The Polar Ecosystems Program conducts research and monitoring on pinnipeds in the Arctic, sub-Arctic, and Antarctic marine ecosystems. The research projects focus primarily on abundance, trends, distribution, and foraging behavior of harbor, bearded, ringed, spotted, and ribbon seals in Alaska. The primary objectives of the program are to support management and assessment of population status under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and to gain a better understanding of the factors responsible for the dynamics of populations and their roles in the ecosystem.
Program Leader: Peter Boveng
Recent Reports, Publications, and Posters
- Bering Sea Research Cruise '09 on the McArthur II
- UAS Test Flights, NOAA Oscar Dyson
- Ice Seal Breeding Ecology Cruise '08, NOAA Oscar Dyson
- Ice Seal Abundance Survey '08, USCG Polar Sea
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Harbor Seal Census Along Coastal Alaska
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Telemetry of Ice Seals Captured During a Research Cruise Aboard the McArthur II in the Eastern Bering Sea
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Testing a Ship-Based Unmanned Aerial Aircraft System (UAS) for Surveying the Bering Sea Pack Ice
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Long-term Satellite Tags on Ribbon Seals Begin to Pay Off
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Review of Ribbon Seal Status
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Abundance and Distribution Surveys for Ice Seals Conducted from the USCG Icebreaker Polar Sea, 6-27 April 2008
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Comanagement Activities with Alaska Native Organizations
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Polar Ecosystems Program Prepares for Ice Seal Research Cruises
- 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.
- BOVENG, P. L., J. L. BENGTSON, T. W. BUCKLEY, M. F. CAMERON, S. P. DAHLE, B. P. KELLY, B. A. MEGREY, J. E. OVERLAND, and N. J. WILLIAMSON.
2009. Status review of the spotted seal (Phoca largha). U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-200, 153 p. (.pdf, 7.13 MB). Online.
- CRESSIE, N., C. A. CALDER, J. S. CLARK, J. M. Ver HOEF, and C. K. WIKLE.
2009. Accounting for uncertainty in ecological analysis: the strengths and limitations of hierarchical statistical modeling. Ecol. Appl. 19:553-570.
- ANGLISS, R. P., and B. M. ALLEN.
2009. Alaska marine mammal stock assessments, 2008. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-193, 258 p. (.pdf, 14.4MB). Online.
- YANO, K. M., J. Y. TINGG, and C. W. FOWLER.
2009. Northern fur seal rookery photo archive: Aerial and ground-level photos, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1895 - 2006. AFSC Processed Rep. 2009-03, 62 p. Alaska Fish. Sci. Cent., NOAA, Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115. (.pdf, 4.3 MB). Online.
- TOWELL, R. G., R. R. REAM, C. W. FOWLER, J. T. STERLING, L. W. FRITZ, and J. L. BENGTSON.
2008. Population assessment of northern fur seals on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 2006-2007, p. 8-25. In J. W. Testa (editor), Fur Seal Investigations, 2006-2007. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-188.
- JOHNSON, D. S., D. L. THOMAS, J. M. Ver HOEF, and A. CHRIST.
2008. A general framework for the analysis of animal resource selection from telemetry data. Biometrics 64:968-976.
- SMALL, R. J., P. L. BOVENG, G. V. BYRD, and D. E. WITHROW.
2008. Harbor seal population decline in the Aleutian Archipelago. Mar. Mammal Sci. 24(4):845-863.
- Additional recent Polar Ecosystems Program publications
- 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.
- Hemoglobin and Packed Cell Volume of Ribbon, Spotted, and Bearded Seals in Alaska
By: HEATHER ZIEL, MICHAEL CAMERON, TRACEY GOLDSTEIN, SHAWN JOHNSON, PETER BOVENG
Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
(2010 poster, .pdf, 5.94MB) Online.
- Freshwater Harbor Seals of Lake Iliamna, Alaska: Updated Counts and Research Coordination for 2010
By: DAVID E. WITHROW, KYMBERLY M. YANO
Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
(2010 poster, .pdf, 20.18MB) Online.
- Using a Continuous Time Correlated Random Walk and Bayesian Inference to Examine Spatial Use Patterns of Harbor Seals in Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA
By: JOSH M. LONDON, DEVIN JOHNSON, PETER L. BOVENG
Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
(2010 poster, .pdf, 1.71MB) Online.
- How Close Is Too Close? Acting on Short-term Disturbance to Seals Amidst Uncertainty About Long-term Impacts and Vessel Compliance Under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)
By: JOHN JANSEN, PETER BOVENG, SHAWN DAHLE, GAVIN BRADY, JAY Ver HOEF, JOHN BENGTSON, KAJA BRIX, ALERIA JENSEN
Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2010
(2010 poster, .pdf, 1.19MB) Online.
- Seasonal Movements, Habitat Selection, Foraging and Haul-out Behavior of Adult Bearded Seals
By: MICHAEL CAMERON, PETER BOVENG, JOHN GOODWIN, ALEX WHITING
Conference: Biology of Marine Mammals 18th Biennial Conf., Society for Marine Mammalogy, Quebec City, Canada, Oct 2009
(2009 poster, .pdf, 647KB) Online.
- Long-Term Satellite Telemetry Records Provide New Insights About Ice-Associated Seal Habitat Preference and Breeding Site Fidelity
By: PETER L. BOVENG, JOSH M. LONDON, MICHAEL F. CAMERON, BRENDAN P. KELLY
Conference: Biology of Marine Mammals 18th Biennial Conf., Society for Marine Mammalogy, Quebec City, Canada, Oct 2009
(2009 poster, .pdf, 266KB) Online.
- Treading on Thin Ice: Predicting Impacts of Sea-ice Reduction on Ice-associated Seals
By: SHAWN P. DAHLE, PETER L. BOVENG, MICHAEL F. CAMERON
Conference: Biology of Marine Mammals 18th Biennial Conf., Society for Marine Mammalogy, Quebec City, Canada, Oct 2009
(2009 poster, .pdf, 2.53MB) Online.
- Additional recent Polar Ecosystems Program poster presentations