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Quarterly Report April May June 2014 U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | National Marine Fisheries Service Spring and Fall Phytoplankton Blooms In the Eastern Bering Sea Alaska FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER

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Page 1: Alaska FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER · • Assessing the Economic Impacts of 2011 Steller Sea Lion Protective Measures in the Aleutian Islands Status of Stocks & Multispecies Assessment

Quarterly ReportApril May June

2014

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | National Marine Fisheries Service

Spring and Fall Phytoplankton Blooms In the Eastern Bering Sea

Alaska FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER

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AFSC DIRECTORATE . . Science and Research Director: Douglas DeMasterDeputy Director: Steve Ignell

AUKE BAY LABORATORIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director: Phillip Mundy

Deputy Director: Peter HagenFISHERIES MONITORING & ANALYSIS DIVISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Director: Martin Loefflad

Deputy Director: Chris RillingHABITAT & ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director: Michael Sigler

NATIONAL MARINE MAMMAL LABORATORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director: John Bengtson

Deputy Director: Robyn AnglissOPERATIONS MANAGEMENT & INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director: Lori Budbill

OFFICE OF FISHERIES INFORMATION SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Director: Ajith Abraham

RESOURCE ASSESSMENT & CONSERVATION ENGINEERING DIVISION . . . . . . . Director: Jeffrey Napp

Deputy Director: Guy FleischerRESOURCE ECOLOGY & FISHERIES MANAGEMENT DIVISION . . . . . . . Director: Patricia Livingston

Deputy Director: Dan Ito

The Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) Quarterly Report is produced by the Center’s Communications Program.

PUBLICATION LIMITATION. Publication in whole or in part of the Quarterly Report should indicate the provisional nature of the findings and show credit to the appropriate research division of the AFSC. Advance copy should be submitted to the AFSC.

References to trade names do not imply endorsement by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Cover . Image taken on April 25, 1998, showing the coccolithophore bloom in the Bering Sea . This is not a false-color image: the greenish color is caused by the high concentration of phytoplankton . Photo NASA SeaWiFS (Broerse et al. 2003 , Continental Shelf Research, 23, 1579-1596)

www.afsc.noaa.gov

Alaska FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER

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Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1• SpringandFallPhytoplanktonBloomsintheEasternBeringSea

During1995–2011

Auke Bay Laboratories (ABL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Ecosystem Monitoring & Assessment Program

• SoutheastCoastalMonitoringSurveyDataasIndicatorsfortheRecruitmentofGulfofAlaskaSablefish

• TheJellyfishMonitoringProgramatAukeBayLaboratories

Resource Ecology and Fisheries Management (REFM) Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Resource Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling Program

• FishStomachCollectionandLabAnalysis

• CongressionalBriefing

• BSIERPFEAST6-YearProjectWrap-UpandFutureWork

• TheNorway-UnitedStatesClimateChangeandMarineEcosystems(NUCCME)Workshop

• ArcticEcosystemIntegratedSurveyPIMeeting

Economics & Social Sciences Research Program

• ExaminingtheFlowofRevenuesfromNorthPacificFisheries

• AssessingtheEconomicImpactsof2011StellerSeaLionProtectiveMeasuresintheAleutianIslands

Status of Stocks & Multispecies Assessment Program

• SuccessfulAtkaMackerelTaggingCruiseintheWesternAleutianIslands

• AnnualMeetingoftheNMFS-SeaGrantGraduateFellowsinPopulationDynamicsandEconomicsandGroupTouroftheElwhaDamRemovalProject

• The2014ICESECOKNOWSSymposium

• FisheriesBycatch:GlobalIssuesandCreativeSolution

• SSMAStaffatthePICESFUTUREOpenScienceMeeting

International Affairs & Research Collaboration

• CooperativeResearchwithKorea

Age & Growth Program

• AgeandGrowthProgramProductionNumbers

CONTENTS

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National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Alaska Ecosystems Program

• BelowtheFog:MonitoringEndangeredStellerSeaLionsintheWesternAleutianIslands

• RemoteObservations:StudyingStellerSeaLionsYearRound

Cetacean Assessment & Ecology Program

• BigGOALSAccomplished:SurveyingforCetaceansintheGulfofAlaska

Polar Ecosystems Program

• AResearchCruisetoStudytheEcologyofIce-AssociatedSealsintheCentralBeringSeaAboardtheNOAAShipOscar DysoninApril2014

Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

AprilMayJune2014

iv

AFSC CONTENTS

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SpringandFallPhytoplanktonBloomsintheEasternBeringSeaDuring1995–2011Michael F. Sigler, Phyllis J. Stabeno, Lisa B. Eisner, Jeffrey M. Napp, Franz J. Mueter

TheeasternBeringSeaisdominatedbyabroadcontinentalshelf(~500kmwide),alargepartofwhichisice-coveredduringwinter,withthemaximumextentvaryingmorethan100kmamongyears.Inice-coveredareas,theseasonalcycleofprimaryproductionbeginswithicealgae(primarilylargediatoms),whichbegintogrowinthespringwhenlightlevelbecomesadequate.Icealgaeareadaptedtolowerlightlevelsthanpelagicphytoplanktonandgrowwithintheiceandattheice–waterinterfacedependingontheamountofoverlyingsnowcover.Icealgaebegintogrowinmid-FebruaryintheBeringSeaandmayprovideanearlyconcentratedfoodsourceforzooplankton.PhytoplanktonintheBeringSeaexhibitnetgrowthinthespringoncethewaterbecomesstratifiedandthemixedlayerisshallowerthanthecriticaldepth.Priortothis,phytoplanktonareconsideredtobelight-limited,buthaveadequatenutrientsduetotheadvectionofnutrient-richslopewaterontotheshelfduringthepreviouswinter,whichismixedthroughoutthewatercolumn;nutrientrecyclingontheshelfalsoisimportant.Thephytoplanktonspringbloomtypicallyendswhenthesurfacenutrientsupplyisexhaustedandphytoplank-tongrowthbecomesnutrientlimited(typicallybelow1µMnitrate).Grazingpressurefrommesozooplanktonandmicrozooplanktonalsoincreasesasthespringprogresses,whichcanreducethenetaccumu-lationofphytoplanktonstandingstocks.

Inthesummer,phytoplanktonconcentrationinthesurfacemixedlayeristypicallylowduetonutrientlimitationandcontinuedgrazingpressure.Episodicwindeventscanbreakdownstratificationandmixnutrientsandviablephytoplanktoncellstothesurfaceduringthisperiod.Duringfall,increasedfrequencyandintensityofstormsandoverallcoolingofthewatercolumnreducesstratificationanddeep-ensthemixedlayersothatnutrientsaremixedtothesurfacetofuelfallphytoplanktonblooms.Thefallbloomendswhenphytoplanktonbecomelight-limited,duetodecreaseddaylengthanddeepeningofthemixedlayer.

IntroductionThe timing and magnitude of phytoplankton blooms in subarctic ecosystems often strongly influence the amount of energy transferred through subsequent trophic pathways. In the southeastern Bering Sea, spring bloom timing has been linked to production of large crustacean zooplankton and walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus); if ice is present after mid-March, an early ice-associated bloom occurs there; otherwise a spring bloom usually occurs in May. Although spring bloom timing is well-characterized in the southeastern part of the shelf, less is known about the spring bloom elsewhere in the eastern Bering Sea, as well as the characteristics of the fall bloom.

Figure 1 . Study area and mooring locations .

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InthisarticlewefocusonthemiddledomainoftheeasternBeringSeashelfwherefouroceanographicmooringshavebeenlocated.Themeasurementsonthemooringsincludetemperatureandchlorophylla fluorescence.Insummer, themiddledomainisstronglystratifiedintotwolayers,withawind-mixedupperlayerandatidally-mixedlowerlayer.Themiddledomaintypicallyextendsfromthe50-misobathtothe100-misobathandisboundedbyoceanicfrontsortransitionzones.Inwinter,themiddledomainisusuallywellmixedandcold,withalargepart(>50%)ice-covered.Thesefouroceanographicmooringspro-videthelongestdailyrecordofinsituoceanographicmeasurementsintheeasternBeringSea.Thisarticledescribesthefirstexaminationofthechlorophyllafluorescencedata,exceptingpreviousanalysesofthespringbloomatthesouthern-mostmooring.InthisarticleourobjectivesaretocharacterizespringandfallbloomsovertheeasternBeringSeamiddleshelf;relatetheirtimingandstrengthtophysicalcharacter-isticsincludingspringiceretreatandfalloverturn;anddiscusssomeimplicationsoftheseresultsforoneofthelargecrustaceanzooplanktontaxacharacteristicofthatdomain(Calanus spp.).

Data and methodsFouroceanographicmooringshavebeendeployedalongthe70-mdepthcontouroftheeasternBeringSeashelf,withtwosouthernlocationssampledalmostcontinuallysince1995(M2)and1999(M4)andtwonorthernlocationssince2004(M8)and2005(M5)(Fig.1).Datacollectedbyinstrumentsonthemooringsincludedtemperature(miniaturetemperaturerecord-ers,SeaBirdSBE-37andSBE-39)andchlorophylla fluorescence(WETLabsDLSBECOFluorometer).Atransitiontofluorometersensorswithwipersthatsharplyreducedfoulingoccurredduring2001–04.

Spring bloom peak

Fall bloom peak

2005

Chl

orop

hyll

(ug/

l)

Day of year

2006

SOUTH NORTH

Figure 2 . Example annual records of chlorophyll a values with spring (blue circle) and fall (red circle) blooms marked .

Figure 3 . A boxplot of ice retreat (day) by mooring . The box extends from the first quartile to the third quartile, the heavy line dividing the box is the median and the whiskers arethe smallest and largest values . The number of years with ice present were 12 (M2), 15 (M4), 17 (M5) and 17 (M8) .

Datawerecollectedatleasthourly.Forconsistency,ouranalysesfocusondatarecordedat11m(ortheshallowestinstrumentatM5(15m)andM8(20m)duringautumn,winter,andearlyspring).

Twosourcesofsea-icedatawereused.ThefirstsourcewastheNationalIceCenter(NIC),withdataavailablefrom1972to2005;thesecondsourcewastheAdvancedMicrowaveScanningRadiometerEOS(AMSR),withdataavailablefrom2002to2012.Thesetwodatasetsprovidedataovertheentireperiod(1972–2012)forwhichhigh-qualitydataonsea-iceextentandarealconcentrationareavailable.Toexaminehowtheicecovervariesalongthe70-misobath,a100-kmby100-kmboxwasdefinedaroundeachofourbiophysicalmoorings(M2,M4,M5,andM8)maintainedbyNOAA.AMSRandNICdataoverlapduringthe4-yearperiod2002-05,duringwhichtimetheyhaveverysimilarvalues.Tospantheperiod1972–2012,weusedbothNICandAMSRdata,usingtheaveragevalueintheoverlapyearstoderivetheannualcycleofpercenticecoverforeachmooringlocation.

Windswere estimated using dai ly data from theNational Centers forEnvironmentalPrediction(NCEP)/NationalCenterforAtmosphericResearch(NCAR)Reanalysis;windvelocitywasinterpolatedtothelocationsofthefourmoorings.Thedailywindsfromthereanalysisarereliableinthisregionbasedonacomparisontoindependentbuoymeasurementsfrom1995to2000.

Data analysisIcecoverforeachmooringandyearwasexaminedtodetermineificewaspresentatanytimethatwinterorspringandifpresent,whentheiceretreatedforthelasttime.Iceretreatwasconsideredtohaveoccurredwhenicecoverfellbelow15%forthelasttimeduringthatspring.Thetemperaturerecordsforeachmooringandyearwereexaminedtodetermine1)whentheoceanbeganwarmingfollowingiceretreat;and2)whenfalloverturnoccurred.Whenicewaspresentthetemperaturewasapproxi-mately–1.7°C.Warmingwasconsideredtohavestartedwhenthenearsurfacetem-peratureroseabove–1°Cforthelasttimethatspring.Falloverturnwasconsideredtohaveoccurredoncetemperaturefell2°Cbelowthesummermaximum.

Chlorophylla valuesforeachmooringandyearwereexaminedtodeterminethetimeandmagnitudeofthemaximumvalueinspringandfall.Theserecordswereplottedandthetimesandmagnitudesofthespringandfallbloomswereassigned(Fig.2).Eachyear,thespringbloomwasassignedtothemaximumvaluebeforeday180(ca.June27)andthefallbloomwasassignedtothemaximumvalueafterday210(ca.July27).Insomeyearsthedatarecordwasdiscontinuousandthemaximumvaluecouldnotbedetermined.

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Blo

om (d

ay)

Ice retreat (day)

Open water blooms

Ice assoc. blooms

SOUTH

NORTH

M2 M4

M5 M8

M2

M5 M8

ResultsIcewaspresentforabouttwooutofthreeyearsatM2(12of17),nearlyallyearsatM4(15of17),andallyearsatM5andM8(17of17).Whenicewaspresent,retreatwassignificantly(ANOVA,p <0.001,df=3,57)earlierinthesouth(meanM2:day88;M4:99;M5:130;M8:138)(Fig.3).Insomeyearswhenicewaspresent,retreatoccurredbeforemid-March(M2during1998,2000,2002,2006andM4during2000and2002).IcewasabsentatM2during1996,2001,and2003–05andatM4during2001and2005.Icepresencereducedoceantemperaturebelow-1°Cinallcasesbutone(icewaspresentatM2in2002,butforonly11days,andminimumtemperaturewas-0.1°C).

