Scientists beach seining an eelgrass bed.

A lab technician analyzing samples.

Crude oil persisting in the intertidal.

Habitat Program Manager

Jeep Rice
Auke Bay Laboratories
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries

Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute
17109 Pt Lena Loop Rd
Juneau AK 99801
(907) 789-6020
Jeep.Rice@noaa.gov

The Habitat Assessment and Marine Chemistry Program conducts research on chemical and ecological processes that occur in marine, tidal, and watershed habitats ranging from the Arctic to the Gulf of Alaska. This program attempts to assess bioenergetics in various species and life stages, assess the impact of development and contaminants on these species and their habitats, and map and evaluate their habitat quality. The program comprises a mix of chemists and biologists focused into three project teams:

Nutritional ecology research or bioenergetics, assesses the nutritional value of forage species, including juvenile salmon, as measured by changes in lipid class, fatty acid, and caloric composition of these forage species. The studies seek to evaluate how habitat quality changes seasonally and spatially by understanding how prey organisms allocate energy between growth, reproduction, and fat storage.

Contaminants research quantifies threats from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) to reproductive, nursery, and feeding habitats for various life stages of salmon, herring, and other fish species. Much of this work has focused on understanding the long-term effects of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.

Nearshore habitat research combines habitat mapping and fish utilization studies to identify use of essential fish habitat. Additional focus has been on identifying sensitive life stages of forage fish and chemical or physical impacts of development on the quality of eelgrass and kelp bed habitats.

Genetic analyses are used to identify independent stocks of fish allowing us to meet international treaty obligations, assess endangered species criteria, and reach fisheries management goals.  A small group of geneticists and technicians genetically analyze fish populations from the forage base to upper-level predators.  Mathematical statisticians within our group then use the allele frequency differences to complete stock assessment analyses.

News and Research Highlights

		Juneau Humpback Whale Catalog A resource for humpback whale fluke identification including 108 fluke photographs as well as general inforrmation about the humpbacks that frequent the Juneau area. More>

Recent Publications, Poster Presentations, Reports & Activities

• A perspective on the toxicity of petrogenic PAHs to developing fish embryos related to environmental chemistry.
  CARLS, M. G., and J. P. MEADOR. 2009. A perspective on the toxicity of petrogenic PAHs to developing fish embryos related to environmental chemistry. Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. 15:1084-1098. 
   
• Electrical phase angle as a new method to measure fish condition.
  COX, M. K., and R. HEINTZ. 2009. Electrical phase angle as a new method to measure fish condition. Fish. Bull. U.S. 107:477-487. (.pdf, 370KB).  Online.
   
• Water Mass Variations in Pelagic Fish, Jellyfish and Zooplankton Community Composition in the N. Bering and S.E. Chukchi Seas
  By:  LISA B. EISNER, NICOLA HILLGRUBER, JACEK MASELKO, JAMES M. MURPHY
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
  (2010 poster, .pdf, 5.94MB)   Online.
   
• Tracking Fish in Coastal Alaska with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
  By:  J. H. EILER, M. M. MASUDA, J. J. VOLLENWEIDER, D. W. CARLILE, N. HILLGRUBER, J. K. NIELSEN, T. M. GROTHUES, J DOBARRO, R. F. PETRECCA
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
  (2010 poster, .pdf, 3.23MB)   Online.
   

See the publications and poster databases for additional listings.