of these unusual common murre deaths and migratory patterns began making their way to the scientists of Gulf Watch Alaska, there was a lot of speculation about what could be causing this event. Travel with Yosty to meet Gulf Watch Alaska Scientist Kathy Kuletz to hear her account of the common murre die-off event and how her research seeks to understand what was causing the die-off. Click the video below to hear Kathy’s experience with the common murres. VIDEO: Kathy Kuletz and the Common Murres Kathy Kuletz talks about common murre die-offs and their potential causes, and some of the challenges scientists face when trying to study these events. (3:45) Video Transcript Narrator:The first person Yosty sat down with was Kathy Kuletz, a scientist who studies birds for Gulf Watch. Yosty: Hi Kathy, you’ve been a wildlife biologist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife service since 1978? Kathy: Yes. Yosty: Can you tell me about what went on in 2014-2015 that was so unusual in the Gulf of Alaska? Kathy: Everyone knows, it’s been really warm, that was the main thing. And associated with that we started having reproductive failure by seabirds and large die-off events - mainly with common murres but some other species were involved as well. But the main event, which has been really noteworthy, has been the die-off of common murres. It has been unprecedented in its geographic scope, extending from southeast Alaska all the way up into the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea but mainly in the Gulf, the northern Gulf of Alaska. And it’s been unprecedented in the length of time that this has continued, we started having hints of it in 2014, it really hit heavy in the winter of 2015 and 2016 and just continued in episodes, die-offs happening throughout 2016. Yosty: So what do you think is killing the birds? Kathy: When we find them, we have looked at some carcasses on the beach and taken some back to the labs. USGS has been working with us and many other groups - COASST and Fish & Game - and they have, the birds have been empty, their stomachs have been empty and they have lost muscle mass, they have all the evidence of sort of consuming from the inside because they are starved. I know there is a lot of concern about domoic acid and saxatoxin, which is found with paralytic shellfish poisoning, and that certainly could be there, but so far we’ve only found some of the birds have trace amounts of saxatoxin. So the problem with determining if that has played a part is that they don’t keep food in their gut for very long, and because they are empty we haven’t been able to test the food that they have eaten. We do know that those kinds of toxins can change behavior of seabirds, and so it might have affected their ability to forage and find food, but it is also just as likely that there is not enough food or the food is of low quality in the areas where they normally feed. Now when it is really warm, some of these fish will go very deep in the water column, so birds like black legged kittiwakes who just feed on the surface, they can’t access the fish. Murres can dive quite deep, 100 meters, so they should be able to access fish if they go deep but the fish might also have moved far offshore if it is very warm, they are looking for colder water sometimes or more food. So it is quite likely that their food wasn’t available, or it wasn’t nutritious. Often when it is very warm the zooplankton tend to be smaller and less energy dense and up the food chain the fish will be smaller and have less energy for weight, so that affects seabirds and marine mammals that feed on them. We are continuing to collect carcasses when we find them, or people will ship them in and we’ll help get them sent to the lab. USGS now is putting together their own lab so we can do testing here in Anchorage, so that will expedite things a lot and maybe that’ll help us get better access to fresh samples that we can more accurately test for saxatoxin and other toxins. Yosty: Thank you.       Who is watching the Blob?   Carcass (n): the full skeletal and organ remains of a dead organism   Crucial (adj): very important to the success or failure of something   Data (n): values of something measured   Domoic acid (n): an acid produced by algae that accumulates in the shellfish that consume the algae, affecting the brain and nervous system of the animals that eat the shellfish   Food chain (n): the organization of organisms in an ecosystem, describing which organisms eat which   Intermittently (adv): happening in an irregular pattern   Phenomenon (n): a situation that is observed for which the cause is unknown or questioned   Saxatoxin (n): a toxin produced by algae that accumulates in the shellfish that consume the algae, causing illness in the animals that eat the shellfish   Speculation (n): a theory or idea without evidence to support it   Unparalleled (adj): having no equal or match, something that is unique   Unprecedented (adj): never seen or experienced before   Wrecks (n): large die-offs of common murres that have happened periodically throughout history    

