Alaska Science Center

Current Highlights

Study Corroborates Biological linkages Between Wolves and their Habitat Related to Ease of Movement and Potential Prey Associations

USGS Scientist Presents at 91^st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogist

USGS Arctic Study Evaluates Science and Knowledge Gaps for OCS Energy Development

In the Spotlight

New model gives insight to the potential future of the Pacific walrus

Walruses are important to human communities bordering the Chukchi and Bering seas in the United States and Russia, and the status of walrus provides information about the health of these highly productive marine ecosystems. Projecting the future population status of the Pacific walrus was investigated with a new model developed by scientists at the USGS Alaska Science Center.

The Bayesian network model integrates the potential effects of changing environmental conditions and human stressors to help identify the reasons associated with declines in projected walrus populations. Sea ice habitat, particularly in summer/fall, and harvest levels had the greatest influence on future population outcomes. The Bayesian network model for walrus provides the framework for an increased research effort on the Pacific walrus and its marine ecosystem, as part of the Changing Arctic Ecosystems initiative.

The purpose of this initiative is to understand how changes in the ice-dominated ecosystems of the Arctic affect biological communities. A report detailing this model and its findings are available in the journal Polar Biology. Hear from the lead author in this exclusive interview.