The California Current Ecosystems Program conducts research on the status and trends of marine mammals in Washington, Oregon, and California. The research projects focus on estimation of abundance and demographic parameters and the factors that regulate population growth such as disease and environmental changes. Studies of movements, behavior and foraging ecology also provide insight into the role marine mammals play in the California Current Ecosystem as the populations recover from historical exploitation.
Program Leader: Robert DeLong
Recent Reports, Publications, and Posters
- ORR, A. J., S. D. NEWSOME, J. L. LAAKE, G. R. VanBLARICOM, and R. L. DeLONG.
2012. Ontogenetic dietary information of the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) assessed using stable isotope analysis. Mar. Mammal Sci. 28(4):714-732.
- ORR, A. J., S. R. MELIN, and R. L. DeLONG.
2012. Status of the northern fur seal population at San Miguel Island, California, during 2010 and 2011, p.41-58. In J. W. Testa (editor), Fur Seal Investigations, 2010-2011. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-241.
- MELIN, S. R., A. J. ORR, J. D. HARRIS, J. L. LAAKE, and R. L. DeLONG.
2012. California sea lions: an indicator for integrated ecosystem assessment of the California Current system. Cal. Coop. Oceanic Fish. Invest. Rep. 53:140-152.
- MELIN, S. R., J. L. LAAKE, R. L. DeLONG, and D. B. SINIFF.
2012. Age-specific recruitment and natality of California sea lions at San Miguel Island, California. Mar. Mammal Sci. 28(4):751-776.
- BJORKSTEDT, E. P., R. GOERICKE, S. McCLATCHIE, E. WEBER, W. WATSON, N. LO, W. T. PETERSON, R. D. BRODEUR, T. AUTH, J. FISHER, C. MORGAN, J. PETERSON, J. LARGIER, S. J. BOGRAD, R. DURAZO, G. GAXIOLA-CASTRO, B. LAVANIEGOS, F. P. CHAVEZ, C. A. COLLINS, B. HANNAH, J. FIELD, K. SAKUMA, W. SATTERTHWAITE, M. O'FARRELL, S. HAYES, J. HARDING, W. J. SYDEMAN, S. A. THOMPSON, P. WARZYBOK, R. BRADLEY, J. JAHNCKE, R. T. GOLIGHTLY, S. R. SCHNEIDER, R. M. SURYAN, A. J. GLADICS, C. A. HORTON, S. Y. KIM, S. R. MELIN, R. L. DeLONG, and J. ABELL.
2012. State of the California Current 2011-2012: Ecosystems respond to local forcing as La Niña wavers and wanes. Cal. Coop. Oceanic Fish. Invest. Rep. 53:41-76.
- CONN, P. B., J. L. LAAKE, D. S. JOHNSON.
2012. A hierarchical modeling framework for multiple observer transect surveys. PLoS ONE 7(8): e42294. (.pdf, 576 KB). Online.
- SHARON R. MELIN, JEREMY T. STERLING, ROLF R. REAM, ROD TOWELL, TONYA ZEPPELIN, ANTHONY J. ORR, BOBETTE DICKERSON, NOEL PELLAND, and CAREY KUHN.
2012. A Tale of Two Stocks: Studies of Northern Fur Seals Breeding at the Northern and Southern Extent of the Range. AFSC Quarterly Report Feature (April-May-June 2012) 11 p. (.pdf, 2.83 MB -- or -- .pdf with embedded video, 22.6 MB) Online.
- FÉLIX, F., C. CASTRO, J. LAAKE, B. HAASE, and M. SCHEIDAT.
2011. Abundance estimates of the southeastern Pacific humpback whale stock from 1991-2006 photo-identification surveys in Ecuador. J. Cetacean Res. Manage. (Special Issue) 3:301-307.
- Additional recent California Current Ecosystems Program publications
- Hunter Based Observations of Bowhead and Gray Whales Near Barrow, Alaska
By: J. CRAIG GEORGE, ROB DeLONG, BARB TUDOR, LEWIS BROWER, FREDRICK BROWER, BILLY OKPEAHA, BILLY ADAMS
Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
(2013 poster, .pdf, 3.4 MB) Online.
- Shark-inflicted Lesions on California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) at San Miguel Island, California: a New Phenomenon
By: JEFFREY D. HARRIS, SHARON R. MELIN, ROBERT L. DeLONG
Conference: California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Conference, La Jolla, CA, Dec 2011
(2011 poster, .pdf, 1.13 MB) Online.
- Intraspecific Comparison of California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) Diet Assessed Using Fecal and Stable Isotope Analyses
By: ANTHONY J. ORR, GLENN R. VanBLARICOM, ROBERT L. DeLONG, VICTOR H. CRUZ-ESCALONA, SETH D. NEWSOME
Conference: Wildlife Society, Washington Chapter / Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology joint meeting, Gig Harbor, WA, Mar 2011
(2011 poster, .pdf, 1.09 MB) Online.
- Examination of Ontogenetic Trends in Foraging Behaviors of California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) using Stable Isotope Analysis
By: ANTHONY J. ORR, SETH D. NEWSOME, JEFFREY L. LAAKE, GLENN R. VanBLARICOM, ROBERT L. DeLONG
Conference: Biology of Marine Mammals 18th Biennial Conf., Society for Marine Mammalogy, Quebec City, Canada, Oct 2009
(2009 poster, .pdf, 1.06MB) Online.
- Factors Influencing the Activity Budget of Territorial Male California Sea Lions
By: SARAH GUTZWILLER
Conference: Hollings Scholarship Student Presentations, Annual NOAA Science Symposium, Silver Spring, MD
(2009 poster, .pdf, 1.49MB) 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.
- Double-Observer Line Transect Methods: Levels of Independence
By: STEPHEN T. BUCKLAND, JEFFREY L. LAAKE, DAVID L. BORCHERS
Conference: Biology of Marine Mammals 17th Biennial Conf., Society for Marine Mammalogy, Cape Town, South Africa, Nov/Dec 2007
(2007 poster, .pdf, 1.03MB) Online.
- Examining the Ontogeny of Foraging Behaviors of the California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) Using Stable Isotope Analysis
By: ANTHONY J. ORR, SETH D. NEWSOME, GLENN R. VanBLARICOM, ROBERT L. DeLONG
Conference: Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Annual Cooperators Meeting, Seattle, WA, May 2006
(2006 poster, .pdf, 3.09MB) Online.
- Additional recent California Current Ecosystems Program poster presentations