    animatedcollapse.addDiv('A', 'fade=1') animatedcollapse.ontoggle=function($, divobj, state){ //fires each time a DIV is expanded/contracted //$: Access to jQuery //divobj: DOM reference to DIV being expanded/ collapsed. Use "divobj.id" to get its ID //state: "block" or "none", depending on state } animatedcollapse.init() WELCOME, TEACHERS! The Alaska SeaLife Center and Gulf Watch Alaska are excited to present this virtual field trip (VFT)! Join the Gulf Watch Alaska team of scientists as they discover the mechanisms behind a mystery unfolding in the Gulf of Alaska. Learn about the work of a collaborative team of scientists from many different ocean science disciplines, and follow along with the narrator as she explores the scientists’ process of initially observing unusual phenomena in the Gulf of Alaska and seek to discover the causes and connections. You can use this VFT in conjunction with the “Gulf Watch Alaska: Long-term monitoring” VFT, or as a stand-alone piece. GRADE LEVEL: 6-8th TIME NEEDED: Between one and four 1-hour class periods (teachers may choose to use all or only some of the supplementary lessons). NUTSHELL: Students will learn about the mystery of the seabird die-off that occurred in the Gulf of Alaska, during the winter of 2015 – 2016. They will explore various aspects of the investigation and how, collectively, the scientists were able to begin uncovering the mechanisms behind the extreme die-off event.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES: After completing this virtual field trip, students will be able to: • Understand the process of scientific thinking and the use of the Scientific Method as a tool to develop questions and search for answers. • Understand the collaborative nature of science and how researchers from various disciplines working together can provide a ‘big picture’ view of a dynamic marine ecosystem. • Explain how an ecosystem is composed of many different components, including physical and chemical processes that drive the ecosystem and determine the conditions for survival of marine life. • Use evidence to make a claim about the cause or causes of a change in a population. BACKGROUND: In this virtual field trip, students will meet various scientists and researchers working for the Gulf Watch Alaska long-term ecosystem monitoring program, a project of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, investigating the marine ecosystems since the 1989 oil spill. This program focusses on a recent mystery that has unfolded in the Gulf of Alaska, beginning with the observation of an extreme seabird die-off event. Organized into three main pages, this VFT follows researchers along on an investigation to uncover what caused this mortality event. This VFT can be used in a number of ways. Individuals may navigate through the pages on their own and meet the scientists through the links provided on the right-hand bar. Self-guided exploration can be completed in a couple of hours. Alternatively, teachers may facilitate a structured experience, working through each page of the VFT together in class. Lesson plans (links included on the right-hand column of this page) are available to supplement online content. TO USE THIS VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP YOU WILL NEED: • Internet access, video streaming capabilities • Projection system (with audio) to display content or a computer lab (with headphones) • Corresponding lesson plans (linked as PDFs in the right hand column of this page) UNABLE TO RUN THE STREAMING VERSION? REQUEST A FREE COPY OF ALL MATERIALS ON CD BY EMAILING education@alaskasealife.org. CONTACT US: If you have any questions about this virtual field trip, please contact the Alaska SeaLife Center Education Department at education@alaskasealife.org or 907-224-6306. For more information on all the classes and programs we offer, including our inquiry-based Distance Learning programs, visit our website at www.alaskasealife.org.         CURRICULUM SUPPLEMENTS Use the .pdf links below to access classroom activities for each section of the Gulf Watch Alaska virtual field trip experience. Lesson 1: Observation Observation Poster Template Lesson 2: Investigation Lesson 3: Discovery          