Duringyearswhenicewasabsent(orwaspresent,butretreatedbeforemid-March),thespringbloommaximumoccurredinlateMaytoearlyJune(averageday148,SE=3.5,n =11)(Fig.4).ThispatternoccurredforM2andM4butnotM5orM8whereicealwayswaspresentaftermid-March(Fig.5).Therewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferenceintimingofthespringbloommaximuminyearswhenicewasabsent(averageday141)andwhenicewaspresent,butretreatedbeforemid-March(averageday153)(two-wayt-test,df=9,p=0.10).Duringyearswhenicewasabsentorretreatedbeforemid-March,springbloommaximumaveraged19mgChl l-1(log-transformed,SE=1.2,n =11).Therewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferenceinspringbloommaximuminyearswhenicewasabsent(average25mgChl l-1)andwheniceretreatedbeforemid-March(average15mgChl l-1)(log-transformed,two-wayt-test,df=9,p =0.14).

IncontrasttothelateMaytoearlyJunetimingofthespringbloominyearswhenicewasabsentorretreatedearly,ificewaspresentaftermid-March(day75),anice-associatedbloomoccurredbetweenearlyAprilandmid-June,andthebloomtimingwasrelatedtoiceretreattiming,regardlessofmooring.Laterbloomsoccurredwheniceretreatwaslater(linearregression,y-intercept=53,slope=0.66,df=1,24,p <0.001)(Fig.6).Thisrelationshipimpliesthatbloomdayis119wheniceretreatoccursonday100,152wheniceretreatoccursonday150,and172wheniceretreatoccursonday180.Therewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferenceinspringbloommagnitudewhenicewaspresent,butretreatedbeforemid-Marchoricewasabsent(average19mgChl l-1)andwhenicewaspresentaftermid-March(average17mgChll-1)(log-transformed,two-wayt-test,df=35,p =0.70);theoverallaveragespringbloommagnitudewas17mgChl l-1(log-transformed,SE=1.2,n =37).

Blo

om (d

ay)

Ice retreat (day)

Open water blooms

Ice assoc. blooms

M2

Figure 4 . Scatterplot of spring bloom maximum (day) versus ice retreat (day) for mooring M2 . If ice was absent that year, then the ice retreat date is zero . The diagonal dashed line is the 1:1 line to compare timings of spring bloom and ice retreat . The vertical dashed line is March 15 . The red oval encloses open water blooms and the blue oval encloses ice-associated blooms .

Figure 5 . Scatterplot of spring bloom maximum (day) versus ice retreat (day) by mooring . If ice was absent that year, then the ice retreat date is zero . The diagonal dashed line is the 1:1 line to compare timings of spring bloom and ice retreat . The verti-cal dashed line is March 15 . The red oval encloses open water blooms and the blue oval encloses ice-associated blooms .

Falloverturntimingwassimilaramongmooringsonaverage(M2meanwasday259;M4:261;M5:259;M8:268(ANOVA,df=3,34,p =0.49)),butwasmorevariableatM2andM4.Fallbloomtimingwassimilaramongmoorings(M2mean:day276;M4:277;M5:258;M8:281)(ANOVA,p =0.32,df=3,29).Fallbloommagnitudealsowassimilaramongmoorings(ANOVA,log-transform,p =0.93,df=3,30).Onaverage,thefallbloomoccurredonday274(lateSeptember)(SE=4.2,n =33)withanaveragechlorophyllvalueof8mgChl l-1(SE=1.2,n =34).

Themagnitudesofthespringandfallbloomswerecorrelated(Pearson’sr=0.46,df=28,p =0.011,log-transformedvalues)(Fig.7).Theintervaloftimebetweenthespringandfallbloomsrangedfromabout4–6months,withlongerintervalsoccurringforear-lierspringblooms(linearregression,intercept=294,slope=-1.16,df=1,27,p<0.001)(Fig.8).

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DiscussionSpringWefoundthatintheeasternBeringSea,ificewaspresentaftermid-March,springbloomtimingwasrelatedtoiceretreattiming;ificewasabsentorretreatsbeforemid-March,aspringbloomusuallyoccurredinMayorearlyJune.Ingeneral,ice-associatedphytoplanktonbloomsareobservedneartheretreatingiceedgeonshipboardsur-veysandinoceancolordata,duetomeltingiceincreas-ingthestabilityofthewatercolumn.WhilethespringbloomusuallymovesnorthwardastheeasternBeringSeabecomesicefree,sometimesicemeltsinthenorthbeforedisappearingfarthersouthandaspringbloomoccursinthenorthernice-freeareabeforeitoccursinthesouthiflightlevelsaresufficient(e.g.,2010).Percenticecoveralsoinfluenceswhetherornotice-associatedbloomsoccurbymodulatingbothlightandstratification.Therelationshipbetweenthetimingofthespringbloomandiceretreatwheniceretreatoccurredaftermid-Marchwasstatisti-callysignificantfortheeasternBeringSea(pooleddatafromthenorthandsouth;Fig.6).

Wesummarizethesefindingsonspringbloomtim-ingandiceretreattimingasfollows(Fig.9).Ificeretreatsaftermid-March,anice-associatedbloomoccurs;thispat-ternappliesthroughouttheeasternBeringSea.Iftheiceretreatsearly(beforemid-March),thereisnoice-associ-atedbloombecausesunlightisinsufficienttoinitiateanice-associatedbloom.Todate,earlyiceretreatoccursonlyinthesoutheasternBeringSeaandnotinthenorthernBeringSea;thispatternofpersistenticeinthenorthernBeringSeaisexpectedtocontinueintotheforeseeablefuture.Anopen-waterbloomoccursificeretreatsbeforeMarch15oriceisabsent;thispatternappliesonlyinthesoutheasternBeringSea.

FallAfallbloomcommonlyoccurredinboththenorthernandsoutheasternBeringSea,onaverageinlateSeptember.WindsatM2,M4,M5,andM8aresignificantlycorrelated,whichwilltendtosynchronizefallblooms,aswasobserved.However,bloomtimingwasnotsignificantlyrelatedtoeitherstormorfalloverturntim-ing.Thelackofasignificanteffectwasunexpected;howeveratimingeffectforthefallbloommaybedifficulttodetectbecausetimingisaffectedbyseveralinter-actingfactorsincludingwindstrength,stratification,fallcooling,andlightlevel.Forexample,falloverturnrequiresstrongwinds,butoncecoolingbeginsinlateSeptemberandearlyOctober,lesswindenergyisnecessarytooverturntheocean.Afallbloomalsodependsonsufficientlight,introductionofnutrientsfrombelowthepycnocline,shortperiodsofstabilizationthatallowphytoplanktontoremaininthesunlitwatersandgrow,andmaybeinfluencedbyzooplanktongrazing.

Ourmooringdataandpreviousmiddle-shelfobservationsindicatedthatthemagnitudesoffallbloomswereweakerthanspringbloomsonaverage.Itmaybethatnutrientsupplyratesarelimiting(e.g.,stormmixing)and/ortheaccumulationofchlorophylla islimitedbygrazing.Forinstance,ifthelowerlayerhas20μMofnitrateandthesurfacemixedlayeris20mdeepanddepletedofnitrate,whicharetypicalconditionsduringsummer,thendeepeningthemixedlayerby5mwillresultinonly4μMofnitrate,comparedto18μMavailableforconsumptioninthetop20mofwatercolumninspring.Inaddition,variationsinchlorophylla reflecttheresultofmultipleprocessesincludingphytoplanktongrowth,grazing,sink-ing,andadvection.Chlorophylla willnotincreaseuntilcellgrowthexceedslossesbygrazingandotherfactors.Whilegrazingimpacthasbeenmeasuredforspring,grazingimpacthasnotbeenmeasuredforfall,socomparinggrazingpressureonspringandfallbloomsisnotpossible.Finally,phytoplanktonphysiologicalstatusandspeciescompositioncanimpactbloomintensity.

Blo

om (d

ay)

Ice retreat (day)

Fall

bloo

m s

treng

th

r = 0.46

Spring bloom strength

M2, 2003

Figure 6 . Scatterplot of the observed (number) and fitted (line, based on simple linear regression, y-intercept=53, slope=0 .66, df=1, 24, p<0 .01) values of spring bloom maximum (day) versus ice retreat (day) for all moorings when ice was present after March 15 . The number indicates mooring number . Figure 7 . Scatterplot of maximum spring bloom magnitude

and maximum fall bloom magnitude . The number indicates mooring number .

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Spring bloom (day)EARLY LATE

Interval (days) from spring to

fall bloom

Early April

Late May

Late ice retreat, cold year Early ice retreat, warm year

Open-water blooms

Ice-assoc. blooms

Ice

Figure 8 . Scatterplot of observed (number) and fitted (line, based on linear regression, intercept=204, slope=-1 .16, df=1, 27, 0<0 .001) values for all moorings . The y-axis is the interval between the spring and fall bloom maximum (days) . The x-axis is the spring bloom maximum (day) . The number indicates mooring number .

Figure 9 . If ice retreats after mid-March, an ice-associated bloom occurs; this pattern applies throughout the eastern Bering Sea . If the ice retreats early (before mid-March), there is no ice- associated bloom because sunlight is insufficient to initiate an ice-associated bloom . An open-water bloom occurs if ice retreats before March 15 or ice is absent; this pattern applies only in the southeastern Bering Sea . This open-water bloom occurs in late May .

Spring/fall comparisonsSpringandfallbloommagnitudeswererelated,imply-ingthatacommonfactorinfluencesspringandfallprimaryproduction(e.g.,overwinterreplenishmentofnutrients).Thefallbloommaybelinkedtothespringbloombythefractionofspringbloomorganicmat-terthatsinkstothebenthos,isremineralized,andultimatelyisreintroducedtotheeuphoticzonedur-ingconvectioninthefall.Inaddition,thisrelation-shiplikelyamplifiessecondaryproductionduringgoodyears(bothspringandfallbloomstendtobestrong)andviceversaduringbadyears(bothspringandfallbloomstendtobeweak).Ananalysisofnutri-entinformation,comparingspring–falldifferencesbyyear,wouldhelpustounderstandthemechanismforthisrelationship.ThefallbloomoccurredinlateSeptemberonaverage,andthetimingwaslessvariablethanforthespringbloom(variesover~60-daycomparedto~120-dayperiod)regardlessoflocation,sothespring–fallinter-vallargelydependsonspringbloomtiming.InthenorthernBeringSea,whereiceispresenteveryyearandonaverageretreatsinlateMay(Fig.3),theintervaltypicallylasted4months(Fig.8).Theintervalalsotyp-icallylasted4monthsinthesoutheasternBeringSeainyearswhenicewasabsentorretreatedbeforeMarch15.Incontrast,theintervallastedupto6monthsinthesoutheasternBeringSeainyearswhenicewaspresentafterMarch15,butretreatedsoonthereafter.

Biological implicationsSpringbloomtimingpredictablyvariedbetweenearlyAprilandmid-Junedepend-ingonicepresence/absenceandiceretreattiming.Thusthesecondarycommunity(zooplanktonspecies)thatbenefitswilldependonhowclosetimingoftheirspringenergy-intensiveneeds,suchasreproductionandawakeningfromwinterdiapauses,matchesthetimingofthespringbloom.SpeciesthatrequireanearlypulseofenergywillbenefitfromyearswheniceispresentbutretreatsinlateMarch(conditionsthattendtoresultinearlyAprilphytoplanktonbloom).Incontrast,specieswithaphenol-ogytimedforalateenergypulsewillbenefitfromyearswithnoice(conditionsthattendtoresultinalateMaytoearlyJunebloom).

Theseobservationsalsoimplythatclimate,throughitsconnectiontothepro-duction,transport,anddissipationofseaice,hasthepotentialtoaffectthesuccessofzooplanktonpopulationsandthestrengthofcouplingbetweenprimaryproduc-tionandhighertrophiclevels.Forexample,thelargecrustaceanzooplanktontaxaCalanus spp.maybenefitinyearswheniceispresentafterMarch15butretreatsrela-tivelyearly(Fig.10).SpringCalanus spp.concentrationsinthesoutheasternBeringSeawerehigherincoldyearswithlateiceretreatthaninwarmyearswithearlyiceretreat.HerewesimplifyCalanusspp.lifehistoryintofourmajorstepsfromwinter/latespringthroughthefollowingwinter:spawning,metamorphosis,accumulationofdepotlipids,andoverwintering.ThetimingofspawningbyCalanus spp.intheeasternBeringSeaisprotracted(fromFebruarytoMay),andthelongerthatconditionsaresuitable,themoretotaleggseachfemalewillproduce.BothearlyandlatespawningbyCalanus spp.femalesmaybenefitincoldyearswithlateiceretreat,asreproductiontimingthencoincideswitheithertheicealgaeorthespringbloom.Individualslikelymetamorphosefromnaupliartocopepoditestagesduringtheearlyspringbloom.Ithasbeenhypothesizedthatmetamorphosisisarecruitmentbottleneckandthatanearlyspringbloombenefitscopepoditerecruitment.ThespringbloomoccursduringAprilinyearswheniceispresent,butretreatsrelativelyearly,whichmaypromotestrongrecruitmentofcopepodites.Inaddition,acoldwinterwithicepresentlikelyreducesmetabolismandlipidutilizationbyCalanus spp.andthusmaypromotewintersurvival.Dailyrespirationratesare47%higherforaveragewinterbottomtempera-turesofwarm(2°C)versuscold(-1.8°C)yearsinthesoutheasternBeringSea.Overall,threeconditionsfavorCalanusspp.productionincoldyears:theavailabilityoficealgaeoranearlyspringbloomtosupporteggproduction,thematchofcopepoditeswiththespringbloomforearlyspawners,andreducedmetabolicratesduringwinter.

Inte

rval

(day

s)fro

m s

prin

g to

fall

bloo

m

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Conclusions• IntheeasternBeringSea,ificeispresentafter

mid-March,springbloomtimingisrelatedtoiceretreattiming;ificeisabsentorretreatsbeforemid-March,aspringbloomusuallyoccursinMayorearlyJune.

• Springandfallbloommagnitudesarerelated,implyingthatacommonfactorinfluencesspringandfallprimaryproduction.

• WehypothesizethatlargecrustaceanzooplanktonsuchasCalanus spp.benefitfromcold,icywintersinthesoutheasternBeringSeabecauseicealgaeorice-associatedphytoplanktonbloomsprovideanearlyspringfoodsource,andrespirationratesarelowerduringcoldwinters.

