Predator-prey interactions, population ecology, forage fish, seabirds, conservation biology, animal behavior, environmental drivers and experiential education.
Caitlin is a biologist working on the status and trends of seabirds and forage fish in lower Cook Inlet. This work includes hydroacoustic-trawl surveys to monitor changing forage fish availability, as well as monitoring breeding colonies of Black-legged Kittiwakes and Common Murres. Caitlin also assists with the Gulf Watch Alaska program, specifically integrated predator prey surveys which tracks humpback whale foraging behavior in Prince William Sound.
Professional Experience
2019 - Present Biologist, USGS Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK
2018 - 2019 Biological Science Technician USGS Alaska Science Center Anchorage, AK
2015 - 2018 Teaching Assistant/Scientific Writing Tutor/Aquarist Alaska Pacific University Anchorage, AK
2013 - 2015 Research Advisor Operation Wallacea Staunton, VA
Education and Certifications
MSc 2018 Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, AK Environmental Science
BSc 2013 University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL Marine Biology
Science and Products
Seabird Die-offs in Alaska
Seabirds and Forage Fish Ecology
Q&A: Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
Condition of Forage Fish in Prince William Sound During the Marine Heatwave
Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
Detecting Long-term Changes in Forage Fish Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Seabird Diet Data Collected on Middleton Island, Gulf of Alaska
Assessing the Status and Trends of Seabirds and Forage Fish in Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska
Pelagic Forage Fish Distribution Abundance and Body Condition
Lingering impacts of the 2014-2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave on seabird demography in Cook Inlet, Alaska (USA)
Melanism in a Common Murre Uria aalge in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
Another bad year for seabirds on Gull Island
Monitoring the recovery of seabirds and forage fish following a major ecosystem disruption in Lower Cook Inlet
Reduced quality and synchronous collapse of forage species disrupts trophic transfer during a prolonged marine heatwave
Heatwave-induced synchrony within forage fish portfolio disrupts energy flow to top pelagic predators
Seabird synthesis
Science and Products
- Science
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.Seabirds and Forage Fish Ecology
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...Q&A: Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
Alaska has over 6,500 miles of coastline and the marine areas off these coasts are some of the most productive in the world in terms of fish and the seabirds that often feed on those fish. Almost 100 million seabirds breed and nest along the rocky and grassy coastlines of Alaska. The status and population trends of fish and seabirds is of interest to many people in Alaska because their abundance...Condition of Forage Fish in Prince William Sound During the Marine Heatwave
Changes in the body condition of a key forage fish species, Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), are examined to understand how energy transfer to predators may have been disrupted during the recent marine heatwave in the North Pacific (late 2013 to mid 2016).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.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. - Data
Seabird Diet Data Collected on Middleton Island, Gulf of Alaska
These data are part of the Gulf Watch Alaska (GWA) long-term monitoring program and contain diet data from Black-legged Kittiwakes (BLKI), Rhinoceros Auklets (RHAU), and Tufted puffins (TUPU) located on Middleton Island in Prince William Sound, Gulf of Alaska. The first table consists of information on seabird diet samples including the sampling method and number of prey types identified per samplAssessing the Status and Trends of Seabirds and Forage Fish in Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska
This data release is composed of six datasets regarding colonial seabirds and forage fish at two seabird nesting colonies on Gull and Chisik Islands in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. These data were collected to detect changes in the breeding population of Black-legged Kittiwakes and Common Murres on two nesting colonies in lower Cook Inlet and to compare those counts to baseline counts from 1995-1999.Pelagic Forage Fish Distribution Abundance and Body Condition
Monitoring long-term changes in forage fish distribution, abundance and body condition in the Prince William Sound 2012-2019. - Multimedia
- Publications
