Assessment of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill on Brown Bears on the Alaska Peninsula : Final Report
Lewis JP and Sellers R. 1991. Assessment of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill on Brown Bears on the Alaska Peninsula : Final Report. Terrestrial Mammal Study 4. 4. Alaska Deparment of Fish and Game. Anchorage, AK
The impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on brown bear populations were investigated in 1989-1990. Data on survival, population density, and concentrations of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons in fecal samples were gathered from bears living along a portion of the Katmai National Park coast. A total of 28 bears in 1989 and 42 in 1990 were fitted with radio transmitters. The estimated density of brown bears in the Katmai study area was 547 bears/1000 km². Fecal samples from 27 bears were submitted for hydrocarbon analyses. Four of the 27 samples contained hydrocarbons indicative of exposure to crude oil. A one-year-old offspring of one of these bears was found dead. Analyses of bile from this yearling detected high concentrations of aromatic hydrocarbons.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Lewis, Jonathon; Sellers, Richard
- Date of Issue
- 1991-11-28
- Publisher
- Alaska Deparment of Fish and Game
- Units
- KATM
- Keywords
- Alaska Peninsula, Brown Bears, Environmental Impacts, Exxon Valdez, Katmai National Park And Preserve, Oil Spills, Population, Radiotelemetry, Terrestrial Mammals, Ursus arctos