Northern fur seals have declined in number / population
over 70%. While fishing practices in the North Pacific are alleged to
have played a major role, the cause of the decline remains unknown.
There has been little recent research conducted
on the Northern fur seals despite a population decline of >70%. A
coordinated comprehensive research plan for fur seals is being developed
by Consortium Researchers in collaboration with NMFS to combine the
skills and research abilities of agency and university based researchers.
This will lay the foundation for joint proposals to be put forward in
coming years for Consortium and other sources of funding.
What
Researchers hope to learn:
- A long-term research plan will be developed for undertaking
captive, field and laboratory based studies that will shed light
on why northern fur seals are declining.
- A collaborative research study between a consortium researcher
and NMFS researchers will also be completed.
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Project Outline
Two coordination meetings will be held between NMFS fur seal
researchers and interested Consortium Researchers to discuss preparation
of a general research plan and specific research proposals that can
be submitted for outside funding. Dr. Trites will oversee the Consortium’s
participation, and will assist a graduate student from St. Paul Island
in developing a research study in collaboration with NMFS that will
help to resolve why fur seals have declined. General areas of study
that will be evaluated include captive studies, field studies and laboratory
based studies as follows:
Captive Studies
Since its inception, the Consortium’s captive Steller sea
lion program has conducted valuable studies that could not be carried
out in the wild. We propose to expand this expertise to the study of
northern fur seals by establishing a parallel captive research program
with these animals.
Field Studies
There is concern that commercial fisheries may be competing with northern
fur seals in the Bering Sea for food during the summer and fall. One
means of assessing the potential competition between the two is by tracking
animals at sea and recording their feeding behavior. This can be compared
with commercial fishing activity (i.e., location, depths fished and
types and amounts of fish caught).
Laboratory & Data Analyses Studies
A central goal of our Steller sea lion captive studies was to construct
a simulation model that predicted the energy requirements for Steller
sea lions at the individual and population levels. This led to the development
of a bioenergetics model that predicted daily and annual energy requirements
(Winship et al. 2002, Winship and Trites 2003). The models can be easily
adapted to Northern fur seals.
Collaborations will be sought with fur seal
researchers at NMFS and with the Tribal Government on St. Paul Island.
Assistance from the Stewardship Program will also be sought.
Principal Investigators:
Andrew W. Trites, University of British Columbia
David A.S. Rosen, University of British Columbia
Funding Source:
NOAA and the North Pacific Marine Science Foundation