Lingering impacts of the 2014-2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave on seabird demography in Cook Inlet, Alaska (USA)
A protracted period (2014-2016) of anomalously warm water in the northeast Pacific Ocean precipitated an extensive die-off of common murres Uria aalge (hereafter ‘murres’) during 2015-2016, accompanied by reduced colony attendance and reproductive success of murres and black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla (‘kittiwakes’) starting in 2015. Most murres died of starvation following a large-scale rAuthorsSarah K. Schoen, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Caitlin Elizabeth Marsteller, John F. PiattMelanism in a Common Murre Uria aalge in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
In accord with melanism being uncommon in birds, we could find only six published records of completely melanistic Common Murres Uria aalge, one of the most widely and intensively studied of all seabirds. We added to the record by observing a Common Murre in completely dark, melanistic alternate plumage every summer from 2017 to 2021 at Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, USA. In 2017, the bird fAuthorsSarah K. Schoen, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Caitlin Elizabeth Marsteller, Brielle M. HeflinAnother bad year for seabirds on Gull Island
The USGS monitored Black-legged Kittiwake and Common Murre populations on Gull Island from 1995-1999, and from 2016-2021, following the 2014-2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave. USGS research, which is supported by the USGS and BOEM, includes population monitoring, and quantifying breeding success and predator disturbances. This information is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revisiAuthorsSarah K. Schoen, Caitlin Elizabeth Marsteller, John F. Piatt, Mayumi L. ArimitsuMonitoring the recovery of seabirds and forage fish following a major ecosystem disruption in Lower Cook Inlet
Following the North Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016 and associated extreme die-off of seabirds in the winter of 2015-2016, we repeated historical marine bird and forage fish surveys around two seabird colonies (Gull Island, Chisik Island) in lower Cook Inlet during 2016-2019 in order to document immediate and lingering impacts of the heatwave on resident fish and seabird populations. At sea,AuthorsMayumi L. Arimitsu, Sarah K. Schoen, John F. Piatt, Caitlin Elizabeth Marsteller, Gary S. DrewReduced quality and synchronous collapse of forage species disrupts trophic transfer during a prolonged marine heatwave
The Gulf of Alaska forage fish community includes a few key species that differ markedly in their timing of spawning, somatic growth and lipid storage, and in their migration behavior. This diversity in life history strategies facilitates resilience in marine food webs because it buffers predators against the naturally high variance in abundance of pelagic forage fish populations by decreasing theAuthorsMayumi L. Arimitsu, John F. Piatt, Scott Hatch, Rob Suryan, Sonia Batten, Mary Anne Bishop, Rob Campbell, Heather Coletti, Dan Cushing, Kristen Gorman, Stormy Haught, Russell Hopcroft, Kathy Kuletz, Caitlin Elizabeth Marsteller, Caitlin McKinstry, David McGowan, John Moran, R. Scott Pegau, Anne Schaefer, Sarah K. Schoen, Jan Straley, Vanessa R. von BielaHeatwave-induced synchrony within forage fish portfolio disrupts energy flow to top pelagic predators
During the Pacific marine heatwave of 2014–2016, abundance and quality of several key forage fish species in the Gulf of Alaska were simultaneously reduced throughout the system. Capelin (Mallotus catervarius), sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), and herring (Clupea pallasii) populations were at historically low levels, and within this community abrupt declines in portfolio effects identify trophicAuthorsMayumi L. Arimitsu, John F. Piatt, Scott Hatch, Robert M. Suryan, Sonia Batten, Mary Anne Bishop, Rob W. Campbell, Heather Coletti, Dan Cushing, Kristen Gorman, Russell R. Hopcroft, Kathy J. Kuletz, Caitlin Elizabeth Marsteller, Caitlin McKinstry, David McGowan, John Moran, W. Scott Pegau, Anne Schaefer, Sarah K. Schoen, Jan Straley, Vanessa R. von BielaSeabird synthesis
Overall, the status of seabirds was fair to good in the WGOA in 2020, with limited data available from Middleton Island, Cook Inlet, and the Kodiak Archipelago (Figure 63). Colony attendance remains low in some populations compared to historic levels, and some colonies were newly abandoned. However, when birds did arrive to breed, reproductive success generally appeared fair to good for fish-eatinAuthorsMayumi L. Arimitsu, Hillary K. Burgess, Robin Corcoran, Scott Hatch, Tim Jones, Jackie Lindsey, Caitlin Elizabeth Marsteller, John F. Piatt, Sarah K. Schoen - News