Long-term monitoring: nearshore benthic ecosystems in Kachemak Bay. Long-term Monitoring Program (Gulf Watch Alaska) Final Report (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council Project 16120114-L)
Konar B, Iken K, Doroff A. 2018. Long-term monitoring: nearshore benthic ecosystems in Kachemak Bay. Long-term Monitoring Program (Gulf Watch Alaska) Final Report (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council Project 16120114-L). Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. Anchorage, Alaska
The nearshore system, from benthic to upper trophic levels, was examined in Kachemak Bay, Alaska as part of the Gulf Watch Alaska Long-term Monitoring Program from 2012 to 2016. Important habitat types (rocky intertidal, seagrass beds, soft-sediment gravel beaches) and quantitative information on key biotic elements of these habitat types (macroalgae, mussels, sea stars, seagrass, clams, sea otters) were collected and data made publicly accessible. All habitat types and elements were characterized by high spatial and temporal variability. We found that the influence of some static environmental drivers, those that do not appreciably change over the course of several years, play a minor role in distinguishing regional patterns in rocky intertidal communities. Sea star wasting was discovered in 2015 in Kachemak Bay and we assume that the higher than usual temperature conditions in the Gulf of Alaska contributed to the spread of the disease. Similarly, despite seemingly stable population numbers, we observed high sea otter mortality in 2015, possibly liked to increases in disease and/or increases in harmful algal blooms at the bottom of the food web because of the unusually warm conditions. Longterm declines in some of the sea otter prey items, especially large clams, also raises concerns.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Konar, Brenda; Iken, Katrin; Doroff, Angela
- Date of Issue
- 2018-05
- Publisher
- Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council
- Units
- SWAN
- Keywords
- Biodiversity, clams, diet, environmental drivers, Gulf of Alaska, intertidal, invertebrates, Kachemak Bay, macroalgae, monitoring, mussels, 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 | Estuarine Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Invertebrates