The National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) conducts research on marine mammals important to the mission of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with particular attention to issues related to marine mammals off the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. Research projects focus on ecology and behavior, population dynamics, life history, and status and trends.  Information is provided to various domestic and international organizations to assist in developing rational and appropriate management regimes for marine resources under NOAA's jurisdiction. These organizations include the NMFS Alaska and Northwest Regional Offices, the NMFS Office of Protected Resources, the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, the International Whaling Commission, and the Arctic Council. 

Research conducted by NMML utilizes a variety of methods and tools to obtain needed information. Determination of status and trends of marine mammal populations requires information on abundance, stock structure, mortality and net productivity. To obtain these data, censuses are carried out from ships, aircraft and on land. Radio and satellite-linked telemetry is utilized to determine movements and migrations, critical feeding areas and depths, and other behavioral data. Sophisticated analyses and modeling are carried out to determine necessary population parameters. Research programs are carried out cooperatively with many other federal, state and private sector collaborators.

Quarterly Reports

• Biodiversity and Evolutionary Empiricism: A Systemic Approach to Fisheries Management
  
• Steller Sea Lion Research, Summer 2008
  
• Northern Fur Seal, Summer 2008
  
• PRIEST (Pacific Right Whale Evaluation Study) July–August, 2008
  
• Laser Morphometrics of Alaska Killer Whales
  
• AFSC Molecular Ecology Research Laboratory
  
• Abundance and Distribution Surveys for Ice Seals Conducted from the USCG Icebreaker Polar Sea, 6-27 April 2008
  
• Gray Whale Counts in January 2008
  
• Bowhead Whale Feeding Ecology Study
  
• Comanagement Activities with Alaska Native Organizations
  
• Polar Ecosystems Program Prepares for Ice Seal Research Cruises
  
• 2007 Steller Sea Lion Survey Results
  
• Northern Fur Seal Research
  
• Satellite Tagging Humpbacks in the South Pacific: Windows on the Whales' World
  
• Bogoslof Island Northern Fur Seal Research
  
• Steller Sea Lion Pup Survey
  
• Resight Surveys for Branded Steller Sea Lions
  
• Beluga Whales in Northern Cook Inlet, Alaska, August 2007
  
• Harbor Seal Census in Southeast Alaska
  
• Tests of New Sampling Technique to Track Harbor Seal Populations in Alaska Fjords
  
• The Dynamics of Hookworm Disease in Northern Fur Seals
  
• Steller Sea Lion Research
  
• Northern Fur Seal Update
  
• Cook Inlet Beluga Survey, June 2007
  
• Abundance and Distribution Surveys for Ice Seals Aboard the USCG Healy and the Oscar Dyson, 10 April - 18 June 2007
  
• Telemetry of Ice Seals Captured During the USCG Healy and Oscar Dyson Research Cruises in the Eastern Bering Sea
  
• Marine Science in Alaska Symposium
  
• Northern Fur Seal Research Update
  
• Gray Whale Census in 2006/07
  
• Beluga Conference in Valencia, Spain
  
• Winter Whale Surveys in Kodiak, Alaska
  
• Polar Ecosystems Program Prepares for Ice Seal Research Cruises
  
• Workshops to Identify Critical Information Gaps About Marine Mammals in Areas of Interest to the Oil/Gas Industry
  
• Evaluation of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for Cetacean Monitoring
  
• Outreach and Education (orca whale curriculum for grade schools)
  
• Winter Behavior Studies of Young Northern Fur Seals
  
• Habitat Use and Seasonal Movements of Bearded Seals in Kotzebue Sound
  
• Workshops and Meetings
  
• Decline of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet
  
• Satellite Telemetry Describes First Migratory Movement of South Pacific Humpback Whales to Their Feeding Grounds
  
• Field Work (Granite Canyon gray whale census)
  
• San Miguel Island Field Work
  
• Disappearing Right Whales and the Secrets of Soviet Whaling
  
• August 2006 Survey of Belugas in Cook Inlet
  
• Recent Work on Steller Sea Lions and Northern Fur Seals
  
• Researchers Census Harbor Seals in the Gulf of Alaska
  
• Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory quaterly reports

Publications

• RUGH, D. J., M. M. MUTO, R. C. HOBBS, and J. A. LERCZAK. 2008. An assessment of shore-based counts of gray whales. Mar. Mammal Sci. 24(4):864-880. 
  
