The National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) conducts research on marine mammals important to the mission of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with particular attention to issues related to marine mammals off the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. Research projects focus on ecology and behavior, population dynamics, life history, and status and trends.  Information is provided to various domestic and international organizations to assist in developing rational and appropriate management regimes for marine resources under NOAA's jurisdiction. These organizations include the NMFS Alaska and Northwest Regional Offices, the NMFS Office of Protected Resources, the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, the International Whaling Commission, and the Arctic Council. 

Research conducted by NMML utilizes a variety of methods and tools to obtain needed information. Determination of status and trends of marine mammal populations requires information on abundance, stock structure, mortality and net productivity. To obtain these data, censuses are carried out from ships, aircraft and on land. Radio and satellite-linked telemetry is utilized to determine movements and migrations, critical feeding areas and depths, and other behavioral data. Sophisticated analyses and modeling are carried out to determine necessary population parameters. Research programs are carried out cooperatively with many other federal, state and private sector collaborators.

Quarterly Reports

• Steller Sea Lion Survival and Vital Rates Research, Summer 2009
  
• Killer Whale Genetics: Insight into Population Structure
  
• Harbor Seal Census Along Coastal Alaska
  
• NMML Reference Collections
  
• The Ice Whale in the Sea of Okhotsk
  
• Telemetry of Ice Seals Captured During a Research Cruise Aboard the McArthur II in the Eastern Bering Sea
  
• Testing a Ship-Based Unmanned Aerial Aircraft System (UAS) for Surveying the Bering Sea Pack Ice
  
• Russian Steller Sea Lion Research Update
  
• Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Aerial Surveys, September-October 2008
  
• Long-term Satellite Tags on Ribbon Seals Begin to Pay Off
  
• Northern Fur Seal Research in Alaska
  
• Passive Acoustic Monitoring
  
• Review of Ribbon Seal Status
  
• Biodiversity and Evolutionary Empiricism: A Systemic Approach to Fisheries Management
  
• Steller Sea Lion Research, Summer 2008
  
• Northern Fur Seal, Summer 2008
  
• PRIEST (Pacific Right Whale Evaluation Study) July-August, 2008
  
• Laser Morphometrics of Alaska Killer Whales
  
• AFSC Molecular Ecology Research Laboratory
  
• Abundance and Distribution Surveys for Ice Seals Conducted from the USCG Icebreaker Polar Sea, 6-27 April 2008
  
• Gray Whale Counts in January 2008
  
• Bowhead Whale Feeding Ecology Study
  
• Comanagement Activities with Alaska Native Organizations
  
• Polar Ecosystems Program Prepares for Ice Seal Research Cruises
  
• 2007 Steller Sea Lion Survey Results
  
• Northern Fur Seal Research
  
• Satellite Tagging Humpbacks in the South Pacific: Windows on the Whales' World
  
• Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory quaterly reports

Publications

• LAAKE, J., A. PUNT, R. HOBBS, M. FERGUSON, D. RUGH, and J. BREIWICK. 2009. Re-analysis of gray whale southbound migration surveys, 1967-2006. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-203, 55 p. (.pdf, 1.57 MB).  Online.
  
• MOCKLIN, J. A. 2009. Evidence of bowhead whale feeding behavior from aerial photography. AFSC Processed Rep. 2009-06, 118 p. Alaska Fish. Sci. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115. (.pdf, 7.25 MB).  Online.
  
• BURDIN, A. M., D. R. HENNEN, D. G. CALKINS, V. N. BURKANOV, V. S. NIKULIN, and T. Yu. LISITSINA. 2009. Can we see a cohort effect on survival of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) at Kozlova Cape rookery (eastern Kamchatka, Russia)? Mar. Mammal Sci. 25(4):888-901. 
  
• TAYLOR, M. K., J. LAAKE, P. D. McLOUGHLIN, H. D. CLUFF, and F. MESSIER. 2009. Demography and population viability of polar bears in the Gulf of Boothia, Nunavut. Mar. ammal Sci. 25(4):778-796. 
  
• DeLONG, R. L., A. J. ORR, R. S. JENKINSON, and E. T. LYONS. 2009. Treatment of northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) pups with ivermectin reduces hookworm-induced mortality. Mar. Mammal Sci. 25(4):944-948. 
  
• FOWLER, C. W., and L. HOBBS. 2009. Are we asking the right questions in science and management? U. S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-202, 59 p. (.pdf, 1 MB).  Online.
  
• WADE, P. R., J. M. Ver HOEF, and D. P. DeMASTER. 2009. Mammal-eating killer whales and their prey-trend data for pinnipeds and sea otters in the North Pacific Ocean do not support the sequential megafaunal collapse hypothesis. Mar. Mammal Sci. 25(3):737-747. 
  
• SCHMIDT, J. H., M. S. LINDBERG, D. S. JOHNSON, and J. A. SCHMUTZ. 2009. Environmental and human influences on trumpeter swan habitat occupancy in Alaska. Condor 111:266-275. 
  
Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory Publications

Posters

• Estimated Annual Calving Rate Indices for Cook Inlet Beluga Whales 2005-2009
  By:  RODERICK C. HOBBS, CHRISTY SIMS, KIM SHELDEN, DAVID RUGH, LINDA VATE-BRATTSTROM
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
  (2010 poster, .pdf, 433KB)   Online.
  
• Aerial Surveys for Marine Mammals in the Northeastern Chukchi Sea: 2009
  By:  JANET CLARKE, MEGAN FERGUSON, LAURA MORSE, GARY FRIEDRICHSEN, BRENDA RONE, CYNTHIA CHRISTMAN
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
  (2010 poster, .pdf, 4.81MB)   Online.
  
• Bowhead Whale Aerial Survey Project (BWASP) Status Update in 2009
  By:  JANET CLARKE, CYNTHIA CHRISTMAN, MEGAN FERGUSON, LAURA MORSE
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
  (2010 poster, .pdf, 7.34MB)   Online.
  
• Efficiency of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Relative to Manned Aircraft for Surveying Bowhead Whale Distribution and Density in the Arctic
  By:  MEGAN C. FERGUSON, ROBYN ANGLISS
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
  (2010 poster, .pdf, 9.47MB)   Online.
  
• Using Cooperative Acoustic Surveys to Manage Small-Scale Fisheries: Relationships between Distribution of Steller Sea Lions, Diet Composition, Prey
  By:  ELIZABETH LOGERWELL, STEVE BARBEAUX, LOWELL FRITZ
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
  (2010 poster, .pdf, 3.93MB)   Online.
  
• The Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Opportunistic Database: A Summary of Opportunistic Sightings During the Past 35 Years
  By:  LINDA VATE-BRATTSTROM, CHRISTY SIMS, RODERICK HOBBS, BARBARA MAHONEY
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
  (2010 poster, .pdf, 1.35MB)   Online.
  
• Can Northern Fur Seals Tell Us About the Location of and Seasonal Changes in the Bering Sea Cold Pool?
  By:  CAREY KUHN, JEREMY STERLING
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
  (2010 poster, .pdf, 431KB)   Online.
  
• Estimating Disturbance of Harbor Seals by Cruise Ships
  By:  GAVIN BRADY, JOHN JANSEN, JAY Ver HOEF, SHAWN DAHLE, PETER BOVENG
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
  (2010 poster, .pdf, 3.04MB)   Online.
  
Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory Posters