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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]
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Researchers
with the Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office are conducting a variety of
projects to increase understanding of terrestrial ecosystems in Alaska.
These projects typically address how vegetation is affected by factors
such as climate change or disturbances (like fire, insects, mining or
logging) and how changes in the vegetation affect wildlife populations.
Specific projects with a terrestrial focus also include development of
long-term monitoring protocols for Denali National Park and Preserve, and
a long-term research program on wildlife and habitats of the coastal plain
of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The
Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office research extends to the coastal and
marine environments and their relationship to fish and wildlife
populations. Specific projects examine the effects of commercial
fisheries on halibut and Dungeness crab populations in Glacier Bay
National Park. Also, in Glacier Bay, studies are conducted to assess
the distribution of schooling fish and their associated predators.
Intertidal and subtidal organism monitoring is also underway in Glacier
Bay, as well as sea otter ecology studies. In Cook Inlet, migratory
bird stopover habitats are investigated.