Additional ReadingBaier,C.T.,Napp,J.M.,2003.Climate-inducedvariabilityin

Calanus marshallaepopulations.J.PlanktonRes.25,771–782.

Coyle,K.O.,Eisner,L.B.,Mueter,F.J.,Pinchuk,A.I.,Janout,M.A.,Cieciel,K.D.,Farley,E.V.,

Andrews,A.G.,2011.ClimatechangeinthesoutheasternBeringSea:impactsonpollockstocksandimplicationsfortheOscillatingControlHypothesis.Fish.Oceanogr.20,139–156.

Hunt,G.L.,Coyle,K.O.,Eisner,L.B.,Farley,E.V.,Heintz,R.A.,Mueter,F.J.,Napp,J.M.,Overland,J.E.,Ressler,P.H.,Salo,S.,Stabeno,P.J.,2011.ClimateimpactsoneasternBeringSeafoodwebs:asynthesisofnewdataandanassessmentoftheOscillatingControlHypothesis.ICESJ.Mar.Sci.68,1230–1243.

Sigler,M.F.,Stabeno,P.J.,Eisner,L.B.,Napp,J.M.,Mueter,F.J.2014.Springandfallphytoplanktonbloomsinapro-ductivesubarcticecosystem,theeasternBeringSea,during1995-2011.Deep-SeaRes.II

Stabeno,P.J.,Kachel,N.B.,Moore,S.E.,Napp,J.M.,Sigler,M.F.,Yamaguchi,A.,Zerbini,A.N.2012.ComparisonofwarmandcoldyearsonthesoutheasternBeringSeashelfandsomeimplicationsfortheecosystem.Deep-SeaRes.65-70,31-45.EcosystemMonitoringandAssessmentProgram

Egg production MetamorphosisLow overwinter respiration

High overwinter respiration

COLD YEAR

WARM YEAR

ICE

Ice assoc. bloomsFall open water bloomsSpring open water blooms

Egg productionMetamorphosis

Accum. lipidsBegin diapause

Calanus spp.

Figure 10 . Timing of Calanus spp . reproduction relative to the presence of ice and ice algae, and the spring and fall blooms . The Calanus spp . life history is simplified and the timings are approximate . The blue rectangle is the period of ice cover . The dark green oval is the period for the spring bloom and the light green oval is the period for the fall bloom . Ice algae blooms occur during ice cover and ice retreat (bright green oval) and begin as early as mid-February .

SummaryThetimingandmagnitudeofphytoplanktonbloomsinsubarcticecosystemsoftenstronglyinfluencetheamountofenergythatistransferredthroughsubsequenttrophicpathways.IntheeasternBeringSea,springbloomtiminghasbeenlinkedtoiceretreattimingandproductionofzooplanktonandfish.AlargepartoftheeasternBeringSeashelf(~500kmwide)isice-coveredduringwinterandspring.Fouroceanographicmooringshavebeendeployedalongthe70-mdepthcontouroftheeasternBeringSeashelfwiththesouthernlocationoccupiedannuallysince1995,thetwonorthernloca-tionssince2004,andtheremaininglocationsince2001.Chlorophylla fluorescencedatafromthefourmooringsprovide37realizationsofaspringbloomand33realiza-tionsofafallbloom.WefoundthatintheeasternBeringSea,ificewaspresentaftermid-March,springbloomtimingwasrelatedtoiceretreattiming(p <0.001,df=1,24);ificewasabsentorretreatedbeforemid-March,aspringbloomusuallyoccurredinMayorearlyJune(averageday148,SE=3.5,n =11).Afallbloomalsocommonlyoccurred,usuallyinlateSeptember(averageday274,SE=4.2,n =33),anditstim-ingwasnotsignificantlyrelatedtothetimingofstorms(p =0.88,df=1,27)orfallwatercolumnoverturn(p =0.49,df=1,27).Themagnitudesofthespringandfallbloomswerecorrelated(p=0.011,df=28).Theintervalbetweenthespringandfallbloomsvariedbetween4to6monthsdependingonyearandlocation.WepresentahypothesistoexplainhowthelargecrustaceanzooplanktontaxaCalanus spp.likelyrespondtovariationintheintervalbetweenblooms(springtofallandfalltospring).

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RESEARCH FEATUREAFSC

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ScientistswithintheAFSC’sEcosystemMonitoringandAssessmentandMarineEcologyStockAssessmentprogramsareexploringtheapplicationoffishandoceanographicsurveydatatounderstandvariabilityintherecruitmentofsable-fish(Anoplopomafimbria).ThedatacomefromtheSoutheastAlaskaCoastalMonitoringproject,whichisconductedannually(1999topresent)withininsidewatersofnorthernSoutheastAlaska(Fig. 1),animportantpelagicrearinghabitatsharedbyjuvenile(age-0)salmonandyoungsablefish(age-0toage-2).

Inalinearregressionmodel,thestockassessmentestimatesofage-2sable-fishabundanceweredescribedasafunctionofseatemperatureandchlorophyllduringtheage-0stageofsablefish(Fig.2).Chlorophyllwasthestrongestpre-dictorofsablefishrecruitment(R2=0.77;p-value=0.00009).Highchlorophyllvaluesin2000and2008wereassociatedwithhighrecruitmentofage-2sable-fishin2002and2010.Seatemperatureexplainedanadditional9%(R2=0.86;p-value=0.0003)ofthevariationinage-2sablefishrecruitment.

Residualsofthemodelhadastrongalternatingyearpatternthatmaybeduetoaninteractionwithpinksalmon,whichhavea2yearlifecycleandarepresentasjuvenilesinlargenumbersinevenyearsalongwithsablefish.

Theadditionofajuvenilepinksalmonabundanceindexandatimeseriespredictorinthemodelhelpedexplainanadditional9%ofthevariabilityinsablefishrecruitment(R2=0.97;p-value=0.00001)(Fig.3).Juvenilepinksalmonsurvivalservedasaproxyforsablefishsurvival.Inaddition,higherprimaryproductivityduringlatesummermayindexsupplementaryfoodsupplypriortowinterandincreasedprobabilityforover-winteringsurvival.

Proxiesarebeingdevelopedfortheseearlylifehistoryconditions(latesummerbloomandjuvenilesalmonsurvival)inordertolengthenthetimeseriesofpredictorvariablesandtoconductmodelvalidation.

Thesefindingshighlighttheapplicationoffisheriesoceanographysurveydataofnon-targetspeciestorepresentconditionsexperiencedbyamoreelusivespeciesintheregion,suchassablefish.

By Ellen Yasumiishi

AukeBayLaboratories(ABL)

Figure 1 . Southeast Alaska Coastal Monitoring survey station locations . Data from ISB was used in our analysis .

Figure 2 . Observed, fitted, and residuals of the joint linear regression model describing age-2 sablefish abundance as a function of chlorophyll a and sea temperature (R2 = 0 .77; p-value = 0 .00009) .

Figure 3 . Observed, fitted, and residuals of the joint linear regression and time series error model describing age-2 sablefish abundance as a function of chlorophyll a, sea temperature, juvenile pink salmon abundance index during the age-0 life stage of sablefish, and a 2nd order autoregres-sion process (R2 = 0 .97; p-value = 0 .00001) .

Ecosystem Monitoring & Assessment Program

SoutheastCoastalMonitoringSurveyDataasIndicatorsfortheRecruitmentofGulfofAlaskaSablefish

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TheJellyfishMonitoringProgramatAukeBayLaboratoriesForthelastdecade,jellyfishhavecapturedtheinter-estofresearchers.Becauseoftheirabilitytoquicklyincreaseinnumbersandsize,jellyfishhavethepoten-tialtoalterfoodwebsthroughcompetitionandpreda-tionandthus,influencetheabundanceofcommerciallyimportantspecies.JellyfishmonitoringworkhasbeenincorporatedintothefisheriesoceanographicprojectBASIS(BeringArcticSubarcticIntegratedSurveys)intheeasternBeringSeasince2004;theChukchiSeain2007and2011-12;andin2012wasexpandedtotheeasternGulfofAlaska(GOA)afternotablejellyfishcatchesduringsummersurveys.

Theobjectivesofthejellyfishmonitoringprogramare1)toidentifyspeciescomposition,2)toestablishyearlyrelativeabundanceandbiomassindicesforthosecommonlyencounteredgenus/speciesbyarea,and3)todeterminepotentialeffectsontargetfishspeciesasaresultofjellyfishinteractions.TheseobjectivesaredesignedtobemetthroughquantifyingalljellyfishfromBASISnettowsandconductingdietanddiges-tionstudiesforthemostdominantspecies.

TheGOAprojectcoordinatesannualfisheriesandoceanographicstudiesusingaseriesofsurfacetrawls,oceanographicinstrumentation,andzooplanktonnettowstoinvestigateecologicalconditionsandjuvenileforagefishintheeasternGulfofAlaska.Itspecificallytargetscommerciallyimportantyoung-of-the-yeargroundfishandjuvenilesalmonidspeciesduringJuly-Augustinfederalwatersupto100milesoffshorefromthesouthendofBaranofIslandtoKayakIsland,Alaska.Afterjellyfishwereobservedinnotablenumbersinthesurfacetrawlcatches,pro-tocolsweremodifiedin2011toincludedetailingspeciation,individualweights,andbelldiameters.

ThefivemostcommonlyoccurringjellyfishintheGOAprojectinorderofhighestbiomassareChrysaora melanaster,Aequoreaspp.,Cyanea capillata,Aureliaspp.,andStaurophora mertensii.ThisissimilartotheeasternBeringSeaprojectintermsofcompositionwithbothareasrecordingC.melanasterasthemostdomi-nantspeciesin2013.

Thenextphaseofthejellyfishmonitoringprogramwillincludecollectionofindividualspecimensfordigestionanddietworkstartinginfall2014,useofamorecompleteidentificationguidefortrawledjellyfishwhichwillbecompletedinwinter2014,andexpansionofmonitoringintheeasternGulfofAlaskatoincludeadditionaldatacollectionfromtheSoutheastCoastalMonitoringProjectin2015.

By Kristin Cieciel

Northern sea nettle, Chrysaora melanaster, caught in surface trawl .

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Resource Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling Program

FishStomachCollectionandLabAnalysisDuringthesecondquarterof2014,ResourceEcologyandEcosystemModeling(REEM)staffanalyzedthecontentsof4,589groundfishstomachs.Laboratoryanalysiswascompletedandtheresultingdataerror-checkedandloadedintotheAFSC’sGroundfishFoodHabitsdatabase,resultingin9,172addedrecords.ThemajorityofthesamplesanalyzedduringthequarterwerewalleyepollockfromtheeasternBeringSeaandarrowtoothflounderfromtheGulfofAlaska.Otherprogramhighlightsinclude:

• RusselCrandall,aUniversityofWashingtonSchoolofAquaticandFisheriesSciences(SAFS)undergraduate,beganworkingonhisCapstonestudentproject.

• AscientistvisitingfromSAFS,JosephBizzarro,iscurrentlyworkingintheREEMstomachlabtoidentifypreyitemsofPacificskatespecies.

• Stomachsamplingwasperformedbyfisheriesobserverson147walleyepollock,44arrowtoothflounderand5PacificcodfromtheeasternBeringSeaandAleutianIslandsregion.

• Twentystomachsamplingkitsforfisheriesobserv-erswereassembledinDutchHarbor,Alaska.

• Programoutreachactivitiesincludedpresenta-tionsandlabtoursfortheWesternWashingtonUniversity’sMulticulturalInitiativeintheMarineSciences:UndergraduateParticipation(MIMSUP)program.Programstaffalsogavepresentationsandlededucationalactivitiestogroupsvisit-ingtheNOAAcampusduringtheNOAAOpenHouseon15-16May.TheREEMeducationaldis-playandthefishfoodhabitshands-onactivitieswerepresentedduringavisitfromthePacificScienceCenter’sMarineScienceStudentCampon24June.

By Troy Buckley, Geoff Lang, Mei-Sun Yang, Richard Hibpshman, Kimberly Sawyer,

Caroline Robinson and Sean Rohan

CongressionalBriefingThe SenateCommerceCommittee sponsored aCongressionalStaffBriefingon24JuneattheCapitolbuildinginWashingtonDC,organizedbyDr.RichardMerrick,entitledClosing the Data Gaps: Challenges in Stock Assessment Science.AFSCscientistKerimAydinattendedandpresentedresultsoftheBeringSeaIntegratedResearchProgramonintegratingcli-mateeffects(especiallyice)intothestockassessmentforwalleyepollock.

By Kerim Aydin

BSIERPFEAST6-YearProjectWrap-UpandFutureWorkDeliveryofthefinalreportfortheForageEuphausiidAbundanceinSpaceandTime(FEAST)model-partoftheBeringSeaIntegratedEcosystemResearchProject(BSIERP)-concludeda6-yearmulti-disciplinaryprojectwhichproduced12peer-reviewedpublications(severalcurrentlyinreview)and31presentationsatinterna-tionalmeetings.FEASThasbeenusedtofocussomeofthefieldworkandstartedacollaborativeframeworkbetweenfieldresearchersandmodelers,aprocessthathasnowbeenimplementedattheAFSCacrossseveralDivisionsandteamsaswellasNOAA’sPacificMarineEnvironmentalLaboratory(PMEL).FEASTwillalsobeacenterpieceofitsstrategydevelopinganIntegratedEcosystemAssessment(IEA)fortheAlaskaregion.Thiseffort,partofNOAA’snationalIEAprogram,willnotonlyincluderegularupdatestoFEASTbutwillalsousethemodelasafocusforcollaborativefieldworkfromdisciplinesfromphysicsthroughbiology,economics,andsocialsciences.AsIEAsfocusondeliveringmanagementresults,thiswillserveasadirectconduitforbringingprocess-orientedfieldworkintothemanagementarenaviamanagementstrategyanalyses,ecosystemindicatordevelopment,andimprovedpredictioncapabilitiesbothintheshortandlongterm.

