POLAR ECOSYSTEMS PROGRAM:
Harbor Seal Surveys and Time-lapse Camera Tests in Cook Inlet
The Polar Ecosystems Program (PEP) successfully conducted a thorough aerial
survey of harbor seals in southern Cook Inlet (south of Nikiski) and the
Barren Islands during 9-16 October 2003. The survey time was chosen to
allow seasonal contrast with previous June and August surveys conducted
as part of a study of harbor seals in Cook Inlet under an Interagency Agreement
between the Department of Interiors Minerals Management Service (MMS)
and the National Marine Fisheries Service (see
July-September 2003 issue
of the Quarterly Report). Southern Cook Inlet was divided into two survey
regions, and two survey aircraft were used to survey the two regions daily.
The survey regions and flight routes were altered from previous surveys:
one plane was used to survey the Kachemak Bay region, and another plane
was used to survey the larger western region of Kamishak Bay, Barren
Islands, and west Cook Inlet. During the daily surveys, observers in each
plane identified haul-out sites, recorded the location of each site, and
took pictures of the seals hauled out at each site. NMML personnel will
count seals in these survey photos, and those counts will be used to estimate
the abundance of harbor seals in southern Cook Inlet during October 2003.
In conjunction with the aerial surveys, NMML personnel tested time-lapse
camera systems, which will be used to investigate factors influencing the
haul-out behavior of harbor seals. Once perfected, these camera systems
will be deployed at selected harbor seal haul-out sites in Cook Inlet to
monitor the numbers of harbor seals hauled out throughout the year with
hourly photographs. Following the October surveys, four remote time-lapse
cameras were deployed on a small islet near Aurora Lagoon in Kachemak Bay
(26 km ENE of Homer). These cameras were programmed to record one digital
image each hour, during daylight hours (10:00 - 18:00 Alaska Standard Time).
The four cameras were positioned to ensure complete photographic coverage
of all haul-out areas surrounding the islet. Images will be downloaded
from the cameras in early spring. Results from this winter test of the
camera systems will be evaluated, and the system may be modified to address
any problems.
By Mike Simpkins, Peter Boveng, and Bob Montgomery.
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