Schoen, S.K., Kissling, M.L., Hatch, N.R., Shanley, C.S., Stephensen, S.W., Jansen, J.K., Catterson, N.T. & Oehlers, S.A. 2013. Marine birds of Yakutat Bay, Alaska: evaluating summer distribution, abundance, and threats at sea. Marine Ornithology 41:55-61.
Sarah K Schoen
Population and community ecology, foraging biology, conservation, biogeography, animal behavior, food webs, and experiential education.
Biography
Education
M.S. 2008 Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID Biology
B.A. 2004 Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA Biology/Environmental Studies
Professional Experience
2012 - Present Wildlife Biologist - U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK
2009 - 2012 Wildlife Biologist - Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Juneau, AK
2005 - 2006 Research Technician - Zoology - Alaska Natural Heritage Program, Anchorage, AK
2004 - 2005 Environmental Scientist - HDR Alaska, Inc., Anchorage, AK
Professional Activities and/or Memberships
Member, Pacific Seabird Group
Member, Kittlitz's Murrelet Technical Committee
Member, The Wildlife Society
Science and Products
Date published: July 11, 2019
Status: Active 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...
Attribution: Alaska Science Center
Date published: August 2, 2018
Status: Active Detecting Long-term Changes in Forage Fish Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Forage fish are an important node in marine food webs because they link primary and secondary producers with higher trophic levels.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center
Date published: August 2, 2018
Status: Active 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.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center
Date published: August 1, 2018
Status: Active Terrestrial Influence on Glacial-Marine Food Webs
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.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center
Date published: May 10, 2018
Status: Active 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...
Date published: April 25, 2018
Status: Active 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).
Attribution: Alaska Science Center
Year Published: 2019
Extreme reduction in nutritional value of a key forage fish during the Pacific marine heatwave of 2014–2016
Pacific sand lance Ammodytes personatus are a key forage fish in the North Pacific for many species of salmon, groundfish, seabirds, and marine mammals and have historically been important to predators in relatively warm years. However, extreme declines in the nutritional value of sand lance in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, during...
von Biela, Vanessa R.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Piatt, John F.; Heflin, Brielle; Schoen, Sarah K.; Trowbridge, Jannelle; Clawson, ChelseaAttribution: Alaska Science Center
Year Published: 2018
Avian predator buffers against variability in marine habitats with flexible foraging behavior
How well seabirds compensate for variability in prey abundance and composition near their breeding colonies influences their distribution and reproductive success. We used tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) as forage fish samplers to study marine food webs from the western Aleutian Islands (53°N, 173°E) to Kodiak Island (57°N, 153°W), Alaska,...
Schoen, Sarah K.; Piatt, John F.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Heflin, Brielle; Madison, Erica N.; Drew, Gary S.; Renner, Martin; Rojek, Nora A.; Douglas, David C.; DeGange, Anthony R.Attribution: Alaska Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Schoen, S. K., J. F. Piatt, M. L. Arimitsu, B. Heflin, E. N. Madison, G. S. Drew, M. Renner, N. A. Rojek, D. C. Douglas, and A. R. DeGange. 2018. Avian predator buffers against variability in marine habitats with flexible foraging behavior. Marine Biology 165:47. doi:10.1007/s00227-018-3304-4
Pre-USGS Publications
Distribution and abundance of the Kittlitz’s Murrelet Brachyramphus brevirostris in select areas of southeastern Alaska
Kissling, M.L, Lukacs, P.M., Lewis, S.B., Gende, S.M., Kuletz, K.J., Hatch, N.R., Schoen, S.K., & Oehlers, S. 2011. Distribution and abundance of the Kittlitz’s Murrelet Brachyramphus brevirostris in select areas of southeastern Alaska. Marine Ornithology 39:3-11.