Gulf Watch Alaska: Nearshore benthic systems in the Gulf of Alaska. Long-Term Monitoring Program (Gulf Watch Alaska) Final Report (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council Project 16120114-R)

Coletti H, Esler D, Ballachey B, Bodkin J, Esslinger G, Kloecker K, Monson D, Robinson B, Weitzman B, Dean T, Lindeberg M. 2018. Gulf Watch Alaska: Nearshore benthic systems in the Gulf of Alaska. Long-Term Monitoring Program (Gulf Watch Alaska) Final Report (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council Project 16120114-R). Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. Anchorage, Alaska

Nearshore ecosystem monitoring in western Prince William Sound, Kenai Fjords National Park, and Katmai National Park and Preserve has been conducted as part of the Gulf Watch Alaska program over the past five years (2012-2016), building on years and sometimes decades of preceding research and monitoring. During the Gulf Watch Alaska period, we have successfully collected data on a suite of nearshore metrics, including: intertidal water and air temperature; eelgrass cover; abundance of intertidal macroalgae and invertebrates on sheltered rocky shores; size and density of infaunal and epifaunal bivalves on mixed-sediment beaches; size and density of Pacific blue mussels in mussel beds; abundance and distribution of marine birds and mammals; abundance, nest site density, and composition of prey provisioned to chicks for black oystercatchers; sea otter abundance and distribution, age class at death, and diet and foraging rate; and concentrations of contaminants in mussels. These metrics were explicitly selected because of their value as trophically-connected features of nearshore ecosystems that offer insights into causes of changes through bottom-up and top-down forces within the nearshore food web. Change to any trophic level within the food web will likely manifest itself throughout the nearshore ecosystem. For example, we documented increasing densities of sea otters in Katmai National Park and Preserve. Concurrently, we observed decreases in clam biomass and decreases in energy recovery rates of sea otters. Together, these metrics strongly suggest that the sea otter population in Katmai has reached a food-dictated carrying capacity. We observed variation in many metrics, at differing spatial and temporal scales, which led to valuable insights about the various forces that result in observed changes in nearshore marine communities during the first five years of this project.

Type
Published Report
Authors
Coletti, Heather; Esler, Daniel; Ballachey, Brenda; Bodkin, Jim; Esslinger, George; Kloecker, Kim; Monson, Dan; Robinson, Brian; Weitzman, Benjamin; Dean, Tom; Lindeberg, Mandy
Date of Issue
2018-05
Publisher
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council
Units
KATM , KEFJ , SWAN
Keywords
Benthic invertebrates, black oystercatchers, Gulf of Alaska, intertidal, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, macroalgae, marine birds, monitoring, nearshore marine ecosystem, Prince William Sound, sea otters
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Intertidal Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Invertebrates , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Birds , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals

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