By Ivonne Ortiz

TheNorway-UnitedStatesClimateChangeandMarineEcosystems(NUCCME)WorkshopKirstinHolsman(JointInstitutefortheStudyoftheAtmosphereandOcean,UniversityofWashington/AFSC)andMikeSigler(AFSC)attendedtheNorway-UnitedStatesClimateChangeandMarineEcosystems(NUCCME)meetinginNorwayon5-9May.TheinternationalworkshopisthethirdinaseriesofMarineEcosystemsofNorwayandtheUnitedStates(MENU)workshopsandwasaimedatcomparativeevaluationofclimateeffectsonarcticandsub-arcticmarineecosys-tems.Meetingparticipantssplitintothreeworkinggroupslooselycenteredaround:1)climateprojectionsofprimaryandsecondaryproductivityandspeciesrecruit-ment;2)multi-speciesmodelprojectionsofclimateeffectsonfisheries;and3)poten-tialeconomicandsocietalconsequencesofclimatechangeinthetworegions.ThefirsttwoobjectivesarethoseofNUCCME/MENUIIIwhilethelastfitswithintheCLIFFIMA-netobjectives.Eachworking-groupidentifiedandbeganwritingasubsetofpapertopicsthatwillcomposeaspecialissueofClimate Changein2015.Inpar-ticular,AFSCresearchersHolsmanandSiglerareleadsontwopapers,respectively1)“AComparativeApproachforMethodsofIncludingClimateFeaturesinFutureProjectionsandSettingofHarvestControlRules”and2)“ProjectedRcruitmentofBering,Barents,andNorwegianSeaFishSpeciesUnderClimateChangeUsingROMS/NPZPredictionsofFutureConditions.”

By Kirstin Holsman

ArcticEcosystemIntegratedSurveyPIMeetingKerimAydinandAndyWhitehouseparticipatedintheArcticEcosystemIntegratedSurvey(EIS)principalinvestigator’smeeting,17-19JuneinJuneau,Alaska.ThegoaloftheArcticEISistocontributetoacomprehensiveassessmentofoceanography,lowertrophiclevels,andfishofthenortheasternBeringSeaandeasternChukchiSeashelf.Atthismeeting,KerimandAndypresentedresultsofdietanalysesofseveralfishspeciescollectedduringvariousfisheriesresearchsurveys.

By Kerim Aydin

ResourceEcologyandFisheriesManagement(REFM)Division

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Economics & Social Sciences Research Program

ExaminingtheFlowofRevenuesfromNorthPacificFisheriesTheNorthPacificfisheriesgeneratecloseto$2billiondollarsinfirst-wholesalerevenueeachyear,yetthereisnosystematicaccountingoranalysisofthestatesorcitiestowherethismoneyflows.InthisprojectweareidentifyingthemainfleetsexploitingtheNorthPacificfisheriesandsummarizingtherevenuesearnedbythelocationofresidenceandhailingportforfleetparticipantsoverseveralyears.Wehypothesizethatthelocationofresidencedataforvesselownersisanindicatorofwherefishingprofitsarelikelytobespent.Thehailingportdatamayberepresentativeofwherethevesselobtainsasignificantportionofitssuppliesand,potentially,crewmembers.Wearealsoattempt-ingtoidentifyspatialtrendsandstructuralbreaksinthedistributionofrevenuesinresponsetorecentman-agementactions.Finally,wehopetoexaminewhethertherevenuedistributionhasconsolidatedovertime.Webelievethisinformationwillbeinterestingtothepublicatlargeandfisherymanagersseekingmoreinformationonhowfleet-leveldecisionsmapintothedistributionofearningstodifferentcitiesandstates.

By Ron Felthoven, Chris Anderson and Jenefer Meredith

AssessingtheEconomicImpactsof2011StellerSeaLionProtectiveMeasuresintheAleutianIslandsOneoftheprimarychallengestofisheriesmanagementinAlaskacontinuestobeprotectingtheendangeredWesternstockofStellersealions.Formorethan20yearsregulationshaverestrictedfishingeffortintheAleutianIslands(AI),BeringSea,andGulfofAlaska.In2011,additionalmeasureswereimplementedthatfurtherrestrictedfishingintheAIbecauseofconcernsthatfishingthereisharmingtheStellersealionpopu-lation.NOAAFisheriesisbeginninganewresearchprojectthatwillanalyzethecostsoftherecent2011measuresimplementedintheAIonfisherypartici-pants.Aspartoftheanalysis,theimpactonthreefleetswillbeconsidered:theAmendment80non-pol-lockmulti-speciestrawlfishery,thenon-trawlPacificcodfishery,andthecatchervesseltrawlandnon-trawlfisheries.Becauseregulationshavebeensequentiallyimplementedovermostofthelasttwodecades,thereferencepointisnotthenativestateofthefishery,butratheramorerecentperiodwhichwillbedeter-minedatthestartofthisresearchinconsultationwithNMFSanalysts.

By Alan Haynie

Status of Stocks & Multispecies Assessment Program

SuccessfulAtkaMackerelTaggingCruiseintheWesternAleutianIslandsFisheriesInteractionTeam(FIT)staffintheStatusofStocksandMultispeciesAssessment (SSMA)programparticipated inacooperativeAtkamackerel(Pleurogrammusmonopterygius)taggingresearchcruiseinthecentral,andwest-ernAleutianIslands(Fig.1)aboardthecharteredfishingvesselMorningStarfrom17Mayto11June.Thegoaloftheongoingtagrelease-recoverystudiesistodeter-minetheefficacyofAtkamackereltrawlexclusionzones.ThetrawlexclusionzonesareareasestablishedaroundStellersealionrookeriestoprotectcriticalStellersealionhabitatandpreyresources.Duringthecruiseover20,000AtkamackerelweretaggedandreleasedatfourareasinthewesternAleutianIslands(BuldirIsland,westernAleutianIslandSeamounts,AgattuIsland,andIngenstremRock)aswellasSeguamPassinthecentralAleutianIslands.ThistaggingstudywillhelptoimproveourunderstandingoftherateofexchangeofAtkamackerelbetweenopenandclosedfishinggroundsaswellasestablishbaselinedataaftera4-yearfishingclosureinthewesternAleutianIslands.TheresultsfromthewesternAleutianIslandswillbecomparedtoSeguamPass,whichhasanestablishedtimeseriesofAtkamackereltaggingbeginningin2000.

Inadditiontotagging,secondaryobjectivesofthecruiseincludedconductingatag-mortalitystudyandcollectingbiologicalsamplesfromAtkamackerel.Atkamackerelhabitatwasalsocharacterizedwithoceanographicsamplesandunderwa-tercameratowsateachtagginglocation.Finally,threeprojectswereconductedattherequestofotherresearchers:1)attemptedrecoveryofmooredhydrophonesforakillerwhaleacousticpredationprojectatNationalMarineMammalLaboratory,2)collectionofAtkamackerelandPacificcodsamplesforstableisotopeandmer-curyanalysisbyLoriRheaattheUniversityofAlaskaFairbanks,and3)collectionofincidentalmarinemammalandseabirdobservations.

By Libby Logerwell

Figure 1 . Atka mackerel 2014 tagging study locations in the western Aleutian Islands and at Seguam Pass in the central Aleutian Islands . Haul locations are where Atka mackerel were caught, tagged, and released .

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AnnualMeetingoftheNMFS-SeaGrantGraduateFellowsinPopulationDynamicsandEconomicsandGroupTouroftheElwhaDamRemovalProjectTheNMFS-SeaGrantGraduateFellowsinPopulationDynamicsandEconomicsheldtheirannualmeetingattheAFSCon16-18June2014.ThefellowsarePh.D.studentsinfisheriespopulationdynamicsandeconomicswhohavebeenawarded2-3yearsoffundingfromNMFSandSeaGrantfortheirgraduatestudies.ThefellowsgatheronceayearataNMFSsciencecentertopresenttheirmostrecentresearchfind-ings.Thisyear,AFSCscientistsBenFisselandCareyMcGilliardhelpedtoorganizetheannualmeeting,andthreeCenterscientistsgavepresentationsinadditiontothepresentationsbythecurrentfellows;MartinDornpresentedthetalk“ImplementingOFLsandABCsfordata-poorstocksmanagedbythePacificFisheryManagementCouncil”;AlanHayniepresented“TheEasyJobofStayingBusyasaNOAAFisheriesEconomist”;andSteveIgnellgaveawelcomespeech.SandraLowe,RonFelthoven,andCareyMcGilliardparticipatedinapaneldiscussionheldforthefellowstodiscusscareersingovernmentandacademia.

Aspartofthemeeting,NMFSscientistsandeconomistsjoinedthegraduatefellowsonatourtolearnabouttherecentremovaloftwodamsfromtheElwhaRiverontheOlympicPeninsulaofWashingtonState.ThedamremovalprojectisthelargesteverundertakenintheUnitedStates.Thegroupspokewithfourbiologistsinvolvedinriverandplantecologyandrestoration.Thegroupvisitedtherivermouth,wherealargeamountofsedimentwasdepositedfollowingdamremoval,creatinganewanddynamicbeach.BiologistshaveobservedalargeincreaseinthenumberofDungenesscraboccupyingnearshorewatersclosetotherivermouth.Thegrouptouredbothpreviousreservoirs,wheremanynativeplantsarenowgrowing,includingcottonwoodandOregonsun-shine.Damremovaliscomplete,butremnantsofthedamcanbeseenfromwhatwaspreviouslytheMillsReservoirandwillbemarkedwithinterpretivesigns.Atime-lapsevideoofthedamremovalcanbeviewedonline:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUZE7kgXKJc.

By Carey McGilliard

Remnants of the upper Elwha Dam taken from what was previously Mills Reservoir . The dam removal is complete, but remnants of the infrastructure will remain

The new beach created by sediment washed out to the mouth of the Elwha River in Washington State as a result of the removal of two dams, the biggest dam removal project in the United States .

A meadow that was previously the reservoir associated with the lower dam on the Elwha River . This meadow is being restored by seeding native plants such as cottonwood and Oregon sunshine .

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The2014ICESECOKNOWSSymposium

TheInternationalCouncilfortheExplorationoftheSea(ICES)heldthesymposium“TheEcologicalBasisofRiskAnalysisforMarineEcosystems”on2–4June2014inPorvoo,Finland.Othersponsorsofthesym-posiumincludedtheNorthPacificMarineScienceOrganization(PICES)andtheEuropeanCommission’sCommunityResearchandDevelopmentInformationService(CORDIS)SeventhFrameworkProgramme(FP7).Thesymposiumwasorganizedinclosecollabo-rationwiththeFP7ECOKNOWSproject(http://www.ecoknows.eu/)forimprovingfisheriesscienceandman-agementbyintegratingnewsourcesofbiologicalandenvironmentalknowledgewithrespecttoimplement-inganecosystemapproachtofisheriesmanagement.

Thegoalofthesymposiumwastoreview,discuss,andassessmethodologicalapproaches,casestudies,andoutcomesrelevanttoeffectiveandefficientinterdisci-plinarymarineecosystemsriskanalysis,particularlyinrelationtoresourceuseandrisksofoverexploitation.Bycomparingthedifferentscientificfieldsfocusingonmarinerisks,thesymposiumexploredhowsciencecanidentifyandquantifyuncertaintyanddevelopprocessesthatallowbetterinterpretationofuncertaintyestimates,leadingtomanagementthatmoreeffectivelyandeffi-cientlymeetsobjectives.Thethemesofthesymposiumincludedfisheriesmanagementunderuncertainty,decisionmodelinginfisheriesmanagement,probabi-listicfishstockassessment,oilspillandeutrophica-tionriskanalysis,environmentalriskassessmentformarineareas,andriskanalysisinaquaculture.Thekey-notespeakersincludedSamuMäntyniemi(FI),RobertStephenson(CA),andTonySmith(AU).

TherewereseveraltalkswhichmentionedBayesianapproaches,“datapoor”methods,andhowtocom-municateriskanduncertaintytostakeholders.SamuMäntyniemi(FI)talkedaboutthedevelopmentofageneralpopulationdynamicsmodelandcasestudieswerepresentedinothertalks.AnnaKuparinen(FI)hasseveralrecentpapersinThe ICES Journal of Marine ScienceonAlleeeffectsandenvironmentalinfluencesonrecruitment.Therewerecommentsaboutmodelaver-aginganddataweighting;IanStewart(US)suggesteddecreasingtheimportanceofmodelweighting,aspick-ingthe“best”modeloutofasetofmodelsputsalloftheweightononemodelimplicitly.Therewerealsocom-mentsaboutaskingstakeholdergroupsanddecisionmakersaboutwhichtablesandfigurestheyfinduseful.JohnMumford’s(UK)talkdealtspecificallywithrisk,visualization,andcommunication;heraisedtheissuesofriskassessmentvs.riskperception,howriskchanges

overtime(spatial,temporal,cumulative),andhowtoexpressandincorporateuncertaintyinthemanagementgoalsandobjectives.DiedreDuggan(UK)talkedaboutdevelopingindicatorswithstakeholders,andcombin-ingindicatorsandsignaldetectiontheoryintoatoolfordecisionmaking.AndrewEdwards(CA)talkedaboutAwatea(softwaredevelopedbyAllanHicksandRayHilborn)anditsassociatedRpackage,PBSawatea.JavierRuiz(ES)describedamodelwithfinertimescalesforenvironmentalinfluencesonearlylifehistorystagesandcoarsertimescalesforthefishery.FinlayScott(IT)pre-sentedaframework,a4a(assessmentforall),for“datamoderate”stockswhichcanrunseveralthousandver-sionsofsimplestockassessmentmodelsincorporatingmodelandbiologicaluncertaintyandalternatehypoth-eses,andreferencedMillaretal.2014ICESJMarSciformodelaveragingtechniques.SakariKuikka(FI)com-mentedthattherewerefewpapersonBayesianeconomicorbio-economicmodelsandthatthismaybeadeficitwhenmovingtowardsecosystem-basedfisheriesman-agementorintegrativemodelingandmanagement.

AFSCscientistTeresaA’marattendedthesympo-sium,alongwithWesleyPatrick(NOAAFisheries,OfficeofSustainableFisheries),IanStewart(InternationalPacificHalibutCommission),andmorethan70otherresearchers,primarilyfromEuropeandCanada.Inthe“Fisheriesmanagementunderuncertainty”session,Teresapresentedtheresultsofthestudy“TheimpactofchangesinnaturalmortalityontheperformanceofmanagementstrategiesfortheGulfofAlaskawalleyepollock(Gadus chalcogrammus)fishery”,whichsheco-authoredwiththestockassessmentauthorMartinDorn.ManagementstrategyevaluationwasusedtoexaminetheimpactofchangesovertimeinnaturalmortalityontheperformanceofthecurrentmanagementstrategyfortheGulfofAlaskawalleyepollockfishery.Changesandtrendsinnaturalmortality-at-ageareaproxyforchangesinpredationimpacts.Whilethebiomassofsev-eralwalleyepollockpredatorshasbeenstableordecreas-ingsincethe1970s,arrowtoothflounderbiomasshasincreasedsignificantly.Arrowtoothflounderpredationonwalleyepollockispredominantlyonsmallerfish,thusimpactingrecruitment.Thecurrentmanagementstrat-egywasevaluatedunderseveralscenariosofchangesovertimeinnaturalmortality-at-ageforyoungfish.Theresultssuggestthatstocksizeandtheassociatedaccept-ablebiologicalcatch(ABC)maybepositivelybiased(i.e.,overestimated)ifthetruenaturalmortality-at-ageforyoungfishdiffersappreciablyfromthevaluesassumedinthecurrentmanagementstrategy.

SelectsymposiumpaperswillbepublishedinTheICESJournalofMarineSciencewithinapproximately18monthsafterthesymposium.

By Teresa A’mar

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REFM DIVISION/LABORATORY REPORTS

FisheriesBycatch:GlobalIssuesandCreativeSolutionThe29thLowellWakefieldFisheriesSymposiumwasheldinAnchorage,Alaska,from13to16May2014,withanumberofcontributionsbyAFSCscientists.Thesymposiumcomprisedsevensessions,whichwerebroadlydividedintotopicsonbiological,ecological,andsocio-economicissuesononesideandgeartech-nology,regulations,monitoring,andindustrycoop-erativeprogramsontheother.

AlanHaynie(AFSC)ledthesession“Fisheryregu-latoryapproachesandsolutions”asaninvitedspeakeranddiscussed“TheRightBycatchManagementToolfortheRightProblem:HowCatchSharesand Incentive Programs Are BeingUtilizedandHowWeCanDoBetter.”InhistalkHayniecoveredhowmultispeciescatchshareprograms,halibutbycatchreductionefforts,andmeasurestoreduceChinookandchumsalmonbycatchintheBeringSeaandGulfofAlaskapol-lockfisheriesillustratethevarietyofnewbycatchmanagementprogramsimple-mentedoverthe lastdecade.Hecon-trastedhowmanagementobjectivesvaryandmadethepointthata“onesizefitsall”systemisinappropriate.Biological,economic,andotherinstitutionalfac-torssuchasindustryorganizationandobservercoverageallimpacthowbycatchmanagementprogramsfunction.Thesefactorsdeterminewhichmechanismsappeartobemosteffectiveataddressingdifferentproblems.

JimIanelli(AFSC)providedperspec-tiveonthecurrentmeasuresofsalmonbycatchintheeasternBeringSeapollockfishery.Inparticular,basedontheextensivesamplingbyobserversandgeneticstockIDwork(conductedbytheAFSC’sAukeBayLab),heshowedhowtrade-offsforthecurrentconstraintsonpollockfishingmayimpactpollockcatchesandsubsequentstockcondi-tions.Forexample,startingin2012,theabundant2008yearclassofpollockappearstobemuchsmallerthanaverageinthefishery.Theextentthatthisisduetopopulation-leveldensitydependenteffectsiscon-trastedwiththepossibilitythatthepollockfleethasmovedfromtraditionalfishinggrounds(whichmayhavehigherChinooksalmonbycatchrates)toareaswheresmallerandyoungerpollockareavailable.

ChuckGuthrie(ABL)presentedhisresearchtitled“GeneticStockCompositionEstimatesofChinookSalmonIncidentallyTakenasBycatchinthe2012BeringSeaandGulfofAlaskaTrawlFisheries”andChrisKondzela(alsofromABL)presented“ChumSalmonBycatchintheBeringSeaPollockFishery.”Inthesestudies,determiningthegeographicorigin

andstockcompositionofsalmoncaughtincidentallyisessentialtounderstand-ingthenatureofthefisheriesandhowmanagementmeasurescouldbeeffectiveatminimizingtheimpacts.Chinooksalmonsamplescollectedin2012intheBeringSeawerepredominatelyofcoastalwesternAlaskaorigin(63%)basedon1,111sam-ples.BycatchsamplesofthisspeciestakenintheGulfofAlaskapollockfisheriesindicatethatthestockcompositionthewasabout49%ofBritishColumbiaoriginswiththeU.S.westcoastcomprising28%andcoastalSoutheastAlaskaabout20%.Chumsalmonbycatchsamplescollectedfromthe2012BeringSeapollockfisheryshowed,asinpreviousyears,thatthelargestcontributionwasfromAsia(59%),followedbytheeasternGulfofAlaska–PacificNorthwest(18%),westernAlaska(14%),upper-middleYukon(7%),andsouthwestAlaska(2%)regions.

CarwynHammond(RACE)presentedthetalk“ReducingUnobservedCrabMortalityfromBeringSeaBottomTrawlingThroughCooperativeResearch.” In this study theyshowedhowcooperativeresearchprojectscanbeveryeffectiveatreducingthenegativeimpactsofcommercial fisheries.Inparticular, theydeployedspecialauxiliarynetsfishedbehindthetrawlgear(thesweepsandthefootropes)whichshowedthatcrabsurvivalimprovedbyabout75%.

TheFMADivisionwasextensivelyrep-resentedwithDr.CraigFauncepresenting:“TheRisk-MatrixApproach toEvaluatingFisheriesBycatch,”JenniferCahalanshow-ing her “Eva luat ion of De s ign-Ba sedEstimatorsinFederalGroundfishFisheriesoffAlaska,”andFarronWallacegivingatalkon“InnovativeCameraApplicationsforElectronicMonitoring.”Faunce’sresearchoffersawaytoprioritizeactivitiesamongmultipleprojectsandpotentialoutcomes.Heconstructedariskmatrixfor60fisheriesaroundthenationasanexamplewhichprovidedsimplevisualizations

ofhowbycatchissuesariseforawidevarietyofgeartypesandgeographicregions.Thesecanbeusedtofocuscooperativeresearchandmonitoringeffortstoreduceandimprovefisherybycatchestimates.CahalanpresentedsomeresultsbasedonaregulationschangegoverningtheNorthPacificObserverProgram.ThechangemeansthatNMFScontrolsthedeploymentofobservers.Herfindingsindicatethatdesign-basedestimatorsarerobusttohighlyvariablesampledataforrarerspecies.Thiswasfurtherillustratedcomparingestimatesoftotaldiscards(andprecision)relativetospeciesrarity.FarronWallacediscussedthedevelopmentofanewcamerasystemdevelopedattheAFSCwhichprovidestheabilitytomoni-torfisherieswithcamerasandautomaticallycollectfishlengthmeasurements.Innovativetime-stampingandlinkagetoGPSinformationallowspreciselocationofspecies-specificcatch,whichmayenablemappingofhighbycatchrateareas.Othercost-effectivesavingsmakesthissystemamorebroadlydeployablewayofcollectingbetterinformationfromfishingactivities.

Formoreinformationpleasevisithttp://seagrant.uaf.edu/conferences/2014/wakefield-bycatch/.

By Jim Ianelli

Program and Abstracts

Fisheries Bycatch

May 13–16, 2014Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Global Issues and Creative Solutions

29th Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium

AFSC QuarterlyReport

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REFMDIVISION/LABORATORY

REPORTS

SSMAStaffatthePICESFUTUREOpenScienceMeetingFourCenter scientistsparticipated in thePICESFUTUREOpenScienceMeetingheld13-18April2014ontheKohalaCoast,BigIsland,Hawaii.Itwasawell-attendedinternationalmeetingwithparticipantsfromAustralia,Canada,China,France,Germany,Japan,Korea,NewZealand,Philippines,Russia,theUnitedStatesandUnitedKingdom.ThegoalofthemeetingwastogivePICESachancetoreviewprogressonitsintegratedscienceprogramFUTURE(ForecastingandUnderstandingTrends,UncertaintyandResponsesofNorthPacificMarineEcosystems)andtoidentifygapsandmechanismstofillthem.TheoverarchingquestionaddressedbyFUTUREis“WhatisthefutureoftheNorthPacificgivencurrentandexpectedpressures?”

AnneHollowedco-convenedtwoworkshopsat theFUTUREmeeting.Onewas on “Climatechangeandecosystem-basedmanagementof liv-ingmarineresources:Appraisingandadvancingkeymodellingtools,”whichsheconvenedwithTimEssington(UniversityofWashington)andMyronPeck(UniversityofHamburg).Theworkshopwasconvenedtodiscussstate-of-the-arttoolsfor1)calculatingbio-logicalreferencepointsunderchangingclimatecondi-tionsthatrecognizethatequilibriumstatesnolongerapply;2)assessingtherelativeecologicalandeconomiccostsandtradeoffsofdifferentecosystem-basedman-agementscenarios;and3)estimatingthevulnerabilityandstabilityofecosystems(andtheirkeycomponents)requiredtomakeinformed,ecosystem-basedfisher-iesmanagementdecisions.Theworkshopprovidedacriticalreviewofmodellingtoolsavailableforfisher-iesmanagementneedsandanunderstandingofwhatadvancementsarerequiredtoaddressclimate-drivenchangesinecosystemdynamics.

ThesecondworkshopthatAnneconvenedwas“Aninternationalworkshopforecosystemprojectionmodelinter-comparisonandassessmentofclimatechangeimpactsonglobalfishandfisheries,”withAFSCscientistsKerimAydinandKirstinHolsman.Thisworkshopbroughttogetherearthsystemmodel-ers,oceanographers,fisheriesstockassessmentscien-tists,andecosystemmodelerstodiscussthecurrentandnear-termfuturestatusofEarthSystemModelsandtheirpotentialcontributionstoprojectingclimatechangeimpactsonlivingmarineresources.Thiswork-shopprovidedmuch-neededinformationneededforsustainablefisheriesmanagementinthefuture.ThegroupplanstoholdtwomoreworkshopsinMarchof2015and2016andsubmitresultsonmodelprojec-tionsforselectedspeciesgroupsinascientificjour-nalin2019.

SteveBarbeauxpresentedatalkintheThemeSession“Challengesincommu-nicatingscienceandengagingthepublic”.Thetitleofhistalk,co-authoredwithJaeBongLeewas“BroadeningstakeholderinvolvementinfisheriesresearchthroughthedevelopmentofcooperativeresearchinitiativesinKorean(andAlaskan)fisher-ies.”Thetalkwasabouttheresultsofa2013exchangeofexpertsfromtheRepublicofKoreaandtheUnitedStatestoevaluatepossiblecooperativeresearchprojectsinvolvingKoreanandAlaskanfisheries.StevedescribedfivepossiblecooperativeresearchprojectsidentifiedbytheKoreanandU.S.expertsforimplementationinKoreaandfiveprojectseithercurrentlyimplementedorplannedfor2015.Healso

discussedtheculturalandtechnologicalaidesandbarrierstothepossiblesuc-cessoftheseprojects.TheThemeSessionwaswellattendedwithapproximately30participantsandgenerateddiscussionontheprojectsduringtheworkinggroupdiscussionsessionafterwardsonhowtoconfrontchallengesincommunicatingscienceandengagingthepublic.

PaulSpencerpresenteda talk intheThemeSession“Strategiesforeco-systemmanagementinachangingcli-mate.”Thetitleofhistalkwas“Howmightenvironmentally-drivenchangesinthedistributionofarrowtoothfloun-deraffectpredationuponeasternBeringSeawalleyepollock?”Hisco-authorswereNicholasA.Bond(PMEL),AnneB.Hollowed,StephaniZador,Kirstin

Holsman,andFranzJ.Mueter(UniversityofAlaskaFairbanks).Paulandhiscol-leaguesfoundthatinformationonthespatialdistributionsofpredatorandpreypopulationsallowsforspatially-resolvedestimatesofpredationmortalitywithinage-structuredstockassessmentmodels.Theyalsofoundthattheimpactoffutureclimateconditionsuponarrowtoothflounderandwalleyepollockspatialdistri-butionsareexpectedtohavearelativelyminoreffectonthepredationofwalleyepollockbyarrowtoothflounder.However,higherlevelsofpredationcouldoccurifthespatialdistributionofarrowtoothfloundermovesnorthwardintothenorth-westmiddleeasternBeringSeashelf.

LibbyLogerwellischairofthePICESFisherySciencesCommitteeandamem-beroftheFUTUREScientificSteeringCommittee.ShedidnotgiveapresentationattheFUTUREOpenScienceMeetingbutdidparticipateinthePICESIntersessionScienceBoardmeetingwhereareviewoftheFUTUREprogramwasdiscussed.

By Libby Logerwell

2014 PICES FUTURE OPEN SCIENCE MEETING

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REFM DIVISION/LABORATORY REPORTS

Age & Growth Program

AgeandGrowthProgramProductionNumbersEstimatedproductionfiguresfor1January–30June2014.Totalproductionfigureswere11,543with3,170testagesand309examinedanddeter-minedtobeunageable.

