Nearshore marine vital signs monitoring in the Southwest Alaska Network of National Parks: 2009

Coletti, Heather; Bodkin, James; Dean, Thomas; Kloecker, Kimberly

In 2009, we successfully completed a fourth year of protocol development and field sampling for the Southwest Alaska Network’s (SWAN) Nearshore Vital Signs monitoring program in accordance with standard operating procedures set forth for each of six vital signs (marine intertidal invertebrates, kelp and seagrass, marine water chemistry and quality, marine birds, black oystercatcher, and sea otter). Soft sediment intertidal invertebrate sampling and skiff-based marine bird surveys were implemented for the first time in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (LACL) in 2009. The current SOPs for soft sediment invertebrate sampling may not be appropriate for LACL. Site selection criteria may need to be based on observed shell litter as well as ability to access sites by plane. For this initial year the entire coastline of LACL was surveyed for marine birds. LACL had the highest densities of Scoters and black-legged kittiwake of all three parks during the summer surveys. LACL glaucous-winged gull density was comparable to Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ). Further analysis regarding marine bird surveys will be conducted to optimize sampling areas within LACL. We will return to sample LACL in 2011.The first winter marine bird survey along the coast of Katmai National Park & Preserve (KATM) was completed in March, 2009. Winter surveys quantify the abundance of over-wintering, nearshore-reliant sea ducks and their reliance on winter nearshore food resources. Higher winter than summer densities occurred for the following four species: Barrow’s goldeneye (30.99/km2 vs. 0.0/km2), bufflehead (15.22/km2 vs. 0.0/km2), long-tailed duck (13.76/km2 vs. 0.0/km2), and harlequin duck (69.19/km2 vs. 36.86/km2) than summer surveys. The next winter marine bird survey along the KATM coastline is scheduled for March, 2011.Summer sampling in 2009 at Katmai National Park & Preserve (KATM) represented the fourth year of data collection and third year of data collection in Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ) for vital signs including intertidal invertebrates and algae; water chemistry and quality; marine bird surveys; black oystercatcher diet and productivity; and sea otter diet. Little modification was made to the rocky intertidal sampling protocol from previous years and we anticipate completion of a peer review of the SOP during the fall of 2010. Soft sediment invertebrates were sampled for the second time at both KATM and KEFJ. Based on previous results from the 2007 sampling season, in 2009 we extended transect lengths to 100 m instead of 50m to further distribute disturbance effects and to sample a larger area. We also sampled an additional 100 m transect at a lower tidal elevation than previously sampled. In several instances in 2007, very few or no clams were found at in some quadrats at the higher tidal heights. The next soft sediment invertebrate sampling event will occur in 2011. We recommend that continued soft sediment sampling at KATM and KEFJ occur solely at the lower tidal elevation due to the larger quantity of clams found at the lower tidal elevation in general in both KATM and KEFJ. We do not recommend sampling at both tidal elevations. The SOP will be revised to reflect modifications to the sampling scheme. At both KATM and KEFJ, we implemented a second year of mussel bed and eelgrass bed sampling. Draft SOPs are complete and will be reviewed during the fall of 2010. Five water temperature loggers are deployed at both KATM and KEFJ. One salinity logger is deployed at both KATM and KEFJ. Temperature and salinity data from 2009 are currently being analyzed and not reported here. Four additional salinity devices will be deployed at KATM and KEFJ during the 2010 field season at each rocky intertidal sampling site.Blue mussel contaminant analysis was reported in the 2008 annual report. High levels of chlordane concentrations were found in Amalik Bay, KATM...

Nearshore marine vital signs monitoring in the Southwest Alaska Network of National Parks: 2009

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