• SMALL, R. J., P. L. BOVENG, G. V. BYRD, and D. E. WITHROW. 2008. Harbor seal population decline in the Aleutian Archipelago. Mar. Mammal Sci. 24(4):845-863. 
  
• MUNGER, L. M., S. M. WIGGINS, S. E. MOORE, and J. A. HILDEBRAND. 2008. North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) seasonal and diel calling patterns from long-term acoustic recordings in the southeastern Bering Sea, 2000-2006. Mar. Mammal Sci. 24(4):795-814. 
  
• BOVENG, P. L., J. L. BENGTSON, T. W. BUCKLEY, M. F. CAMERON, S. P. DAHLE, B. A. MEGREY, J. E. OVERLAND, and N. J. WILLIAMSON. 2008. Status review of the ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata). U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-191, 115 p. (.pdf, 4.78 MB).  Online.
  
• CHARLES W. FOWLER. 2008. Biodiversity and Evolutionary Empiricism: A Systemic Approach to Fisheries Management. AFSC Quarterly Report Feature (July-August-September 2008) 6 p. (.pdf, 812KB).  Online.
  
• TESTA, J. W. (editor). 2008. Fur seal investigations, 2006-2007. U.S.Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-188, 76 p. (.pdf, 1.57 MB).  Online.
  
• STODDARD, R. A., R. L. DeLONG, B. A. BYRNE, S. JANG, and F. M. D. GULLAND. 2008. Prevalence and characterization of Salmonella spp. among marine animals in the Channel Islands, California. Dis. Aquat. Org. 81:5-11. (.pdf, 425 KB).   Online.
  
• CONN, P. B., D. R. DIEFENBACH, J. L. LAAKE, M. A. TERNENT, and G. C. WHITE. 2008. Bayesian analysis of wildlife age-at-harvest data. Biometrics 64:1170-1177. 
  
Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory Publications

Posters

• BSIERP Project B66: Baleen Whale Broad-Scale Distribution
  By:  NANCY A. FRIDAY, ALEXANDRE N. ZERBINI, JANICE M. WAITE, AMY S. KENNEDY, BRENDA K. RONE, PHILLIP J. CLAPHAM, SUE E. MOORE
  Conference:  BEST-BSIERP Principal Investigator Meeting, Girdwood, AK, Oct 2008
  (2008 poster, .pdf, 4.1MB)   Online.
  
• Modeling Marine Mammal Movement Data - A Hierarchical Model for Dynamic Movement of Northern Fur Seals
  By:  DEVIN JOHNSON, CAREY KUHN
  Conference:  Joint Statistical Meetings 2008, Denver, CO, Aug 2008
  (2008 poster, .pdf, 508KB)   Online.
  
• Program Distance: Recent Developments in Analysis and Design Capabilities for Cetacean Population Estimation
  By:  L. THOMAS, D. L. BORCHERS, S. T. BUCKLAND, J. L. LAAKE, E. REXSTAD
  Conference:  International Biometric Conference (24th), Dublin, Ireland, July 2008
  (2008 poster, .pdf, 985KB)   Online.
  
• Spring Diet of Ribbon and Spotted Seals in the Bering Sea
  By:  HEATHER L. ZIEL, MICHAEL F. CAMERON, PETER L. BOVENG
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2008
  (2008 poster, .pdf, 1.8MB)   Online.
  
• Densities of Seals in the Pack Ice of the Bering Sea
  By:  ERIN E. MORELAND, MICHAEL F. CAMERON, PETER L. BOVENG
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2008
  (2008 poster, .pdf, 309KB)   Online.
  
• Bowhead Whale Feeding Behavior as Evidenced in Aerial Photography
  By:  JULIE A. MOCKLIN, DAVID J. RUGH, SUE E. MOORE, KENNETH J. RAEDEKE, ROBYN P. ANGLISS, WILLIAM R. KOSKI
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2008
  (2008 poster, .pdf, 559KB)   Online.
  
• Multi-Year Aerial Surveys Using Photogrammetry to Estimate the Abundance of Harbor Seals in Glacial Ice Habitats
  By:  LUCIANA O. SANTOS, MICHAEL F. CAMERON, JOHN L. BENGTSON, PETER L. BOVENG
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2008
  (2008 poster, .pdf, 1.84MB)   Online.
  
• One Dot at a Time: Counting Alaska’s Harbor Seals
  By:  KYMBERLY M. YANO, JOSH M. LONDON, RAY B. OUTLAW
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2008
  (2008 poster, .pdf, 3.66MB)   Online.
  
Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory Posters