Species Specimens Aged

Alaska plaice 539

Arctic cod 1,571

Atka mackerel 230

Dusky rockfish 73

Flathead sole 873

Greenland turbot 493

Harlequin rockfish 255

Northern rock sole 354

Northern rockfish 303

Saffron cod 848

Walleye pollock 5,194

Yellowfin sole 810

By Jon Short

International Affairs & Research Collaboration

CooperativeResearchwithKoreaTheREFMDivisionhastheleadforcooperativeresearchwiththeKoreanMinistryofOceansandFisheries(MOF)underaJointProjectAgreementwithNOAA.TheFisheriesPanelmetinPusan(ROK)inJunetoreviewtheresultsofresearchcon-ductedon15researchtasks.TheproposedbudgetforfundingoftheseprojectsbyMOFinFY2015is$190kplus$50kforthreenewtasks.NOAAprovidesin-kindfundingtotheprojectsthroughpersonnelinvolvementthatgenerallymatchesmonetaryfundingfromKorea.Fifteenresearchtasksaregroupedunderthreeprojects,leadbyREFMpersonnelfortheU.S.sideandKoreanscientistsfromMOF.Thetablebelowshowsthebudgetallocationforfacilitatingtravelandotherresearchactivitiesforbothsides.

Project Title and Tasks Funding NOAA KoreaFisheries Panel $240k $110k S130k

1. Observer Training 22 8 14

2. Vessel Monitoring Network 20 10 10

3. Survey Gear Technology 15 8 7

4. Habitat Research (new) 5 5 0

A. Surveys and Monitoring 62 31 31

5. “Nowcast” Model Extension 13 10 3

6. Snowcrab Stock Assessment 5 0 5

7. IFRAME Extension 6 3 3

8. Management Strategy Evaluation 5 0 5

9. CPUE Standardization 6 3 3

10. Otolith & Ageing Research 20 13 7

11. Korean Pollock Stock Status (new) 15 7 8

B. Climate, Assmt, & Ecosystem 70 36 34

12. Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems 30 15 15

13. MOF Officials Training 30 15 15

14. Fisheries Panel Meeting 18 3 15

15. Arctic Research (new) 30 10 20

C. Applications of JPA Research 108 43 65

By Loh-Lee Low

AFSC QuarterlyReport

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DIVISION/LABORATORY

REPORTS NMML NationalMarineMammalLaboratory(NMML)

An aerial image of a Steller sea lion rookery in Alaska with the Twin Otter airplane reflected from below . Note the three sea lions in photo . (Image taken under MMPA/ESA scien-tif ic research permit 782-1889 to the National Marine Mammal Laboratory.)

Alaska Ecosystems Program

BelowtheFog:MonitoringEndangeredStellerSeaLionsintheWesternAleutianIslandsFromthewindowoftheairplaneyouseeonlythetipsofthesnowcappedvolcanoesoftheAleutianIslandarchi-pelago.TheislandsareskirtedwithathickfogcreatedbythewarmairoffthePacificmixingwiththecoolerairofftheBeringSea.ThisissummerintheAleutians.Gonearethehurricaneforcewindsandroughseasofwin-ter.ThebalmyweathersignalsthebreedingseasonformanymarinemammalsinAlaska,andanewfieldseasonforwildlifebiologistsfromNOAA’sAlaskaFisheriesScienceCenter(AFSC).TheirmissionistofindcluesthatexplainthecontinueddeclineofthewesternmostportionoftheWesternstockoftheendangeredStellersealions.

Aerialsurveys,usingaNOAATwinOtterair-plane,arethebestwaytoannuallymonitortheabun-danceandproductivityoftheseanimals.Butforthelastsixyearstheweatherhasnotcooperated.

“Duringthe2012survey,wewereinShemyafor18daysandweonlyflewoneofthedays,”saysLowellFritz,awildlifebiologistfromtheAFSC.“Luckily,wewereabletosurveymostofthesitesneartheairstrip,butnowhereelsebecauseofthefogandwind.”

Togetpopulationcountsbelowthefog,scientistshavebeenforcedtothinkinnovatively.Theanswermaybeinusinganunmannedaircraftlikeahexacopter.

Ahexacopterlookslikeaninsectfromasciencefictionnovel,amutantflyingspider.Theabdomen,orcenterofthehexacopter,isacirculardomeaboutahalf-footindiameter.Sixarmsextendafootfromtheabdomenandendwithaten-inchrotorblade.Twolegsformthelandinggear.Eachlegisencircledwithbrightlycoloredfoamtubes,likethosefoundnearapool,forasoftlanding.Thetotaldiameteracrossthehexacopter,bladetiptobladetip,isaboutthreefeet.Thehexacopterispilotedfromthegroundoravessel’sdeckusingaconsolewithjoysticks,asmallmonitor,andvariousswitchesandknobs.

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“Wedon’tliketocallitadrone…wecalloursStella.”saysKatieSweeney,oneofahandfulofU.S.FederalAviationAdministration(FAA)certifiedhexa-copterpilotsinNOAA.

ThissummerFritzandSweeneywillbeheadingtotheAleutiansaboardtheUSFWSTiĝlâx,aU.S.FishandWildlifeServicevessel,withacrewofothersci-entiststoconductStella’sfirstscientificmission.Thegoalistoflyover16highprioritysitesintheWesternAleutiansandphotographnewbornpups,juveniles,andadults.EightsitesarebetweenKiskaandAmchitkaIslands(177°E-180°)andhavenotbeensurveyedsince2008.AnothereightsitesareintheDelarofIslands(180°-178°W)andhavenotbeensurveyedsince2010.

BeforeStellacouldflythereweremanyhoopsthescientistshadtogothrough.Toflyanunmannedair-craftforgovernmentresearch,SweeneyandcolleagueLTJGVanHelker,fromtheNOAACorps,hadtosat-isfymultiplecriteriarequiredbytheFAA.

“Wehadtogotogroundschool,passtheairman’sknowledgetest,andhaveaClassIIMedicalexam,whichistypicallymandatedforcommercialairlinepilots,”explainsSweeney.“Andwearenotevengoingupintheair!”

UnliketheTwinOtterairplane,Stellacanflyaslowas150ft(theTwinOtterremainsatabout750ft)oversurveysitesinremoteareasfarfromanairfieldandneartallcliffs.AnothervirtueofthehexacopteristhatitismuchquieterthanaTwinOtter.Fewerani-malswillgetspookedanddiveintothewater,allowingscientiststogetmoreaccurateestimatesofpopulationabundanceandimagesofpermanentlymarkedanimalstogatherlifehistoryinformation.

ThehexacoptermaysoundlikeabetteroptionthantheTwinOtter,butitisexpensiveandlesseffi-cient.Itneedsavessel,liketheUSFWSTiĝlâx,tobringitclosetotheislandsforsuccessfuldeployment,anditcancoveronlyabouttwositesperday.ATwinOtter,ontheotherhand,cansurveydozensofsitesinacou-pleofhourswhenconditionsarefavorable.

TheskiesovertheAleutianIslandswon’tlikelyseeanairforceofhexacoptersflyingaroundinthenameofscience.But,thissummer,onelonehexacopternamedStellawillbeflyingbelowthefoginthewesternAleutianIslandstohelpsolvethemysterybehindthedeclineofStellersealions.

By Rebecca Reuter, with contributions from Dr. Tom Gelatt, Lowell Fritz,

Katherine Sweeny, and Van Helker.

Learn how the hexacopter was successfully used by sci-entists at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center to study penguins, leopard seals, and Antarctic fur seals in the Antarctic.

Stella, the hexacopter, awaiting test flight .

Katie Sweeney piloting hexacopter during test flight with Van Helker assisting .

Preparing and setup for hexacopter test flight operations .

AFSC QuarterlyReport

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RemoteObservations:StudyingStellerSeaLionsYearRoundTheplanedescendsintoAnchorageonatypicalsummerday,blueskies,hot,andsun-lightforalmosttwentyhoursaday.The31/2-halfhourflightfromSeattle,Washington,isonlythefirstlegofthejourneyforDr.TomGelattandhisteamofStellersealionscientistsfromNOAAFisheriesAlaskaFisheriesScienceCenter(AFSC)toparticipateinanannualsurveyoftheendangeredStellersealion.

TheirdestinationisAdakIslandintheWesternAleutianIslands–a1,000-milestretchofvolcanicislandsacrosstheNorthPacificfromtheAlaskaPeninsulatotheRussianborder.Afteranother3-hourflighttheteamarrivesonAdak,wheretheU.S.FishandWildlifeServiceresearchvesselTiĝlâxiswaitingtotakethemfurtherwest-wardtorookerieswhereStellersealionscongregatetobreedandgivebirth.Scientistscansafelyvisitthisareaonlyonceortwiceayearduetoweatherandresourcerestric-tions—notoftenenough,theyarefinding,tolearnwhythewesternportionofthewesternstockoftheendangeredStellersealioncontinuestodecline.

Toaddtothescientists’challenge,sealionsmarkedintheUnitedStateswererecentlyobservedontheCommanderIslandsandtheKamchatkaPeninsulainRussia.ConductingresearchinRussianwatersonaforeignvesselrequirespermissionsthatmayormaynotbeobtainedforeachsurvey.ThismeanstheTiĝlâxwon’ttravelwestacrosstheRussianbordertosurveyrookeriesontheCommanderIslandsonlyacouplehundredmilesaway.InsteadtheAFSCscientistsworkwithcolleaguesattheFarEastBranchoftheRussianAcademyofSciences(RAS)toconductseparatesur-veysinRussiausingRussianvessels.ThisrequiresSeattle-basedscientiststoflyeast-ward,duetolackofcommercialairservicefromthewestcoastoftheUnitedStatestoRussia,onan11,000-milejourneytoPetropavlovskontheKamchatkaPeninsula.

“Andthatisbeforegettingonavesseltogettotheislandswheretheanimalsare.”exclaimsDr.VladamirBurkanov,aRussianscientistwhohasworkedwiththeAFSConStellersealionsforover25years.

Everydayofthetwoweeksurveyisaflurryofactivitywhilescientistscollectasmuchdataaspossibleateachrookerysite.Arrivingonshoreaboardarigidinflatableboat,scientistscarefullycaptureasealiontogetbloodsamplesforgeneticresearchortoplaceasatellitetagtolearnabouttheirmigratorybehaviors.Otherscientistsareonthelookoutforfreshsealionscatforlateranalysistolearnwhatthesealionsareeating.

Scientistshiketothehighestpointabovetherookeriestosearch,usingbinocu-lars,forpermanentlymarkedanimalstodocumentmovementpatternsandsurvivalrates.Theyalsocountthenumberofpupsforbirthrates,andjuvenilesandadultsforabundanceestimates.Butthesedataareonlyasnapshotofwhatishappeningateachrookery.Whatabouttherestoftheyear?

Dangerousweather,limitedresources,andinternationalboundaries,ledtheAFSCandRASscientiststodevelopasystemoftime-lapsecamerastoobservesealionsyearround.TowithstandtheharshArcticwinterconditions,eachsystembeginswithatoploaderPelicanTMcase-awatertight,crushproof,hardplasticcaseusedbyprofessional

photographersandscientiststocarrysensitiveequip-ment,whichisthencustomizedforthefieldwork.Awindowiscutintoonesideofthecasesecuringapaneofglasssalvagedfromanoldscanner.Ontheoppositesidearoundhole,aboutthesizeofanickel,iscutouttofeedelectricalwirestoanexternalsolarpanel.Theseareasaresealedwithawaterproofepoxyresin.

Behindthewindowasingle-lensreflex(SLR)digi-talcameraissecuredandpoweredbyarechargeable12-voltbatteryconnectedtothesolarpanels.Photosaretakenatasettimeinterval(e.g.every30minutes)fromdawnuntilduskusingatimerconnectedtothecamera.Thefinalingredientisacanofdesiccant,addedtoabsorbanyhumidity.

Inthelast2years,78camerashavebeendeployedat 18 sea lion rookeries throughout thewesternAleutiansoftheUnitedStatesandtheRussianFarEast.Thenumberofcamerasateachsiteisdependentonthesizeandshapeoftherookery.Largersites,sitesthatcurveorhaverockyoutcroppings,havemorecam-eras.Theplacementofthecameraisdependentontheavailabilityofrockoutcropstosheltertheequipmentfromtheenvironmentandprovideawide-angleper-spectiveoftherookery.Oncethoselocationsaredeter-mined,thecamerasystemsaresecuredtosalvagedlumberthenboltedorsecuredtorocksorinsomecasesamodifiedtripodtoimprovethecameraviewoftherookery.Whenthescientistsreturneachsum-mertheycollectandreplacethe128gigabytememorycardsineachcamera.

“Ascientistcanusethesephotostosimulateayear-longsurveyatmonitoredStellersealionsiteswithoutleavingtheoffice.”remarksBurkanov.

Thesecamerasystemshaveremotelycapturethou-sandsofphotoswithoutmaintenanceorresearcherpresence.Inthefirst2yearsofthestudy,athirdofthecamerasmalfunctionedduetocorrosion,rats,snowfall,oroperatorerror.Onecamerawaslosttoa30-footmonsterwave.

Remoteobservationsusingtime-lapsecamerasys-temsprovideanewwaytocollectyear-roundinforma-tionaboutanimalabundance,behavior,andsightingsofmarkedindividuals.Thisvastamountofinforma-tionmayhelpsolvethemysteryofwhyStellersealionsinthefarwesternAleutianscontinuetodecline.

By Rebecca Reuter

Camera system batteries recharge using solar energy .

NMML

A remote camera system is positioned on a makeshift ledge made from reclaimed lumber .

