Nearshore marine vital signs monitoring in the Southwest Alaska Network of National Parks: 2012

Coletti HA, Dean TA, Kloecker KA, Ballachey B. 2014. Nearshore marine vital signs monitoring in the Southwest Alaska Network of National Parks: 2012. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/SWAN/NRTR—2014/843. NationalPark Service. Fort Collins, Colorado

In 2012, we successfully completed another year of field sampling for the Southwest Alaska Network’s (SWAN) Nearshore Vital Signs monitoring program and the Gulf Watch Alaska Program in accordance with standard operating procedures set forth for the six vital signs: marine intertidal invertebrates, kelp and seagrass, marine water chemistry and quality, marine birds, black oystercatcher, and sea otter. All analyses in this report are descriptive and no statistical tests were used in any comparisons across regions or time for this entire report. Summer sampling in 2012 represented the sixth year of data collection at Katmai National Park and Preserve (KATM) and Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ) and the fourth year of sampling in western Prince William Sound (WPWS). Sampling did not occur in KATM in 2011 or in WPWS in 2008 or 2009. We anticipate continued annual sampling in the SWAN parks as well as WPWS for the vital signs: intertidal invertebrates, kelps and seagrasses, water chemistry and quality, marine bird surveys (only KATM and KEFJ), black oystercatcher diet and productivity, and sea otter diet. Data from WPWS are presented here in anticipation that all three areas (KATM, KEFJ and WPWS) will continue to be sampled and analyzed together in order to provide a larger spatial context to the analyses. In addition to WPWS, monitoring sites area being added in eastern and northern PWS and will be included in future analyses.

Type
Published Report
Authors
Coletti, Heather; Dean, Thomas; Kloecker, Kimberly; Ballachey, Brenda
Date of Issue
2014-02
Publisher
NationalPark Service
Units
NRSS , SWAN
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Communities

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