Glacier Bay Projects		Investigators
	Fjord oceanographic patterns and processes in Glacier Bay, Alaska	-	Philip Hooge
	Process structuring coastal marine communities in Alaska: DOI trust resources.	-	James Bodkin, George Esslinger and Spencer J. Taggart
	Genetic structure of coho salmon in the Glacier Bay area, Alaska.	-	Kim Scribner, Jennifer Nielsen, E. Eric Knudsen and G. Kevin Sage
	Development of coastal monitoring protocols and process-based studies to address landscape-scale variation in coastal communities of certain national parks in Alaska.	-	Gail Irvine
	Biological colonization processes of coastal streams.	-	E. Eric Knudsen, A.M. Milner, and Chad Soiseth
	Benthic habitat mapping at Glacier Bay, Alaska: Integrating physical structure and biohabitats	-	Philip Hooge and Paul Carlson
	Small schooling fish and marine predators in Glacier Bay National Park	-	John Piatt
	Testing the Effectiveness of a High Latitude Marine Reserve Network: A Multi-Species Movement Study in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska	-	Spencer J. Taggart and Philip Hooge
	Habitat relationships and inter-specific interactions of marine species of concern in Glacier Bay: Pacific Halibut	-	Philip Hooge
	GIS Tools	-	Philip Hooge
	Quantify the effects of commercial Dungeness crab fishing on the Glacier Bay marine ecosystem	-	Spencer J. Taggart, Charles E. O'Clair, and Thomas C. Shirley
	Risk assessment of bear-human conflict at Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve Alaska	-	Thomas Smith

Glacier Bay National Park Programs

The USGS, Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office (ASC - BSO), in cooperation with the National Park Service, is conducting a number of research projects in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP). Most of the research is in response to issues of concern for GBNPP resource managers, although ASC - BSO researchers are also availing themselves of the extraordinary research setting of Glacier Bay to conduct breakthrough science with broad application.

ASC - BSO has collected years of data on crabs and halibut as a baseline prior to recent closures of certain portions of the Bay. Now that the areas have been closed, new studies are being designed to use these de facto fisheries reserves for evaluating the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) as a fisheries management option. The Glacier Bay closures are providing the first major opportunity to evaluate MPAs in the North Pacific.  Extensive data is being collected on oceanography of this dynamic and changing habitat. The bottom is being thoroughly mapped as well. These extensive data sets will be correlated with observations on halibut, crabs, sea otters, seabirds, and their prey to further understand the connections among ecosystem components.  ASC - BSO has amassed large amounts of fisheries data, particularly for Dungeness crabs and halibut. Several previous paradigms have been brought into question. For example, our data have revealed that Glacier Bay halibut do not necessarily migrate to the open Pacific Ocean as much as had been thought and appear to have fairly limited home ranges within the Bay.

Sea otters are gradually recolonizing Glacier Bay. They have remarkably strong effects on the ecology of the marine ecosystem wherever they graze heavily. ASC - BSO researchers are documenting the resultant ecosystem changes and differentiating between effects due to sea otters and changes in commercial fisheries for species such as crabs, one of the otters’ favorite prey.

ASC - BSO is developing detailed, scientifically credible methods for long-term monitoring of the rocky intertidal zone to help Park resource managers detect both human-induced and natural changes.

Several seabird studies include research on the possible impacts of subsistence egg-collecting on seagulls nesting at Marble Island, monitoring the population trends and ecology of black-legged kittiwakes, and documenting the seasonal distribution of seabirds on Park waters.  Small schooling fish are the basis for a number of predator populations of fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. ASC - BSO scientists are documenting the abundance, distribution, and species composition of these critical populations in relation to oceanographic and habitat features.

Glacial recession over the past 200 years has uncovered numerous small streams. These interdisciplinary studies are revealing the important factors in biological development of stream communities. Results will provide clues for managers trying to restore degraded streams in populated areas of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

A new study is being designed to help Park managers monitor the frequency and severity of bear/human interactions at popular campsites and then create a management scheme to minimize dangers to humans and bears.

The myriad ASC - BSO and other studies in Glacier Bay provide a rare opportunity to coordinate scientific findings and information among all the various ecosystem components being studied. ASC - BSO scientists are seeking opportunities with our cooperators to promote and support integration at every step, to formulate one of the first true "Ecosystem Studies" in the marine environment of the North Pacific.

Glacier Bay Research Projects at ASC - BSO Fact Sheet - [PDF File - 513 KB]