Harbor Seal Monitoring in coastal Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Kozie K, Martin W, Mcdonald L, Schroeder M, Matthews B, Mossman R, Kern J, Route B. Harbor Seal Monitoring in coastal Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. 1994. National Park Service
Limited data is available on the status of harbor seals in Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST), specifically Icy and Disenchantment Bays. A breeding population of up to several thousand seals was reported in Icy Bay and 700 to 900 seals were observed in Disenchantment Bay during 1992 (Kozie 1992). However, these numbers are based on incidental or casual observations. Seal populations were surveyed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) during 1991-1993 in response to the alarming declines in parts of Alaska and as directed by the 1988 amendment to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NMFS documented 907 seals in Icy Bay and 747 seals in Disenchantment Bay in mid-September 1993 (Loughlin 1994). These data may under estimate the population. A ten-fold reduction in seal populations occurred in Glacier Bay between mid-August and mid-September due to movements of seals outside the bay (Mathews 1993). Similar movements may have occurred in Icy and Disenchantment Bays. Additionally, while minimum population estimates are extremely important for baseline information, these surveys were not designed to detect statistically significant changes in population numbers between years. The purpose of this study was to develop long term monitoring methods for harbor seal pup and population surveys in Icy Bay. Four different survey methods were used and evaluated in population surveys: transects, minimum counts, double counts, aerial photography. Transects were flown in a zig-zag pattern, a circle pattern, and a random sample of 6 out of 12 parallel lines over the main aggregation.
- Type
- Project
- Authors
- Kozie, Karin; Martin, Wendy; Mcdonald, Lyman; Schroeder, Mark; Matthews, B; Mossman, R; Kern, John; Route, Bill
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- CAKN , SEAN , WRST
- Keywords
- adult pup ratios, DatasetCatalog, Disenchantment Bay, Harbor Seals, Icy Bay, Marine Mammals, Phoca vitulina richardsi, Population, Protocol development, Survey Methods, Wildlife, Wildlife Management, Wrangell - St Elias National Park, WRST, Yakutat Bay
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals