Marine Predators

1. Marine Predators Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

2. Justification • Emblematic and readily observable • Management interest driven by conservation concerns or iconic status • Apex predators as indicators of ecosystem health • Renown productivity of Glacier Bay Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

3. Justification • GLBA jurisdiction over uplands, marine waters, outer coast to 3 miles • Permitting authority for commercial, private party entries • Administrative and research traffic Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

4. Objectives • Determine long-term trends in the abundance and spatial distribution of marine birds and mammals within GLBA proper using grid-based sampling of at-sea surveys • To describe spatial distribution of monitored species Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

5. Technical Approach… has evolved… • Evaluated USGS all-species approach Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

6. Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program May 6, 2009

7. Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program May 6, 2009

8. Technical Approach… has evolved… • Evaluated USGS all-species approach • Strong: distribution info, relative abundance • Weak: abundance estimation, trend detection for spp. • Park: robust trends for a few key species • Polled an expert panel; ID candidate species to capture range of niches • Most marine mammals covered elsewhere; emphasis on seabirds Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

9. Technical Approach: BLKI • Long-lived colony nester • Year-round resident • Questions about local, large-scale declines • Legacy GLBA protocol American Bird Observatory Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

10. Photographic Sampling American Bird Observatory Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

11. Logistics and Budget • CESU Task Order (UAF, $28,000 FY11) • Review lit, legacy protocol • Analyze legacy, 2011 images • Recommendations • Second Task Order ($64,000 FY12) • Design chapter, SOPs for data processing, reporting Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

12. Working under the umbrella • Finish KIMU, BLKI first • Move on to next species… • Bald eagle • Barrow’s goldeneye • Glaucous-winged gull • Pigeon guillemot • Surf scoter • Sea otter Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

13. What we’re learning • Sampling benefits compared to other species: • Colony nesters; loose aggregations; high visibility • Large annual variation in counts: Breeding effort or photographic sampling? • Productivity very difficult to monitor (chick, egg visibility) • Approach: adults and nests at multiple colonies, annually • Investigate identification of an index? Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

14. Photographic Sampling American Bird Observatory Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

15. Program Delivery • White paper in final preparation, publish NRTR 2012 • New FY12 Task Order • 2012 Resource Brief • ~2,000 slides digitized, catalogued, returned to GLBA Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program

16. brendan_moynahan@nps.gov 364.2621 Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program