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Spring Break 2026 Availability  March 7-14: 1:45 pm Daily Spring 2026 Availability  March 15 - May 31: 1:45 pm Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays Summer 2026 Availability  June 1 - August 3: 1:45 pm Daily August 4 - September 30: 1:45 pm Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays   Duration: Approximately 30-minute tour Maximum of 5 people per tour - ages 10+* Come behind the scenes for a unique experience with one of our marine mammal ambassadors! This tour will allow visitors to get an up-close view of the exceptional day-to-day care our seals or sea lions receive while learning about how these amazing species are specially adapted for Arctic and sub-Arctic environments. Each encounter will be unique (and special!).   No photography allowed on this tour. One Group Per Tour Group Size of 1-2 Guests: $289.95 Group Size of 3 Guests: $339.95 Group Size of 4 Guests: $389.95 Group Size of 5 Guests: $439.95 Members get a 20% discount, buy your membership today and use the benefits immediately. (does not include admission) *Guests aged 10-16 must be accompanied by a paying adult Tickets only valid for date selected. Online tickets must be purchased at least one day in advance.     

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Contact Alaska SeaLife Center 301 Railway Avenue P.O. Box 1329 Seward, AK 99664 Toll Free: (800) 224-2525 Visitor Information and Reservations Hotline Phone: (907) 224-7908 Toll Free: (888) 378-2525 Fax: (907) 224-6320 Email: visit@alaskasealife.org Education Program Registration Phone: (907) 224-6306 Phone Toll Free: (800) 224-2525 ext. 6306 Email: education@alaskasealife.org Employment Phone: (907) 224-6325 Email: hr@alaskasealife.org Volunteers & Summer Internships Phone: (907) 224-6327 Email: volunteercoordinator@alaskasealife.org Membership Phone: (907) 224-6374 Email: membership@alaskasealife.org Stranding Hotline Phone: (907) 224-6395 Toll Free: (888) 774-7325 Email: wildliferesponse@alaskasealife.org Media Relations Phone: (907) 224-6338 Email: media@alaskasealife.org Donation Requests Please fill out the Donation Request Form Phone: (907) 224-6337 Email: donationrequest@alaskasealife.org DIRECTIONS, PARKING & ACCESSIBILITY >>

Virtual Field Trips Virtual Field Trips are your opportunity to join field researchers as they pursue information about the natural environment. Don’t worry about packing survival gear! You’ll stay dry and warm as you follow these intrepid adventurers to places such as the Bering Sea, Antarctica, and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Click on any of the field trips below to get started! These field trip links will take you to web pages that include video. Transcripts are provided for each video, but we suggest turning up your volume if possible. Each field trip also links to optional lesson plans for grades 5-8.                                                

Group Tickets The Alaska SeaLife Center is the perfect activity for Family Reunions Senior Communities Scout Troops Church Groups College Classes Corporate Outings Special Group Rates are available for groups with a minimum of 10 paying customers (Ages 3+) in a single transaction. Submit your group request by completing our Group Inquiry Form, and we will contact you with specific pricing and availability for your group. School Groups We offer a variety of opportunities for school groups General Admission Unstructured admission to the Center and its exhibits. Submit your group request by completing our Group Inquiry Form, and we will contact you with specific pricing and availability for your group. Guided Day Programs Choose from a variety of engaging Educational Programs, designed to inspire a love of learning and of Alaska's marine wildlife. Click here for more information. Nocturne Sleepovers Enjoy an overnight adventure at the Alaska SeaLife Center! Click here for more information. Tour Operators The Alaska SeaLife Center partners with tour companies to complement each visitor's own unique Alaska vacation. Vouchers purchased through your travel company provide your guests with quick and easy access to the Alaska SeaLife Center and assistance planning an exciting, customized itinerary that matches your group's interests. For more information or to begin a partnership, please contact: Laura Swihart Thacker Guest Services Supervisor Phone: (907) 224-6337 Toll Free: (800) 224-2525 ext. 6337 Email:lauras@alaskasealife.org Facility Rentals Email Pam Parker, Development Manager, pamp@alaskasealife.org for more information about Facility Rentals.      

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The Alaska SeaLife Center is closed March 16-31.