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Ecology Program

BigGOALSAccomplished:SurveyingforCetaceansintheGulfofAlaskaTheGulfofAlaska(GOA)isahighlyproductiveecosystemandhometoanumberofdiversemarinemammalspecies.Althoughcetaceansarepresentyear-round,thegreatestnumbersoccurbetweenspringandfall,whenmigratoryspeciessuchashumpbackwhales(Megaptera novaeangliae),bluewhales(Balaenoptera musculus),andgraywhales(Eschrichtius robustus)returntothisareaforforaging.Duringtheeraofhistoricalwhaling,manyspeciesofwhaleswereheavilyhuntedintheGOA.Althoughtodaysomespeciesarerecovering,suchasfinwhales(B. physa-lus)offwesternAlaskaandthecentralAleutianIslands(Zerbinietal.2006)andhumpbackwhalesthroughouttheNorthPacific(Barlowetal.2011),notallshareasimilarsuccess.NorthPacificrightwhales(Eubalaena japonica),forexample,werenearlydecimatedbyillegalRussianwhalingduringthe1960s(IvashchenkoandClapham2012)andareonlysightedonrareoccasionstoday(Wadeetal.2011).Althoughbluewhalesareregularlysightedinconcentrationsoffthewestcoast(CalambokidisandBarlow2004),sightingswithintheGOAremaininfrequent(Calambokidisetal.2009).TheGOAisalsohometothreeknownspeciesofbeakedwhales,Baird’s(Berardius bairdii),Cuvier’s(Ziphius cavirostris),andStejneger’s(Mesoplodon stejnegeri).BeakedwhalesaresomeofthemostpoorlyunderstoodofcetaceanswithonlylimitedsightingswithintheGOA.Theyspendamajorityoftheirtimesubsurface,regularlydivingtodepthsofhundredstothousandsofmeters.Theyoftenoccurinsmallgroupsandcanbehaveinconspicuouslyatthesurface.Thesefactorsmakethemdifficulttodetectandstudyusingvisualsurveymethodsalone.

TheNavyperiodicallyusesaTemporaryMaritimeActivitiesArea(TMAA;144,560km2)inthecentralGOA,eastofKodiakIsland(Fig.1),fortrainingpur-poses.TheTMAAencompassesdiversehabitatconsistingofthecontinentalshelf,slope,andoffshorepelagicwaterswithnumerousseamountsintheoffshoreregion.InorderfortheNavytoconductexerciseswithintheTMAA,analysesofthepoten-tialimpactsonbiologicalandenvironmentalresourcesarerequired.In2009,the

Navyfundedaline-transectsurvey(GulfofAlaskaLine-TransectSurvey,GOALS)thatprovideddensityandabundanceestimatesforfinwhalesandhumpbackwhales,aswellaslimiteddistributioninformationforseveralotherspecies(Roneetal.2010).Thesurveywassuccessfulingatheringimportantdataontheceta-ceanspresentinthislargelyunexploredarea.However,additionaldataonspecies’densitiesinregionalareaswasnecessaryfortheNavytomeettheirenvironmen-talstewardshipobligations.Inthesummerof2013,theNavyfundedanadditionalsurvey(GOALSII)tofillknowledgegapsonthedistribution,movements,anddensitiesofmarinemammalswithintheTMAA.

Eleven scient ists f rom four organizat ions(NationalMarineMammalLaboratory,CascadiaResearchCollective,Bio-Waves,andHDR,Inc.)par-ticipatedintheGOALSIIsurveyconductedfrom23Juneto18July2013.FoursurveystrataweredesignedtoaccountforthefourdistincthabitatswithintheGOATMAA(Fig.1).Tracklinesweredesignedtoprovideuniformsamplingcoveragewithineachstra-tumusinganequal-spacedzigzagsamplerconfigu-ration(Strindbergetal.2004;Fig.1).Utilizationofbothvisualandpassiveacousticmethodsallowedfor24-houroperationsandincreasedthelikelihoodofdetectingelusivebeakedwhales.Additionally,pho-tographswerecollectedforcomparisontoexistingcatalogsandsatellitetagsweredeployedonanoppor-tunisticbasis.

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Kodiak Island

Right WhaleCritical Habitat

Sources: Esri, GEBCO, NOAA, National Geographic, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, Geonames.org, and other contributors

140°W

140°W

145°W

145°W

150°W

150°W

60°N

58°N58°N

56°N56°N

0 90 18045 Kilometers

10

2

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3515

1137

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9 1733

719

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293 23

27 1

13

2824

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76

41

58 Slope Stratum

Offshore StratumIns

hore

Stratum

Seamount Stratum

Sources: Esri, GEBCO, NOAA, National Geographic,DeLorme, NAVTEQ, Geonames.org, and other contributors

TMAA

Figure 1 . The Navy Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA) with survey strata and tracklines for the GOALS II research cruise . AFSC QuarterlyReport

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DuringGOALSII,thevisualteamcompleted4,155kmoftransect,withanadditional349kmoftransit(Figs.2,3).Therewere646sightings(1,705indi-viduals)of11confirmedcetaceanspecies(Figs.2,3).Theacousticteamconductedround-the-clockmoni-toringwithatowed-hydrophonearrayfor6,304kmoftransecteffort.Therewere379acousticdetectionsofsixconfirmedcetaceanspecies:Baird’s,Cuvier’s,andStejneger’sbeakedwhales;killerwhales(Orcinus orca);spermwhales;andDall’sporpoise(Phocoenoides dalli)(Fig.4).Additionally,186sonobuoysweredeployedandanalyzedforpresence/absenceofcalls.Callsweredetectedfromsevenconfirmedspecieson140sono-buoys:bluewhales,finwhales,humpbackwhales,killerwhales,seiwhales(B.borealis),NorthPacificrightwhales,andspermwhales(Fig.5).Photographsoffivecetaceanspecieswerecollectedforphoto-identificationpurposes:finwhales,humpbackwhales,bluewhales,killerwhales,andBaird’sbeakedwhales.Onebluewhale,onekillerwhale,andeighthumpbackwhaleswerematchedtohistoricalcatalogs.

Twosatellite-transmittertagswereattachedtomonitormovementsofcetaceans.Onewasdeployedonabluewhaleandtransmittedfor9days,andtheotherwasdeployedonaBaird’sbeakedwhaleandtransmittedfor15days.BothwhalesweretaggedneartheSurveyorSeamount(Fig.6)within6kmofeachother.Thebluewhaletraveledabout250kmsouthofthesurveyarea,headedwestnearthePattonSeamountchain,andthenbeganmovingnorth;itsfinaltransmis-sionwasabout100kmsouthwestofthesurveyareaon9July.Maximumdistancefromthedeploymentlocationwas317kmon5July.Basedonphoto-iden-tificationmatches,thisbluewhalehadbeenprevi-ouslyidentifiedoffBajaCalifornia,Mexico,in2005.TheBaird’sbeakedwhalestayedwithintheseamountstratumfor9days,spending6daysinthevicinityof

Figure 2 . Mysticete sightings and visual survey effort for the GOALS II research cruise . Figure 3 . Odontocete sightings and visual survey effort for the GOALS II research cruise .

Figure 4 . Towed-hydrophone array acoustic detections and effort for the GOALS II research cruise .

Table 1. Estimates of density (individuals/km2) and CV (in parenthesis) for blue, fin, and humpback whales after pro-rating the abundance of unidentified large whales. Estimates were not corrected for the proportion of animals missed on the trackline.

Species

Stratum

TotalInshore Offshore Seamount Slope

Blue whale 0.002 (1.22) 0.001 (1.22)

Fin whale 0.071 (0.49) 0.021 (0.27) 0.005 (0.39) 0.014 (0.21) 0.022 (0.28)

Humpback whale

0.129 (0.74) 0.001 (0.76) 0.001 (0.64) 0.000 (1.03) 0.019 (0.71)

Sperm whale - visual

0.001 (1.09) 0.007 (0.58) 0.002 (0.57)

Sperm whale - acoustic

0.001 (0.36) 0.000 (0.55) 0.003 (0.18) 0.001 (0.18)

Killer whale 0.005 (0.60) 0.002 (0.77) 0.020 (1.93) 0.006 (0.73)

Dall’s porpoise1

0.214 (0.50) 0.028 (0.52) 0.011 (0.41) 0.133 (0.36) 0.072 (0.28)

1 Dall’s porpoise estimates assume no responsive movement occurred prior to detection, an assumption often violated as this species tends to approach the vessel for bow riding.

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theSurveyorSeamountbeforeheadingnortheasttothePrattSeamountandthensoutheasttotheDurginSeamount.Theanimalthenheadedsoutheastuntilitslasttransmissionon15July,atitsmaximumdistanceof482kmfromthedeploymentlocation(300kmfromthesurveyarea).

Density(Table1)andabundance(Table2)(uncor-rectedfortheproportionofanimalsmissedonthetran-sectline)wereestimatedfromline-transectdataforsixcetaceanspecies.Theabundanceoflargewhalesnotidentifiedtospeciesforvisualdetectionswascomputedandallocatedtobluewhales,finwhales,andhumpbackwhalesproportionallywithineachstratum.Pooledden-sity(D)andabundance(N)estimatesforthesurveyareawerecalculatedforbluewhales(N = 78;D =0.001;CV = 1.22),finwhales(N = 3,581;D=0.022;CV=0.28),humpbackwhales(N = 3,054;D=0.019;CV =0.71),killerwhales(N = 950;D=0.0058;CV=0.73),spermwhales(N = 296;D=0.0018;CV(N)=0.57),andDall’sporpoise(N=11,924;D=0.072;CV=0.28).Aseconddensityandabundanceestimatewasobtainedforspermwhalesusingacousticlocalizationsfromthetowed-hydrophonearray(N=215;D=0.0013;CV=0.18).

ResultsfromthissurveyprovideoneofthemostcomprehensivedatasetsoncetaceanoccurrenceanddistributionwithinthecentralGOA.Visualandacousticdetectionsweresufficienttocalculatedensityandabundanceestimatesforsixcetaceanspecies.NewinformationonmovementsandhabitatusewithintheGOAweredocumentedthroughthefirstsatellite-tagdeploymentsonblueandBaird’sbeakedwhaleswithinthisregion.Photographicdatacontributedtoknowl-edgeonseasonalpresenceofidentifiedindividuals.Overall,GOALSIIwasoverwhelminglysuccessfulandprovidedvaluablenewdataoncetaceanswithinanareaoftheGOAthatisrarelysurveyed.

By Brenda K. Rone

Figure 6 . Satellite telemetry locations of two tagged whales during the GOALS II research cruise (blue = blue whale, red = Baird’s beaked whale) .

Figure 3 . Odontocete sightings and visual survey effort for the GOALS II research cruise . Figure 5 . Sonobuoy deployments and detections for the GOALS II research cruise .

Table 2. Estimates of abundance (individuals) and CV (in parenthesis) for blue, fin, and humpback whales after pro-rating the abundance of unidentified large whales. Estimates were not corrected for the proportion of animals missed on the trackline.

Species

Stratum

TotalInshore Offshore Seamount Slope

Blue whale 78 (1.22) 78 (1.22)

Fin whale 1,610 (0.49) 1,265 (0.27) 207 (0.39) 499 (0.21) 3,581 (0.28)

Humpback whale

2,927(0.74) 65 (0.76) 53 (0.64) 9 (1.03) 3,054 (0.71)

Sperm whale - visual

31 (1.09) 265 (0.58) 296 (0.57)

Sperm whale - acoustic

78 (0.36) 16 (0.55) 121 (0.18) 215 (0.18)

Killer whale 117 (0.60) 107 (0.77) 726 (1.93) 950 (0.73)

Dall’s porpoise1

4,873 (0.50) 1,658 (0.52) 486 (0.41) 4,907 (0.36) 11,924 (0.28)

1 Dall’s porpoise estimates assume no responsive movement occurred prior to detection, an assumption often violated as this species tends to approach the vessel for bow riding.

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A Research Cruise to Study the Ecology of Ice-Associated Seals in the Central Bering Sea Aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson in April 2014

Figure 1 . Photo of NMML researchers releasing a tagged ribbon seal and her pup on an ice floe . The NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson is in the background . Photo by Brett McClintock.

TheNationalMarineMammalLaboratory’s(NMML)PolarEcosystemsProgram(PEP)conductedanice-sealresearchcruiseinthecentralBeringSeathisspring,from4Aprilto1May2014,aboardtheNOAAShipOscarDyson.Oneofthepri-maryobjectivesforthecruisewastodeploysatellite-linkedtagsonribbonandspottedseals,whicharecloselyassociatedwithseaiceduringthistimeofyear(Fig1).Thedatacollectedbythesatellite-linkedtagswill,togetherwithinformationcollectedduringsimilarcruisessince2005,provideinformationonthetimingofhaulingout(criticalforcalculatingabundanceestimatesfromaerialsurveys)anddivebehaviorandseasonalmovements(usefulinidentifyingimportanthabitat).

TheOscarDysondepartedKodiak,Alaska,ontheafternoonof4AprilandarrivedatthesouthernedgeofthemarginalicezoneoftheBeringSeaon8April.OurfieldcrewconsistedofeightPEPbiologistsandoneveterinarian.Atypicaldayconsistedofsurveywatchesfrom9amto6pmHawaii-AleutianTime(HAST:UTC-10:00),whiletransitingalongtheedgeofandwithinthemarginalpackice.Oncethenumbersofsealsobservedandthecharacteristicsoftheseaicewarrantedit,smallboatswerelaunchedforsealtaggingandsamplingoperations.Smallboatswerelaunchedon13of20daysintheoperationsarea,withtheremainderlosttounsuitableweatheroricecharacteristics;muchofthemarginalicezoneconsistedofyoung,thiniceformedlateinthewinterthatwaseasilymovedandbrokenbytheswellandnotofthetypepreferredbyseals.ThemajorityoftheoperationswereconcentratedintheareawestofSt.MatthewIsland,Alaska(Fig.2).

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Figure 2 . Cruise track of the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson from Kodiak, Alaska, on 4 April to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on 1 May 2014 .

