National Marine Mammal Laboratory

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

• Seal Disease Outbreak in Arctic - Updated Oct. 2012
• Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory quarterly reports

Publications

• CONN, P. B., and G. K. SILBER. 2013. Vessel speed restrictions reduce risk of collision-related mortality for North Atlantic right whales. Ecosphere 4(4):43. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00004.1). 
  
• MIZROCH, S. A., and D. W. RICE. 2013. Ocean nomads: Distribution and movements of sperm whales in the North Pacific shown by whaling data and discovery marks. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 29(2):E136-E165. 
  
• LUXA, K., and A. ACEVEDO-GUTIERREZ. 2013. Food habits of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in two estuaries in the central Salish Sea. Aquat. Mamm. 39:10-22. 
  
• LANDER, M. E., L. W. FRITZ, D. S. JOHNSON, and M. G. LOGSDON. 2013. Population trends of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) with respect to remote sensing measures of chlorophyll-a in critical habitat. Mar. Biol. 160:195-209. 
  
• GARLAND, E. C., M. J. NOAD, A. W. GOLDIZEN, M. S. LILLEY, M. L. REKDAHL, C. GARRIGUE, R. CONSTANTINE, N. D. HAUSER, M. M. POOLE, and J. ROBBINS. 2013. Quantifying humpback whale song sequences to understand the dynamics of song exchange at the ocean basin scale. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 133:560-569. 
  
• EZER, T., J. R. ASHFORD, C. M. JONES, B. A. MAHONEY, and R. C. HOBBS. 2013. Physical-biological interactions in a subarctic estuary: How do environmental and physical factors impact the movement and survival of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska? J. Mar. Syst. 111:120-129. 
  
• DUNCAN, C., T. GOLDSTEIN, C. HEARNE, T. GELATT, and T. SPRAKER. 2013. Novel polyomaviral infection in the placenta of a northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, USA. J. Wildl. Dis. 49:163-167. 
  
• ALLEN, B. M., and R. P. ANGLISS. 2013. Alaska marine mammal stock assessments, 2012, 282 p. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-245, 282 p. (.pdf, 11 MB).  Online.
  
Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory Publications

Posters

• Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Fin Whales in the Bering Sea, 2007-2011
  By:  JESSICA L. THOMPSON, CATHERINE L. BERCHOK, SUE E. MOORE
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
  (2013 poster, .pdf, 2.17 MB)   Online.
  
• Summer in the Western Beaufort Sea: Results from Aerial Surveys of Arctic Marine Mammals, July and August, 2012
  By:  MEGAN FERGUSON, JANET CLARKE, REBECCA SHEA, AMELIA BROWER, CYNTHIA CHRISTMAN
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
  (2013 poster, .pdf, 864 KB)   Online.
  
• Killer whale (Orcinus orca) Depredation on the Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) Longline Fishery in the Sea of Okhotsk
  By:  O. A. BELONOVICH, V. N. BURKANOV
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
  (2013 poster, .pdf, 3.22 MB)   Online.
  
• Aerial Sightings of Pacific Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in the Alaskan Arctic, Summer and Fall 2012, with a Comparison to Sightings From 2009-2011
  By:  CYNTHIA L. CHRISTMAN, MEGAN C. FERGUSON, AMELIA A. BROWER, JANET T. CLARKE
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
  (2013 poster, .pdf, 2.18 MB)   Online.
  
• Bering-Okhotsk Seal Surveys (BOSS): Joint US-Russian Aerial Surveys for Ice-Associated Seals, April – May 2012
  By:  MICHAEL CAMERON, VLADIMIR CHERNOOK
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
  (2013 poster, .pdf, 5.33 MB)   Online.
  
• Short- and Long-term Distribution of Marine Mammals in the Chukchi Sea
  By:  STEPHANIE L. GRASSIA, CATHERINE L. BERCHOK, JESSICA L. CRANCE, BRENDA K. RONE, AMY S. KENNEDY, PHILLIP J. CLAPHAM
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
  (2013 poster, .pdf, 1.86 MB)   Online.
  
• Stereotyped, Repetitive Gunshot Call Patterns Produced by the North Pacific Right Whale, Eubalaena japonica
  By:  JESSICA L. CRANCE, CATHERINE L. BERCHOK
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
  (2013 poster, .pdf, 1.86 MB)   Online.
  
• Cetaceans of BOWFEST: Distribution Off Barrow, Alaska 2007-2011
  By:  KIM E. W. SHELDEN, KIMBERLY T. GOETZ, DAVID J. RUGH, JULIE A. MOCKLIN, LINDA VATE BRATTSTRÖM, CHRISTY L. SIMS
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013
  (2013 poster, .pdf, 4.42 MB)   Online.
  
Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory Posters