Walruses
Pacific walruses were observed in the northeastern Chukchi Sea in the summer and fall 2009-11, and large walrus haulouts on land were encountered by early September 2009 and 2010 and by mid-August 2011 (the earliest recorded date of a walrus haulout on the northern Alaska shoreline). Sea ice was absent in, and north of, the study area by late summer 2009-11, likely resulting in walrus movement closer to shore and, consequently, in the formation of large walrus aggregations on land. As of late September 2012, walruses had not hauled out on land. The persistence of sea-ice remnants near Hanna Shoal throughout summer and fall 2012 likely provided enough at-sea haulout space, making land haulouts unnecessary in August and September.
Other Pinnipeds
The distributions of ringed, spotted, and bearded seals overlap in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea and the survey altitude of the ASAMM aircraft allowed us to positively identify only large walruses and bearded seals. Most pinnipeds are therefore recorded as unidentified pinnipeds (likely including ringed and spotted seals in addition to small walruses and bearded seals) and small, unidentified pinnipeds (likely including ringed and spotted seals and possibly juvenile bearded seals). In 2012, pinnipeds were seen both on the continental shelf and in deeper areas of the continental slope, similar to their distribution in 1982-2011.
Polar Bears
Polar bear sightings in the Beaufort Sea in 2012 have been mainly in the areas of Cross Island and Barter Island, with scattered sightings both nearshore and offshore. The villages of Kaktovik and Nuiqsut conduct fall subsistence hunts for bowhead whales from Barter Island and Cross Island, respectively, so polar bears aggregate at those locations to feed at the resulting bone piles. As of late September, four bears were also sighted swimming offshore near little or no sea ice approximately 44 km, 50 km, 78 km, and 80 km from shore. Polar bear sightings in the Chukchi Sea were either on or near ice floes or on or near shore. Several of the bears sighted on shore were near gray whale, walrus, or unidentified marine mammal carcasses. Polar bear sightings recorded in the Chukchi Sea in 2012 have surpassed the numbers documented in 2008-11. Polar bear sightings in the Beaufort Sea in 2012 have surpassed the numbers in 2009-11 but, as of late September, were less than in 2008.
Collaborations
ASAMM also fosters collaborations with various researchers from local, state, and federal agencies. The large study area allows ASAMM surveys to collect visual data on several physical and biological factors that would otherwise not be available and to share this information in a timely manner. Recent collaborations include, but are not limited to 1) providing real-time walrus ice-haulout information to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) personnel to assist with satellite-tagging efforts; 2) providing walrus and polar bear sighting data to the USGS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and ADF&G; 3) cooperating with the ABWC and North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management (NSB DWM) on aerial surveys focused on eastern Chukchi Sea belugas; 4) providing biweekly bowhead whale sighting data to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in support of Arctic Shield 2012; 5) providing Level A stranding reports for marine mammal carcasses to the NSB DWM, USFWS, and NMFS; 6) locating wayward meteorological-oceanographic buoys for eventual retrieval by owners; and 7) sending sea-ice images to the USCG, NOAA research vessels, and the National Weather Service Sea Ice Desk to ground-truth ice images available from satellites. These collaborations, in addition to near real-time posting of daily flight reports and allowing public access to historical data, make the ASAMM project valuable in a broader scientific context.
By Amelia Brower, Janet Clarke, Megan Ferguson, Cynthia Christman, and Christy Sims
