The photo is of two Long-billed Murrelets seen near Grewingk Glacier in Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, Alaska. This pair of uncommon visitors was spotted in Kachemak Bay during the annual USGS survey of seabirds and small pelagic fish in Cook Inlet.
Alaska's coastal and offshore waters provide foraging habitat for an estimated 100 million birds comprising more than 90 different species; from loons and seaducks that nest inland, to petrels and puffins that breed on islands off shore. All these birds depend on the sea to provide a wide variety of food types— from clams, crabs and urchins nearshore— to krill, forage fish, and squid offshore. The availability of nesting habitat and suitable prey are important natural factors that regulate the distribution and abundance of marine birds. But seabird populations are also affected by human activities that have direct impacts (pollution, bycatch in fishing gear) and indirect effects (global warming alters food availability) on birds.
Return to Ecosystems >> Marine Ecosystems
The Department of Interior (DOI) is mandated by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act to conserve and protect all seabirds in U.S. waters up to 200 miles offshore.
Media
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Additionally, the DOI is mandated to manage subsistence resources, including birds, under the Federal Subsistence Management Program.
The DOI, through the NPS, has shared responsibility for Humpback Whales and other marine mammals mandated by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972) and the Endangered Species Act (1973), and specific regulatory and conservation authority within Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park and Monument, one of a few marine sanctuaries managed by DOI.
Within DOI, the USGS has a responsibility to assist those DOI agencies with marine jurisdictions (NPS, USFWS, BOEM) by gathering and interpreting data on seabirds and other marine waterfowl, humpback whales and other marine mammals, and relevant components of their marine environments (such as forage fish, zooplankton, oceanography, toxins, etc.) that influence the status and trends of these protected marine animals.
Seabirds also serve as practical indicators of change in the marine environment— natural or human induced— because they can be readily monitored at colonies and at sea. For all these reasons, marine bird research is a vital part of the DOI mission in Alaska and the North Pacific.
We study population biology and feeding ecology of a variety of seabird species, including threatened and endangered species. We use a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates study of marine habitats and food webs so that we can better understand why seabird populations fluctuate over time. This website highlights some of the research conducted by the Seabird, Forage Fish and Marine Ecology Project at the Alaska Science Center.
Tidewater Glacier Influence on Marine Ecosystems
Tidewater Glacier Influence on Marine Ecosystems
Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
Detecting Long-term Changes in Forage Fish Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Detecting Long-term Changes in Forage Fish Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Harmful algal bloom toxins in Alaska seabirds
Harmful algal bloom toxins in Alaska seabirds
North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database
North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database
Pacific Marine Heatwave
Pacific Marine Heatwave
Seabird Die-offs in Alaska
Seabird Die-offs in Alaska
USGS Research Vessel Alaskan Gyre
USGS Research Vessel Alaskan Gyre
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Detecting Long-term Changes in Forage Fish Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Forage fish are small pelagic schooling fish that play a key role in transferring energy between plankton and top marine predators. Many seabirds, marine mammals, and commercial fish species depend on forage fish to grow and survive.
Tidewater Glacier Influence on Marine Ecosystems
Where glaciers meet the sea in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), they create unique and productive marine habitats. Ringed by the continent’s tallest coastal mountains, 20% of the GOA coastal watershed is covered by glacial ice and the annual freshwater discharge into the GOA from glacial melt is comparable to that of the Mississippi river.
North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) contains survey transect data designed and conducted by numerous partners primarily to census seabirds at sea. The NPPSD includes more than 486,000 transect segments and includes observations of over 20 million birds of 258 species collected over the span of 50 years (from 1973 to 2022).
Seabird Die-offs in Alaska
Beginning in 2015, large numbers of dead seabirds have been appearing on beaches in most marine areas of Alaska. Although seabird die-offs are known to occur sporadically (e.g. 1970, 1989, 1993, 1997/1998, and 2004) in Alaska, these recent die-offs have been distinguished from past events by their increased frequency, duration, geographic extent, and number of different species involved.
Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
A massive die-off of Common Murres was documented in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) during the fall and winter of 2015-2016 in association with a record-breaking marine heat wave in the GOA.
Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins in Alaska Seabirds
Elevated ocean temperatures are linked to the development of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Toxins from these blooms may pose health threats to marine organisms, including seabirds. Since 2015, the USGS has worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop testing methods and research projects to better understand the geographic extent, timing and impacts of algal toxins in Alaska marine ecosystems...
USGS Research Vessel Alaskan Gyre
The R/V Alaskan Gyre is a 50-foot fiberglass seiner that has been converted into a versatile research vessel to provide USGS scientists and collaborators with access to remote marine areas of Alaska and serve as a mobile laboratory. The vessel was built by Ledford Marine of Marysville, Washington in 1989 and is named after the Alaskan Gyre, a series of wind driven currents that rotate counter...
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 116
A pair of Long-billed Murrelets
The photo is of two Long-billed Murrelets seen near Grewingk Glacier in Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, Alaska. This pair of uncommon visitors was spotted in Kachemak Bay during the annual USGS survey of seabirds and small pelagic fish in Cook Inlet.
Common Murre feeds chick
A Common Murre feeds its chick a capelin at the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
A Common Murre feeds its chick a capelin at the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
Melanistic Common Murre holds a display fish
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre holds a display fish at its breeding site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.p
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre holds a display fish at its breeding site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.p
Melanistic Common Murre flies above Gull Island
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre flies above the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2018. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre flies above the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2018. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.
Common Murre holding a capelin
A Common Murre holding a capelin at a breeding colony on Gull Island, in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
A Common Murre holding a capelin at a breeding colony on Gull Island, in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
A Tufted Puffin flies over Gull Island
A Tufted Puffin flies over the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
A Tufted Puffin flies over the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Tufted Puffin carrying capelin
A Tufted Puffin carrying a bill load of capelin back to its chick on Gull Island, in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
A Tufted Puffin carrying a bill load of capelin back to its chick on Gull Island, in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
Horned Puffins on Gull Island
A pair of Horned Puffins on the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
A pair of Horned Puffins on the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Tufted Puffins on Gull Island
A pair of Tufted Puffins stand above their burrows on the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
A pair of Tufted Puffins stand above their burrows on the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Skinny Common Murres
Glaucous-winged Gulls fight over a Pacific Herring
Glaucous-winged Gulls fight over a Pacific Herring near Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Glaucous-winged Gulls fight over a Pacific Herring near Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Tufted Puffins on the water, Alaska
Four Tufted Puffins on the water, near their breeding colony at Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
Four Tufted Puffins on the water, near their breeding colony at Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
A juvenile Marbled Murrelet, Alaska
A juvenile Marbled Murrelet near Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. The Marbled Murrelet spends most of its life at sea, coming to land only in the summer to nest.
A juvenile Marbled Murrelet near Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. The Marbled Murrelet spends most of its life at sea, coming to land only in the summer to nest.
Arctic Terns in Cook Inlet, Alaska
Arctic Terns in Cook Inlet, Alaska. There is bullwhip kelp on the surface of the water.
Arctic Terns in Cook Inlet, Alaska. There is bullwhip kelp on the surface of the water.
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake from Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake from Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake, Alaska
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake from a colony on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake from a colony on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
Two Common Murre chicks
Two Common Murre chicks on rock ledge at Gull Island, Alaska.
Two Common Murre chicks on rock ledge at Gull Island, Alaska.
A Black-legged Kittiwake with two chicks at Gull Island, Alaska
A Black-legged Kittiwake with two chicks at Gull Island, Alaska.
A Black-legged Kittiwake with two chicks at Gull Island, Alaska.
Melanistic Common Murre at its nesting site
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre at its nesting site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre at its nesting site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.
A Bald Eagle disturbs nesting Black-legged Kittiwakes
A Bald Eagle disturbs Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting on Gull Island, Alaska.
A Bald Eagle disturbs Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting on Gull Island, Alaska.
Common Murres on the water near their colony at Gull Island, Alaska
Common Murres on the water near their colony at Gull Island, Alaska.
Common Murres on the water near their colony at Gull Island, Alaska.
