Mandatory or voluntary reductions in ship speed are a common management strategy for reducing deleterious encounters between large ships and whales. This has produced strong resistance from shipping marine transportation entities, part because very few studies have empirically demonstrated whether to what degree influences ship-whale encounters. Here we present the results of four years humpback whale sightings made by observers aboard cruise Alaska, representing 380 cruises 891 Encounters...

Combining Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) with scientific research holds promise for more effectively meeting community objectives the conservation of cultural forest resources. Our study focuses on predicting abundance western redcedar trees ( Thuja plicata) within territories five Nations that are part Nanwakolas Council in British Columbia, Canada. people this region use extensively practices, such as carving dugout canoes, totem poles, and buildings. However, after than...

Understanding the impact of natural and anthropogenic landscape features on population connectivity is a major goal in evolutionary ecology conservation. Discovery dispersal barriers important for predicting responses to environmental changes, particularly populations at geographic range margins. We used genetics approach quantify effects gene flow boreal toad (Bufo boreas) from two distinct landscapes south-east Alaska (Admiralty Island, ANM, Chilkat River Valley, CRV). common methodologies...

Abstract Background Fish geolocation methods are most effective when they customized to account for species behavior and study area characteristics. Here, we provide an example of customizing a hidden Markov model (HMM) reconstructing movement pathways high-latitude demersal fish in remote island chain using Pop-up Satellite Archival Tag (PSAT) data. Adult Pacific cod were tagged with PSATs while occupying winter spawning grounds the Aleutian Islands February 2019. We adapted application HMM...

Abstract Fisheries scientists and managers must track rapid shifts in fish spatial distribution to mitigate stakeholder conflict optimize survey designs, these result part from animal movement. Information regarding movement can be obtained selection experiments, tagging studies, flux through gates (e.g. acoustic arrays), fishery catch‐per‐unit effort (CPUE), resource surveys genetic/chemical markers. However, there are few accessible approaches combine data types while accounting for...

Whether male Tanner crabs, Chionoecetes bairdi, undergo a terminal molt associated with change in claw allometry has long been debated. We measured molting hormone levels captured C. bairdi to assess the potential for molting. plotted frequency histogram of chela height carapace width ratios and found bimodal distribution crabs ratio approximately 0.18 separating two modes. Male less than were classified as "small-clawed" (SC) while greater "large-clawed" (LC). Circulating hormones between...

Abstract Pacific halibut is a large-bodied demersal fish species known to undertake large-scale winter spawning migrations. We characterized annual movement patterns of relative Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska using electronic tags. In the summer 2013, we deployed 25 Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags (PSATs) on determine seasonal patterns, where residency within MPA was inferred by comparing PSAT depth and temperature records stationary archival tag data...

Pacific halibut support high-value commercial and sport fisheries in the north Ocean, making survival of bycatch trawl an important management concern. We present a method for characterizing activity inferring based on accelerometer data from Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags (PSATs). A PSAT attached to fish with dart tether floats freely above vertical orientation when is stationary, but switches more horizontal towed behind active fish. hypothesized that characteristic changes associated...

Abstract Nielsen, J. K., Taggart, S. J., Shirley, T. C., and Mondragon, 2007. Spatial distribution of juvenile adult female Tanner crabs (Chionoecetes bairdi) in a glacial fjord ecosystem: implications for recruitment processes. – ICES Journal Marine Science, 64: 1772–1784. A systematic pot survey Glacier Bay, Alaska, was conducted to characterize the spatial crabs, their association with depth temperature. The information used infer important processes glaciated ecosystems. High-catch areas...

Abstract Aim Indigenous communities involved in conservation planning require spatial datasets depicting the distribution of culturally important species. However, accessing on location these species can be challenging, particularly when current no longer reflects areas with full range suitable growing conditions because past logging. We test whether using occurrence data from community‐based field surveys and archaeological records models help predict monumental western redcedar trees (...

Abstract Background Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus ) is an ecologically important species that supports a valuable commercial fishery throughout Alaska waters. Although its life history includes seasonal movement for spawning and feeding, little known about ecology. Here, we present results from the first study to use pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) track within-year movements of understand their potential patterns within Aleutian Islands. This was part cooperative research...

Bycatch of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) limits many trawl fisheries in Alaska and greatly concerns stakeholders from local communities that rely on halibut. To reduce mortality, trawlers the Bering Sea target flatfish have been developing expedited release procedures to sort catches earlier than current regulations allow, while continuing accurate bycatch accounting. We studied survival rates released three by deploying accelerometer-equipped pop-up satellite archival tags...

Abstract Background The salmon shark ( Lamna ditropis ) is a widely distributed apex predator in the North Pacific Ocean. Many sharks from eastern Pacific, specifically Prince William Sound, Alaska, have been satellite tagged and tracked, but due to sexual segregation present sharks, most of these were female. Consequently, little information exists regarding migration patterns male sharks. To better understand distribution this species, on component population as well outside needed. In...

Abstract Background Archival tags that measure the Earth’s magnetic field could provide a new geolocation method for demersal fishes in North Pacific Ocean. However, presence of local anomalies caused by geological formations such as volcanic rock and temporal fluctuations from solar storms complicate its use some high-latitude areas We assessed potential value adding geomagnetic data to depth-based state-space model Glacier Bay National Park, USA, anomaly area. developed high-resolution...