A bald eagle rests in a tree with a small sea otter pup it has just snatched from the water. Once pups are a few weeks older they have grown too large for eagles to lift. Female otters with very small pups often only do short foraging dives and continuously monitor and reposition their pups to keep them from being predated.
Daniel Esler, Ph.D.
Dan is a Research Wildlife Biologist with the Alaska Science Center and leads the Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research Program. His work focuses on nearshore marine monitoring, drivers of variation in nearshore systems, sea duck ecology and conservation, and program management.
Science and Products
Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research
Nearshore ecosystems include many resources that are of high ecological, recreational, subsistence, and economic value. They also are subject to influences from a wide variety of natural and human-caused perturbations, which can originate in terrestrial or oceanic environments. Our research is designed to evaluate sources of variation in the nearshore and how they influence resources of high...
Tracking Data for Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Available here are tracking data of Surf Scoter, a duck species that breeds throughout higher latitudes of Alaska and Canada and winters along coastal areas of North America. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements between breeding and wintering areas.
Ecosystem Shifts in Arctic Seas
In addition to the direct effects of sea ice loss on walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus divergens ) and polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) that use ice as a platform, the decline of Arctic sea ice is predicted to promote a fundamental ecosystem shift from benthic animals that forage on the sea floor to pelagic animals that forage near the sea surface.
A bald eagle in a tree with a small sea otter pup
A bald eagle rests in a tree with a small sea otter pup it has just snatched from the water. Once pups are a few weeks older they have grown too large for eagles to lift. Female otters with very small pups often only do short foraging dives and continuously monitor and reposition their pups to keep them from being predated.
Science and Products
Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research
Nearshore ecosystems include many resources that are of high ecological, recreational, subsistence, and economic value. They also are subject to influences from a wide variety of natural and human-caused perturbations, which can originate in terrestrial or oceanic environments. Our research is designed to evaluate sources of variation in the nearshore and how they influence resources of high...
Tracking Data for Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Available here are tracking data of Surf Scoter, a duck species that breeds throughout higher latitudes of Alaska and Canada and winters along coastal areas of North America. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements between breeding and wintering areas.
Ecosystem Shifts in Arctic Seas
In addition to the direct effects of sea ice loss on walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus divergens ) and polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) that use ice as a platform, the decline of Arctic sea ice is predicted to promote a fundamental ecosystem shift from benthic animals that forage on the sea floor to pelagic animals that forage near the sea surface.
A bald eagle in a tree with a small sea otter pup
A bald eagle rests in a tree with a small sea otter pup it has just snatched from the water. Once pups are a few weeks older they have grown too large for eagles to lift. Female otters with very small pups often only do short foraging dives and continuously monitor and reposition their pups to keep them from being predated.
A bald eagle rests in a tree with a small sea otter pup it has just snatched from the water. Once pups are a few weeks older they have grown too large for eagles to lift. Female otters with very small pups often only do short foraging dives and continuously monitor and reposition their pups to keep them from being predated.
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government