Alaska's coastal and offshore waters provide foraging habitat for an estimated 100 million birds comprising more than 90 different species; from loons and seaducks that nest inland, to petrels and puffins that breed on islands off shore. All these birds depend on the sea to provide a wide variety of food types— from clams, crabs and urchins nearshore— to krill, forage fish, and squid offshore. The availability of nesting habitat and suitable prey are important natural factors that regulate the distribution and abundance of marine birds. But seabird populations are also affected by human activities that have direct impacts (pollution, bycatch in fishing gear) and indirect effects (global warming alters food availability) on birds.
Return to Ecosystems >> Marine Ecosystems
The Department of Interior (DOI) is mandated by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act to conserve and protect all seabirds in U.S. waters up to 200 miles offshore.
Media
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Additionally, the DOI is mandated to manage subsistence resources, including birds, under the Federal Subsistence Management Program.
The DOI, through the NPS, has shared responsibility for Humpback Whales and other marine mammals mandated by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972) and the Endangered Species Act (1973), and specific regulatory and conservation authority within Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park and Monument, one of a few marine sanctuaries managed by DOI.
Within DOI, the USGS has a responsibility to assist those DOI agencies with marine jurisdictions (NPS, USFWS, BOEM) by gathering and interpreting data on seabirds and other marine waterfowl, humpback whales and other marine mammals, and relevant components of their marine environments (such as forage fish, zooplankton, oceanography, toxins, etc.) that influence the status and trends of these protected marine animals.
Seabirds also serve as practical indicators of change in the marine environment— natural or human induced— because they can be readily monitored at colonies and at sea. For all these reasons, marine bird research is a vital part of the DOI mission in Alaska and the North Pacific.
We study population biology and feeding ecology of a variety of seabird species, including threatened and endangered species. We use a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates study of marine habitats and food webs so that we can better understand why seabird populations fluctuate over time. This website highlights some of the research conducted by the Seabird, Forage Fish and Marine Ecology Project at the Alaska Science Center.
Tidewater Glacier Influence on Marine Ecosystems
Tidewater Glacier Influence on Marine Ecosystems
Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
Detecting Long-term Changes in Forage Fish Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Detecting Long-term Changes in Forage Fish Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Harmful algal bloom toxins in Alaska seabirds
Harmful algal bloom toxins in Alaska seabirds
North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database
North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database
Pacific Marine Heatwave
Pacific Marine Heatwave
Seabird Die-offs in Alaska
Seabird Die-offs in Alaska
USGS Research Vessel Alaskan Gyre
USGS Research Vessel Alaskan Gyre
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Detecting Long-term Changes in Forage Fish Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Forage fish are small pelagic schooling fish that play a key role in transferring energy between plankton and top marine predators. Many seabirds, marine mammals, and commercial fish species depend on forage fish to grow and survive.
Tidewater Glacier Influence on Marine Ecosystems
Where glaciers meet the sea in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), they create unique and productive marine habitats. Ringed by the continent’s tallest coastal mountains, 20% of the GOA coastal watershed is covered by glacial ice and the annual freshwater discharge into the GOA from glacial melt is comparable to that of the Mississippi river.
North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) contains survey transect data designed and conducted by numerous partners primarily to census seabirds at sea. The NPPSD includes more than 486,000 transect segments and includes observations of over 20 million birds of 258 species collected over the span of 50 years (from 1973 to 2022).
Seabird Die-offs in Alaska
Beginning in 2015, large numbers of dead seabirds have been appearing on beaches in most marine areas of Alaska. Although seabird die-offs are known to occur sporadically (e.g. 1970, 1989, 1993, 1997/1998, and 2004) in Alaska, these recent die-offs have been distinguished from past events by their increased frequency, duration, geographic extent, and number of different species involved.
Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
A massive die-off of Common Murres was documented in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) during the fall and winter of 2015-2016 in association with a record-breaking marine heat wave in the GOA.
Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins in Alaska Seabirds
Elevated ocean temperatures are linked to the development of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Toxins from these blooms may pose health threats to marine organisms, including seabirds. Since 2015, the USGS has worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop testing methods and research projects to better understand the geographic extent, timing and impacts of algal toxins in Alaska marine ecosystems...
