The Alaska Ecosystems Program conducts research on Steller sea lions and northern fur seals. Research projects are designed to assess the status of these species under the ESA and MMPA and to improve knowledge of their ecology and behavior.  In addition, research on these species is directed at gaining a better understanding of the role that these species play in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska ecosystems in order to provide advice for management of human activites that may affect the conservation and recovery of these species. 

Program Leader: Tom Gelatt

Quarterly Reports

• 2008 Aerial Survey Results - western Steller sea lions in Alaska
• 2008 NFS pup production and adult male counts on Pribilof Islands (updated 4/24/09)
• Russian Steller Sea Lion Research Update
  
• Northern Fur Seal Research in Alaska
  
• Steller Sea Lion Research, Summer 2008
  
• Northern Fur Seal, Summer 2008
  
• AFSC Molecular Ecology Research Laboratory
  
• 2007 Steller Sea Lion Survey Results
  
• Northern Fur Seal Research
  
• Bogoslof Island Northern Fur Seal Research
  
• Steller Sea Lion Pup Survey
  
• Resight Surveys for Branded Steller Sea Lions
  
• Steller Sea Lion Research
  
• Northern Fur Seal Update
  
• Marine Science in Alaska Symposium
  
• Northern Fur Seal Research Update
  

Publications

• KUHN, C. E., D. E. CROCKER, Y. TREMBLAY, and D. P. COSTA. 2009. Time to eat: Measurements of feeding behaviour in a large marine predator, the northern elephant seal Mirounga angustirostris. J. Anim. Ecol. 78:513-523. 
   
• TOLLIT, D., A. D. SCHULZE, A. W. TRITES, P. F. OLESIUK, S. J. CROCKFORD, T. GELATT, R. R. REAM, and K. M. MILLER. 2009. Development and application of DNA techniques for validating and improving pinniped diet estimates. Ecol. Appl. 19:889-905. 
   
• PHILLIPS, C. D., J. W. BICKHAM, J. C. PATTON, and T. S. GELATT. 2009. Systematics of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus): Subspecies recognition based on concordance of genetics and morphometrics. Occas. Pap. Mus. Texas Tech Univ. 283:1-15. 
   
• LEA, M-A., D. JOHNSON, R. REAM, J. STERLING, S. MELIN, and T. GELATT. 2009. Extreme weather events influence dispersal of naive northern fur seals. Biol. Lett. 5:252-257. 
   
• ANGLISS, R. P., and B. M. ALLEN. 2009. Alaska marine mammal stock assessments, 2008. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-193, 258 p. (.pdf, 14.4MB).  Online.
   
• MYERS, M. J., G. M. YLITALO, M. M. KRAHN, D. BOYD, D. CALKINS, V. BURKANOV, and S. ATKINSON. 2008. Organochlorine contaminants in endangered Steller sea lion pups (Eumetopias jubatus) from western Alaska and the Russian Far East. Sci. Total Environ. 396:60-69. 
   
• INSLEY, S. J., B. W. ROBSON, T. YACK, R. R. REAM, and W. C. BURGESS. 2008. Acoustic determination of activity and flipper stroke rate in foraging northern fur seal females. Endang. Species Res. 4:147-155. (.pdf, 610KB).  Online.
   
• TOWELL, R. G., R. R. REAM, J. R. THOMASON, K. A. CALL, T. K. ZEPPELIN, and R. CARUSO. 2008. Mass, length, and sex ratios of northern fur seal pups on the Pribilof Islands, 2006, p. 26-40. In J. W. Testa (editor), Fur Seal Investigations, 2006-2007. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-188. 
   
• Additional recent Alaska Ecosystems Program publications

Posters

• Encounters of Marine Mammals in theWaters of Southwestern Bering Sea
  By:  OKSANA V. SAVENKO, TATIANA S. SHULEZHKO, KARINA K. TARASYAN, VLADIMIR N. BURKANOV
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 5.0MB)   Online.
   
• A Cooperative Pollock Acoustic Biomass Survey for Management of Fisheries Interactions with Steller Sea Lions in the Aleutian Islands
  By:  ELIZABETH LOGERWELL, STEVE BARBEAUX, LOWELL FRITZ
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 644KB)   Online.
   
• Using GPS Tracking of Northern Fur Seals to Evaluate Satellite Tracking Data and a Continuous-time Movement Model
  By:  CAREY KUHN, DEVIN JOHNSON, TOM GELATT
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 518KB)   Online.
   
• Oceanography and Fur Seal Foraging Behavior and Diet on the Shelf Domain
  By:  JEREMY T. STERLING
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 918KB)   Online.
   
• Update on Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) Surveys in Russia, 2006-2008
  By:  VLADIMIR BURKANOV, RUSSEL ANDREWS, DONALD CALKINS, ALEXEY ALTUKHOV, VLADIMIR VERTYANKIN, JASON WAITE
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 3.68MB)   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.
   
• Estimating Capture and Handling Mortality Risk to Endangered Juvenile Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus)
  By:  BRIAN FADELY, JEREMY STERLING, LOWELL FRITZ, MICHELLE LANDER, MICHAEL REHBERG, DEVIN JOHNSON, LORRIE REA, TOM GELATT
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2008
  (2008 poster, .pdf, 990KB)   Online.
   
• Effects of Research Disturbance on Behavior and Attendance of Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus) at a Rookery in Alaska
  By:  LOWELL W. FRITZ, ERIN KUNISCH, KATHRYN CHUMBLEY, and DEVIN JOHNSON
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2008
  (2008 poster, .pdf, 4.5MB)   Online.
   
• Additional recent Alaska Ecosystems Program poster presentations