With the successful recapture of our last tagged fur seal of the season, my field research in Alaska has quickly come to an end. 

This fall we deployed ‘dead-reckoner’ tags on 15 female fur seals from St. Paul Island. The data we collected from these instruments will be used to reconstruct the traveling routes of fur seals at sea, and visualize their movements underwater in three-dimensions. Ultimately, we will use this information to determine whether fur seals and commercial fisheries are competing for the same prey resources both in space and time in the eastern Bering Sea. 

Fur seals travel great distances to foraging areas. The females that we tracked foraged in areas ranging from 60-250 miles (100-400 km) offshore. Fortunately I had access to the internet and could check each night on where my females were traveling and feeding.

It is vital that lactating females find enough food to support themselves and their pup; pups depend on milk until November, when they wean (switch to solid food) and begin their winter migration.  Therefore, pup growth and survival depends on their mother’s foraging success during the summer and fall months. 

Capturing fur seals is a tricky business, and requires considering factors such things as wind direction (fur seals have an excellent sense of smell), clothing color (fur seals can see color), and the location of very large and aggressive territorial bulls. Fortunately I was assisted by an experienced group of field biologists from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMFS) and the St. Paul Tribal Government to safely capture the fur seals and ensure that no one (researchers included) was harmed, and that all moms and pups reunited after their brush with science.

All in all, I am pleased with this year’s field season and particularly appreciated learning how to safely capture and handle fur seals – an invaluable skill that I will take with me long after I graduate. 

The remainder of my time here on the island will be spent downloading data from the dead-reckoners, organizing and storing equipment for next summer, and beach-combing and visiting with family and friends. Although I am sad to leave, I am excited to return to the University of British Columbia with plenty of data to analyze! 

6 November 2006

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

update #1 | update #2 | update #3 | update #5