USGS Research Vessel Alaskan Gyre
The R/V Alaskan Gyre is a 50-foot fiberglass seiner that has been converted into a versatile research vessel to provide USGS scientists and collaborators with access to remote marine areas of Alaska and serve as a mobile laboratory. The vessel was built by Ledford Marine of Marysville, Washington in 1989 and is named after the Alaskan Gyre, a series of wind driven currents that rotate counter...
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 116
A pair of Long-billed Murrelets
The photo is of two Long-billed Murrelets seen near Grewingk Glacier in Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, Alaska. This pair of uncommon visitors was spotted in Kachemak Bay during the annual USGS survey of seabirds and small pelagic fish in Cook Inlet.
The photo is of two Long-billed Murrelets seen near Grewingk Glacier in Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, Alaska. This pair of uncommon visitors was spotted in Kachemak Bay during the annual USGS survey of seabirds and small pelagic fish in Cook Inlet.
Common Murre feeds chick
A Common Murre feeds its chick a capelin at the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
A Common Murre feeds its chick a capelin at the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
Melanistic Common Murre holds a display fish
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre holds a display fish at its breeding site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.p
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre holds a display fish at its breeding site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.p
Melanistic Common Murre flies above Gull Island
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre flies above the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2018. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre flies above the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2018. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.
Common Murre holding a capelin
A Common Murre holding a capelin at a breeding colony on Gull Island, in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
A Common Murre holding a capelin at a breeding colony on Gull Island, in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
A Tufted Puffin flies over Gull Island
A Tufted Puffin flies over the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
A Tufted Puffin flies over the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Tufted Puffin carrying capelin
A Tufted Puffin carrying a bill load of capelin back to its chick on Gull Island, in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
A Tufted Puffin carrying a bill load of capelin back to its chick on Gull Island, in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
Horned Puffins on Gull Island
A pair of Horned Puffins on the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
A pair of Horned Puffins on the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Tufted Puffins on Gull Island
A pair of Tufted Puffins stand above their burrows on the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
A pair of Tufted Puffins stand above their burrows on the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Skinny Common Murres
Glaucous-winged Gulls fight over a Pacific Herring
Glaucous-winged Gulls fight over a Pacific Herring near Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Glaucous-winged Gulls fight over a Pacific Herring near Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Tufted Puffins on the water, Alaska
Four Tufted Puffins on the water, near their breeding colony at Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
Four Tufted Puffins on the water, near their breeding colony at Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
A juvenile Marbled Murrelet, Alaska
A juvenile Marbled Murrelet near Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. The Marbled Murrelet spends most of its life at sea, coming to land only in the summer to nest.
A juvenile Marbled Murrelet near Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. The Marbled Murrelet spends most of its life at sea, coming to land only in the summer to nest.
Arctic Terns in Cook Inlet, Alaska
Arctic Terns in Cook Inlet, Alaska. There is bullwhip kelp on the surface of the water.
Arctic Terns in Cook Inlet, Alaska. There is bullwhip kelp on the surface of the water.
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake from Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake from Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake, Alaska
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake from a colony on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
A Bald Eagle flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake from a colony on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
Two Common Murre chicks
Two Common Murre chicks on rock ledge at Gull Island, Alaska.
Two Common Murre chicks on rock ledge at Gull Island, Alaska.
A Black-legged Kittiwake with two chicks at Gull Island, Alaska
A Black-legged Kittiwake with two chicks at Gull Island, Alaska.
A Black-legged Kittiwake with two chicks at Gull Island, Alaska.
Melanistic Common Murre at its nesting site
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre at its nesting site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre at its nesting site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.
A Bald Eagle disturbs nesting Black-legged Kittiwakes
A Bald Eagle disturbs Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting on Gull Island, Alaska.
A Bald Eagle disturbs Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting on Gull Island, Alaska.
Common Murres on the water near their colony at Gull Island, Alaska
Common Murres on the water near their colony at Gull Island, Alaska.
Common Murres on the water near their colony at Gull Island, Alaska.