The California Current Ecosystems Program conducts research on the status and trends of marine mammals in Washington, Oregon, and California. The research projects focus on estimation of abundance and demographic parameters and the factors that regulate population growth such as disease and environmental changes. Studies of movements, behavior and foraging ecology also provide insight into the role marine mammals play in the California Current Ecosystem as the populations recover from historical exploitation.
Program Leader: Robert DeLong
Recent Reports, Publications, and Posters
- WELLER, D. W., S. BETTRIDGE, R. L. BROWNELL, JR., J. L. LAAKE, J. E. MOORE, P. E. ROSEL, B. L. TAYLOR, and P. R. WADE.
2013. Report of the National Marine Fisheries Service Gray Whale Stock Identification Workshop. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SWFSC-507. (.pdf, 2.16 MB). Online.
- PEACOCK, E., M. K. TAYLOR, J. LAAKE, and I. STIRLING.
2013. Population ecology of polar bears in Davis Strait, Canada and Greenland. J. Wildl. Manage. 77:463-476.
- LAAKE, J. L.
2013. RMark: an R Interface for analysis of capture-recapture data with MARK. AFSC Processed Rep. 2013-01, 25 p. Alaska Fish. Sci. Cent., NOAA, Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115. View Online (.pdf, 320 KB). Online.
- SOUTHWELL, C., J. BENGTSON, M. N. BESTER, A. S. BLIX, H. BORNEMANN, P. BOVENG, M. CAMERON, J. FORCADA, J. LAAKE, E. S. NORDØY, J. PLOTZ, T. ROGERS, D. SOUTHWELL, D. STEINHAGE, B. S. STEWART, and P. N. TRATHAN.
2012. A review of data on abundance, trends in abundance, habitat use and diet of ice-breeding seals in the Southern Ocean. CCAMLR Sci. 19:49-74.
- PEACOCK, E., J. LAAKE, K. L. LAIDRE, E. W. BORN, and S. K. ATKINSON.
2012. The utility of harvest recoveries of marked individuals to assess polar bear (Ursus maritimus) survival. Arctic 65:391-400.
- LAAKE, J. L., A. E. PUNT, R. C. HOBBS, M. FERGUSON, D. RUGH, and J. BREIWICK.
2012. Gray whale southbound migration surveys 1967 – 2006: an integrated re-analysis. J. Cetacean Res. Manage. 12:287-306.
- ORR, A. J., S. D. NEWSOME, J. L. LAAKE, G. R. VanBLARICOM, and R. L. DeLONG.
2012. Ontogenetic dietary information of the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) assessed using stable isotope analysis. Mar. Mammal Sci. 28(4):714-732.
- ORR, A. J., S. R. MELIN, and R. L. DeLONG.
2012. Status of the northern fur seal population at San Miguel Island, California, during 2010 and 2011, p.41-58. In J. W. Testa (editor), Fur Seal Investigations, 2010-2011. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-241.
- Additional recent California Current Ecosystems Program publications
- Hunter Based Observations of Bowhead and Gray Whales Near Barrow, Alaska
By: J. CRAIG GEORGE, ROB DeLONG, BARB TUDOR, LEWIS BROWER, FREDRICK BROWER, BILLY OKPEAHA, BILLY ADAMS
Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
(2013 poster, .pdf, 3.4 MB) Online.
- Shark-inflicted Lesions on California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) at San Miguel Island, California: a New Phenomenon
By: JEFFREY D. HARRIS, SHARON R. MELIN, ROBERT L. DeLONG
Conference: California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Conference, La Jolla, CA, Dec 2011
(2011 poster, .pdf, 1.13 MB) Online.
- Intraspecific Comparison of California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) Diet Assessed Using Fecal and Stable Isotope Analyses
By: ANTHONY J. ORR, GLENN R. VanBLARICOM, ROBERT L. DeLONG, VICTOR H. CRUZ-ESCALONA, SETH D. NEWSOME
Conference: Wildlife Society, Washington Chapter / Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology joint meeting, Gig Harbor, WA, Mar 2011
(2011 poster, .pdf, 1.09 MB) Online.
- Examination of Ontogenetic Trends in Foraging Behaviors of California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) using Stable Isotope Analysis
By: ANTHONY J. ORR, SETH D. NEWSOME, JEFFREY L. LAAKE, GLENN R. VanBLARICOM, ROBERT L. DeLONG
Conference: Biology of Marine Mammals 18th Biennial Conf., Society for Marine Mammalogy, Quebec City, Canada, Oct 2009
(2009 poster, .pdf, 1.06MB) Online.
- Factors Influencing the Activity Budget of Territorial Male California Sea Lions
By: SARAH GUTZWILLER
Conference: Hollings Scholarship Student Presentations, Annual NOAA Science Symposium, Silver Spring, MD
(2009 poster, .pdf, 1.49MB) Online.
- Program Distance: Recent Developments in Analysis and Design Capabilities for Cetacean Population Estimation
By: L. THOMAS, D. L. BORCHERS, S. T. BUCKLAND, J. L. LAAKE, E. REXSTAD
Conference: International Biometric Conference (24th), Dublin, Ireland, July 2008
(2008 poster, .pdf, 985KB) Online.
- Double-Observer Line Transect Methods: Levels of Independence
By: STEPHEN T. BUCKLAND, JEFFREY L. LAAKE, DAVID L. BORCHERS
Conference: Biology of Marine Mammals 17th Biennial Conf., Society for Marine Mammalogy, Cape Town, South Africa, Nov/Dec 2007
(2007 poster, .pdf, 1.03MB) Online.
- Examining the Ontogeny of Foraging Behaviors of the California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) Using Stable Isotope Analysis
By: ANTHONY J. ORR, SETH D. NEWSOME, GLENN R. VanBLARICOM, ROBERT L. DeLONG
Conference: Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Annual Cooperators Meeting, Seattle, WA, May 2006
(2006 poster, .pdf, 3.09MB) Online.
- Additional recent California Current Ecosystems Program poster presentations
