Scientists beach seining an eelgrass bed.

A lab technician analyzing samples.

Crude oil persisting in the intertidal.

Habitat Program Manager

Jeep Rice
Auke Bay Laboratories
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries

Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute
17109 Pt Lena Loop Rd
Juneau AK 99801
(907) 789-6020
Jeep.Rice@noaa.gov

The Habitat Assessment and Marine Chemistry Program conducts research on chemical and ecological processes that occur in marine, tidal, and watershed habitats ranging from the Arctic to the Gulf of Alaska. This program attempts to assess bioenergetics in various species and life stages, assess the impact of development and contaminants on these species and their habitats, and map and evaluate their habitat quality. The program comprises a mix of chemists and biologists focused into three project teams:

Nutritional ecology research or bioenergetics, assesses the nutritional value of forage species, including juvenile salmon, as measured by changes in lipid class, fatty acid, and caloric composition of these forage species. The studies seek to evaluate how habitat quality changes seasonally and spatially by understanding how prey organisms allocate energy between growth, reproduction, and fat storage.

Contaminants research quantifies threats from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) to reproductive, nursery, and feeding habitats for various life stages of salmon, herring, and other fish species. Much of this work has focused on understanding the long-term effects of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.

Nearshore habitat research combines habitat mapping and fish utilization studies to identify use of essential fish habitat. Additional focus has been on identifying sensitive life stages of forage fish and chemical or physical impacts of development on the quality of eelgrass and kelp bed habitats.

FEDZ Lab research supports studies on the biology, trophic ecology, and bioenergetics of juvenile salmon and associated fishes, along with how they interact in ecosystems during their early marine life history. The goal is to better understand recruitment mechanisms and processes that describe growth and survival of these populations relative to their prey, predators, and potential competitors. Sample processing in the FEDZ lab focuses on measurements of fish size, energy density, and diet and feeding success of juvenile salmon and associated fishes, as well as the abundance and composition of their zooplankton prey fields.

News and Research Highlights

	HERA Paper of the Year Award The journal Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (HERA) has selected "Carls & Meador. A Perspective on the Toxicity of Petrogenic PAHs to Developing Fish Embryos Related to Environmental Chemistry. HERA 15: 1084-1098" as Paper of Year 2009 in the category of ecological risk assessment.
	Juneau Humpback Whale Catalog A resource for humpback whale fluke identification including 108 fluke photographs as well as general inforrmation about the humpbacks that frequent the Juneau area. More>

Recent Publications, Poster Presentations, Reports & Activities

• Atlas of nearshore fishes of Alaska: a synthesis of marine surveys from 1998 to 2011.
  JOHNSON, S. W., A. D. NEFF, J. F. THEDINGA, M. R. LINDEBERG, and J. M. MASELKO. 2012. Atlas of nearshore fishes of Alaska: a synthesis of marine surveys from 1998 to 2011. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-239, 261 p. (Online link pending) 
   
• Changes in eelgrass habitat and faunal assemblages associated with coastal development in Juneau, Alaska
  HARRIS, P. M., A. D. NEFF, and S. W. JOHNSON. 2012. Changes in eelgrass habitat and faunal assemblages associated with coastal development in Juneau, Alaska, 47 p. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Mmeo. NMFS-AFSC-240, 47 p. (.pdf, 4.17 MB).  Online.
   
• Density and Distribution of Marine Debris on Select Beaches in the Gulf of Alaska: Results of the 2012 NOAA Marine Debris Surveys
  By:  JACEK MASELKO
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
  (2013 poster, .pdf, 2.61 MB)   Online.
   
• Energetic Tradeoffs Between Foraging and Predation Risk in the Winter for Juvenile Pacific Herring in the Gulf of Alaska
  By:  J. J. VOLLENWEIDER, RON HEINTZ, MARY ANNE BISHOP, JORDAN T. WATSON
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
  (2013 poster, .pdf, 4.46 MB)   Online.
   

See the publications and poster databases for additional listings.