Wecaptured,handled,andreleased19ribbon,8spotted,and2beardedseals,foratotalof29individuals.Sealswerecapturedonicefloeswithhand-heldland-ingnets.Weattachedsatellitetransmittersto14ribbonand5spottedseals.MostofthetransmitterswereSPOTtags(WildlifeComputers,Redmond,WA),attachedtotheseals’hind-flippers,thatprovidelong-termmovementdataandhaul-outtimelinesbutonlywhenthesealsarehauledoutwiththeirflippersexposed.TheremainingtransmitterswereSPLASHtags(WildlifeComputers,Redmond,WA)thatprovidemoredetailedinformationaboutlocationsatseaanddivingbehavior.SPLASHtagsmustbegluedtothehairontheseals’backorhead(Fig.1).

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Figure 3 . Preliminary map of ribbon (green) and spotted (purple) seal movements from ARGOS satellite tags from April to July 2014 . Tagging locations are shown as yellow stars .

AdultspottedandribbonsealsundergoanannualmoltinMayandJune,sotheSPLASHtagsareexpectedtoprovidedataforonlyafewweeksormonthsbeforebeingshed.Datafromthedeployedtagsarealreadyprovidinginformation(Fig.3).Asobservedfromtagsdeployedinpreviousyears,bothribbonandspottedsealshaveastrongassociationwiththeseaice.Astheseaiceretreatedinearlysum-mer,thespottedsealstendedtoheadtowardsmorecoastalhabitatsalongAlaskaorRussiawhileribbonsealsremainedintheice-freewatersneartheshelfbreakandovertheAleutianBasin.

Inadditiontolocationestimates,theSPLASHtagsdeployedonthiscruiseprovideimportantbehavioraldata.Divingisanindicatorofforagingactivityandlongperiodsatthesurfaceindicatehaul-outandrestingbehaviors.Figure4providesagraphicrepresentationofdivesforoneadultandfouryoung-of-the-yearspot-tedseals.Theadultsealexhibitsreduceddiveactivityandmoresurfacebehaviorleadinguptotheannualmolt.Theyounganimalsshowincreaseddiveactivityastheylearntodiveandsurviveontheirown.Thesespottedsealsarelikelyfocusedondemersalfishspeciesand,thus,variationinthemaximumdivedepthvaluesovertimeislargelyanindicatoroftheBeringSeashelfbathymetry.

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Thesamplingforeachsealtypicallyincludedmorphometrics(i.e.,length,girth,andmassmeasurements)andthecollectionofnumeroustissueandfecalsamplesforstudiesofpathology,geneticpopulationstructure,bloodchemistry,diet,contaminants,health,andcondition.Datafromtworibbonsealsweresub-mittedforconsiderationascasesintheNorthernPinnipedUnusualMortalityEvent.Manyofthesealswesampledweremother‐puppairs,dependentpups,orrecentlyweanedpups—aprimaryfocusofthiscruise,whichwastimedtocoincidewiththewhelping,nursing,andmaturationofpups.Thesesampleswillbegintoformareferencedatabasethatcanbeusedtoassessthefutureimpactsofclimatedisruptionandlossofseaice.

Thisproject’ssuccesswasmadepossiblebyoutstandingsupportfromthecom-mandandcrewoftheOscarDyson,theAlaskaFisheriesScienceCenter,PacificIslandsFisheriesScienceCenter,MarineMammalHealthandStrandingResponseProgram,andTheMarineMammalCenter.

By Michael Cameron, Peter Boveng, and Josh London

Figure 4 . Plot of diving behavior for one adult and four young-of-the-year spotted seals from late April to early July 2014 . The length of each bar indicates the maximum depth of each dive and the color indicates the dive’s duration, with warmer colors indicating dives up to 15 minutes long .

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Andriolo, A., A.N. Zerbini, S . Moreira, J . L . Pizzorno, D . Danilewicz, Y .G . Maia, N . Mamede, F .R . Castro, and P. Clapham .2014. What do humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae (Cetartio-dactyla: Balaenopteridae) pairs do after tagging? Zoologia 31:105-113.

Bamford, H .A ., J.L. Bengtson, A . Chappell, K . Clark, P . Clemente-Colon, K . Crane, D.P. DeMaster, A .M . Devaris, L .R . Fisher, A .E . Holman, M . Ji, E .S . McLanahan, R .L . Merrick, S .E . Moore, J .E . Overland, J .J . Pizza, and W .J . Saumweber .2014. NOAA’s Arctic Action Plan: Supporting the national strategy for the Arctic region. U.S. Dep. Com-mer., NOAA, Silver Spring, MD. 30 p.

Broms, K .M ., D.S. Johnson, R . Altwegg, and L .L . Conquest .2014. Spatial occupancy models applied to atlas data show Southern ground hornbills strongly depend on protected areas. Ecol. Appl. 24:363-374.

Burns, D ., L . Brooks, P . Harrison, T . Franklin, W . Franklin, D . Paton, and P. Clapham .2014. Migratory movements of indi-v idua l humpback wha les pho-tographed of f the eastern coast of Austra l ia. Mar. Mammal Sci. 30:562-578.

Clapham, P., and C . Baxter . 2013. Winged leviathan: the story of the humpback whale. Colin Bax-ter Photography, Ltd., Grantown-on-Spey, Scotland. 192 p.

Clarke, J .T ., A.A. Brower, C.L. Christman, and M.C. Ferguson.2014. Distribution and relative abun-dance of marine mammals in the northeastern Chukchi and western Beaufort Seas, 2013: Annual report. OCS Study BOEM 2014-018. Natl. Mar. Mammal Lab., Alaska Fish. Sci. Cent., NMFS, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-6349. 330 p.

De Jesus, M ., G . Heckel, J.M. Breiwick, and S .B . Reilly .2014. Migration timing and distance from shore of southbound eastern Pacif ic gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) off Ensenada, Baja Cali-fornia, Mexico. Mar. Mammal Sci. 30:674-690.

Drumm, D.T., and R .N . Bamber . 2013. A new species of Fageap-seudes (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) from California, with comments on the systematics of the family Apseudidae. Zootaxa 3701:437-446.

Drumm, D.T., R.R. Lauth, R .N . Clark, and J.W. Orr . 2013. Northern range extensions and biological notes for three deca-pods in the eastern North Pacific. Crustaceana 86:1572-1585.

Eiler, J.H., T .M . Grothues, J .A . Dobarro, and M.M. Masuda .2013. Compar ing autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and ves-sel-based tracking performance for locating acoustically tagged fish. Mar. Fish. Rev. 75(4):27-42.

Fieberg, J .R ., and P.B. Conn .2014. A hidden Markov model to identif y and adjust for selection bias: an example involving mixed migration strategies. Ecol. Evol. 4:1903-1912.

Hilton, E .J ., and D.E. Stevenson .  2013. Osteology of the prowfish, Zaprora silenus (Perciformes: Zoar-coidei: Zaproridae). J. Morphol. 274:1143-1163.

Ivashchenko, Y.V., and P.J. Clapham .2014. Too much is never enough: the cautionary tale of Soviet illegal whal-ing. Mar. Fish. Rev. 76:1-21.

Kai, Y ., N . Muto, T . Noda, J.W. Orr, and T . Nakabo . 2013. First record of the rockfish Sebastes melanops from the west-ern North Pacific, with comments on its synonymy (Osteichthyes: Scor-paenoidei: Sebastidae). Species Div-ers. 18:175-182.

Kotwicki, S., J.N. Ianelli, and A .E . Punt .2014. Correcting density-dependent effects in abundance estimates from bottom-trawl surveys. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 71:1107–1116.

Larson, D .M ., and D.K. Lew .2014. The opportunity cost of travel time as a noisy wage fraction. Amer. J. Agr. Econ. 96:420-437.

Lehnert, H ., and R.P. Stone .2014. Aleutian Ancorinidae (Porif-era, Astrophorida): Description of three new species from the genera Stelletta and Ancorina. Zootaxa 3826:341-355.

Lew, D.K., and D .M . Larson .2014. Is a fish in hand worth two in the sea? Evidence from a stat-ed preference study. Fish. Res. 157:124-135.

Maselko, J., G . Bishop, and P . Murphy .2013. Ghost fishing in the South-east Alaska commercial Dungeness crab fishery. N. Am. J. Fish. Manage. 33:422-431.

Maslenikov, K .P ., J.W. Orr, and D.E. Stevenson . 2013. Range extensions and sig-nif icant distributional records for eighty-two species of fishes in Alas-kan marine waters. Northwest. Nat. 94:1-21.

Moore, S .E ., E.A. Logerwell, L. Eisner, E.V. Farley Jr., L .A . Harwood, K . Kuletz, J . Lovvorn, J.R. Murphy, and L .T . Quakenbush .2014. Marine fishes, birds and mam-mals as sentinels of ecosystem vari-abil i ty and reorganization in the Pacific Arctic region, p. 337-392. In J. M. Grebmeier and W. Maslowski (editors), The Pacific Arctic Region: Ecosystem Status and Trends in a Rapidly Changing Environment. Springer, Dordrecht.

Moran, P ., J .F . Bromaghin, and M. Masuda . 2014. Use of genetic data to infer population-specific ecological and phenotypic traits from mixed aggre-gations. PLoS ONE 9(6):e98470.

PublicationsandreportsforApril,May,June2014.AuthorscitingaffiliationwiththeAFSCaredenotedinboldface.

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Moura, A .E ., C .J . van Rensburg, M . Pilot, A . Tehrani, P .B . Best, M . Thornton, S . Plon, P .J .N . De Bruyn, K .C . Worley, R .A . Gibbs, M.E. Dahlheim, and A .R . Hoelzel .2014. Killer whale nuclear genome and mtDNA reveal widespread pop-ulation bottleneck during the last glacial maximum. Mol. Biol. Evol. 31:1121-1131.

Lehnert, H ., R.P. Stone, and D. Drumm .2014. Geodia starki sp. nov. (Porif-era, Demospongiae, Astrophori-da) from the Aleutian Islands, Alas-ka, USA. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK 94:261-265.

Punt, A .E ., and M.W. Dorn .2014. Comparisons of meta-analyt-ic methods for deriving a probability distribution for the steepness of the stock recruit relationship. Fish. Res. 149:43-54.

Rooper, C.N., M. Zimmermann, M .M . Prescott, and A .J . Hermann . 2014. Predictive models of coral and sponge distribution, abundance and diversity in bottom trawl surveys of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 503:157-176.

Shelden, K.E.W., B .A . Agler, J .J . Brueggeman, L .A . Cornick, S .G . Speckman, and A . Prevel-Ramos .2014. Harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena vomerina, in Cook Inlet, Alaska. Mar. Fish. Rev. 76:22-50.

Sterling, J.T., A .M . Springer, S .J . Iverson, S .P . Johnsonn, N .A . Pelland, D.S. Johnson, M .A . Lea, and N .A . Bond .2014. The sun, moon, wind, and bio-logical imperative—shaping con-trasting wintertime migration and foraging strategies of adult male and female northern fur seals (Cal-lorhinus ursinus). PLoS One 9(4): e93068.

Stone, R.P. 2014. The ecology of deep-sea cor-al and sponge habitats of the cen-tral Aleutian Islands of Alaska. NOAA Professional Paper NMFS 16, 52 p.

West, J .E ., T.E. Helser, and S .M . O’Neill .2014. Variation in quillback rock-fish (Sebastes maliger) growth pat-terns from oceanic to inland waters of the Salish Sea. Bull. Mar. Sci. 90:747–761. 

Whitehouse G.A., K. Aydin, T .E . Essington, and G .L . Hunt, Jr .2014. A trophic mass balance mod-el of the eastern Chukchi Sea with comparisons to other high-latitude systems. Polar Biol. 37:911-939.

Tech Memos1

Smith, K.R., and C.E. Armistead . 2014. Benthic invertebrates of the eastern Bering Sea: A synopsis of the life history and ecology of the sea star Asterias amurensis. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-273, 60 p.

Allen, B.M., V.T. Helker, and L .A . Jemison . 2014. Human-caused injury and mortality of NMFS-managed Alaska marine mammal stocks, 2007-2011. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC 274, 84 p.

Zimmermann, M., and M.M. Prescott . 2014. Smooth sheet bathymetry of Cook Inlet, Alaska. U.S. Dep. Com-mer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-275, 32 p.

Loefflad, M.R., F.R. Wallace, J . Mondragon, J . Watson, and G.A. Harrington . 2014. Strategic plan for electronic monitoring and electronic reporting in the North Pacific. U.S. Dep. Com-mer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-276, 52 p.

Processed Reports2

Jones, D.T., S.C. Steinessen, and A.L. McCarthy . 2014. Results of the acoustic-trawl surveys of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) in the Gulf of Alas-ka, February-March 2013 (DY2013-02 and DY2013-03). AFSC Pro-cessed Rep. 2014-03, 81 p. Alaska Fish. Sci. Cent., NOAA, Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115.

Honkalehto, T., P.H. Ressler, S.C. Stienessen, Z . Berkowitz, R.H. Towler, A .L . McCarthy, and R.R. Lauth .2014. Acoustic Vessel-of-Opportu-nity (AVO) index for midwater Ber-ing Sea walleye pollock, 2012-2013. AFSC Processed Rep. 2014-04, 19 p. Alaska Fish. Sci. Cent., NOAA, Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115.

1TheNOAATechnicalMemorandumseriesNMFSAFSC(formerlyF/NWC)isaCenterpublicationwhichhasahighlevelofpeerreviewandediting.TheTechnicalMemorandumseriesreflectssoundprofessionalworkandmaybecitedaspublications.CopiesmaybeorderedfromtheNationalTechnicalInformationService,U.S.DepartmentofCommerce,5285PortRoyalRoad,Springfield,VA22161oratwww.ntis.gov.

2TheAFSCProcessedReportseriesisnotformallyreviewedandindividualreportsdonotconstitutepublications.Thereportsareforinformationonlyandalimitednumberofcopiesareavailablefromtheauthor.

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The National Marine Fisheries Service(NOAA Fisheries Service) is an agency within the

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