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EVOSTC Project Info: 080804 - Significance of Whale Predation

Project Information


Title: Significance of Whale Predation On Natural Mortality Rate of Pacific Herring in Prince William Sound

Project Research Location

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Project Year and Number: 2008: 080804

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2010: 10100804 , 2009: 090804 , 2007: 070804

Principal Investigator (PI): Jeep Rice , NOAA

Assisting Personnel: Ron Heintz , John Moran , Terry Quinn , Jan Straley

Research Location: Prince William Sound, Sitka Sound, and Southern Lynn Canal

Restoration Category: Research

Injured Resources Addressed: Pacific Herring

Abstract: Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) in Prince William Sound (PWS) have been classified as "not-recovered" by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. Predation by marine mammals has been cited as a factor in the failure of this population to rebound. We will assess the significance of humpback whale predation on herring in PWS, particularly in winter. Specifically we will estimate the number of whales foraging in winter, determine when and if there is a prey switch to herring, and how long whales focus on herring as prey. Year one was funded, small in scale with an intense monitoring strategy; year 2 would expand the scale up in area significantly. These data will be combined in a bioenergetic model to determine numbers of herring consumed (and energy content consumed). Lastly, the estimated numbers of herring consumed would be included in an age-structured model so that the significance of whale predation on herring recovery can be evaluated.


Keywords

Geographic Regions Prince William Sound
Southeast Alaska
Species Fish - Forage fish
Fish - Herring
Marine Mammals - Cetaceans (whales, dolphin, porpoises)
Marine Mammals - Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, walrus)
Fields of Expertise Bio-Energetics
Ecology
Management & Policy
Population Biology
Statistics
Technological Methods Acoustics/hydroacoustics
Calorimetric Analysis
Fatty Acid Analysis
Geographic information systems/Mapping
Modeling
Professional Activity Field research and Data Collection
Fishery management
Ecosystems Marine – Benthic
Marine – Nearshore
Marine – Pelagic
Species Specific Research Issues Fish - Distribution and abundance
Fish - Ecosystems indicators
Fish - Predator-prey interactions
Macro-invertebrates - Predator-prey interactions
Marine Mammals - Distribution and abundance
Marine Mammals - Foraging ecology
Marine Mammals - Predator-prey interactions

DPD (detailed project description): View (408KB)

Funding Recommendations: View

Funding Detail For: 2008

Quarterly Project Tasks For: 2008

Annual Report: 2008: View (853KB)

Final Report: See Project 090804

Publications from this Project: None Available


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Project Number Detailed Project Description Annual Reports Final Report Data
2010: 10100804 View 2010: Due 09/01/2010 Draft Final Report Due 4/15/11 No datasets
2009: 090804 View 2009: View (334KB) Draft Final Report Due 4/15/10 See Project 10100804
2007: 070804 View 2007: View (37KB) See Project 090804 See Project 10100804