The Pribilof Islands, sometimes called the Galapagos of the North, are a group of five tiny, volcanic islands in the heart of the Bering Sea. These windswept, treeless islands are key breeding grounds for millions of seabirds and the world’s largest population of northern fur seals.

But the fur seal population on St. Paul Island, the largest of the Pribilofs, has fallen by over 70 percent, from 2.2 million in the 1950s to just 600,000 in 2004, and is still declining. Researchers do not fully understand the cause(s) of the decline, but some suggest that commercial fisheries may be affecting the abundance of fur seals’ key prey.

To investigate this theory, graduate student Pamela Lestenkof has returned to the Pribilofs for a second field season to study the foraging ecology of northern fur seals. Check this page frequently throughout the summer and fall 2006 field season for Pamela’s latest field reports from the Pribilofs.

Field Update #1:

Aang (“hello” in Aleut) from the Pribilof Islands!  

It’s good to be home! In early July I returned to St. Paul Island to continue research on northern fur seals for my Master’s thesis at the University of British Columbia. As I embark on my second field season, I am delighted to have this opportunity to share details of both my research and of life in the Pribilofs. 

I am Aleut (pronounced AL-ee-oot), born and raised on St. Paul Island, where fur seals have long played an essential role in our history and culture. The Aleut people were first brought to the Pribilofs from the Aleutian Islands in 1786 by Russian hunters, who harvested fur seals for their luxurious pelts. Today, the city of St. Paul is home to 500 Aleut residents, making it the largest Aleut community in the world.  Many Aleuts continue to live a subsistence lifestyle, relying on fur seals for food and to make traditional native crafts. 

Despite their importance to Aleut culture, the foraging behavior of fur seals is not well understood. My research goals are (1) to determine the pelagic habitat used by fur seals during the breeding season on a finer spatial scale than is currently available, and (2) to assess the degree of spatial overlap between fur seal foraging areas and commercial fishing activity in the eastern Bering Sea. 

My aim is to describe the foraging behavior of fur seals using both existing methods and innovative new technology, such as ‘dead-reckoner’ electronic devices. Later this summer, I will painlessly glue these small tags to the hair of up to 20 fur seals to collect precise data about their foraging dives. I can then use this information to depict the dives in three dimensions and identify areas of intensive foraging. These detailed dive records will ultimately help researchers to assess critical habitat, the degree of spatial overlap with fisheries, and the role that fisheries might be playing in the decline of fur seals. I’ll write more about this in August.

In July I will continue a long-term study that measures the body length of male fur seals taken in the annual subsistence harvest on St. Paul Island. Previous studies (in 2005 and 1995-97) showed that males have become shorter since the 1960s and 70s: this is the strongest piece of evidence yet that fur seals have experienced nutritional stress, a long-term physiological condition resulting from an inadequate diet. I will compare the current body sizes of fur seals in 2006 with past measurements to determine if they still face nutritional shortages.

Since my arrival, I have also been enjoying the scenery and wildlife of St. Paul Island, which measures just 14 miles (22.5km) long and 8 miles (13km) wide. The land is covered by lush grasses, dwarf willows, lichens, mosses and a variety of tundra wildflowers. Wild reindeer and arctic foxes also live here. When my research allows, I’m looking forward to re-discovering the island’s many beaches, hills and tundra trails.

Stay tuned for my next update, in which I will discuss the subsistence fur seal harvest and share more about life in the Pribilofs. 

Pamela

26 July 2006

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To see the next installments from "Summer Field Season 2006
Field Notes from the Pribilof Islands", click below:

update #2 | update #3 | update #4| update #5