Alaska Fisheries Science Center National Marine Físheries Service U.S DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AFSC PROCESSED REPORT 2OO1-05 Steller Sea Lion lnvestigations, 2000 November 2001 This report does not constitute a publication and is for information only' All data herein areto be considered provisional' ERRATA NOTICE This document is being made available in .PDF format for the convenience of users; however, the accuracy and correctness of the document can only be certified as was presented in the original hard copy format. Inaccuracies in the OCR scanning process may influence text searches of the .PDF file. Light or faded ink in the original document may also affect the quality of the scanned document. Steller Sea Lion lnvestigations, 2000 edited by Brian S. Fadely National Marine Mammal Laboratory Alaska Fisheries Science Center National Marine Fisheries Service 7600 Sand Point Way N.E. Seattle, U/A 98115 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction BrianS.Fadely .......1 Reports from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center Aerial survey of adult and juvenile Steller sea lions in Alaska, June 2000 John L. Sease and William P. Taylor . 5 Steller sea lion pup counts, tagging, and branding: Yunaska Island to Fish Island, 20 June-6 July 2000 ThomasR.Loughlin .......15 Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) demographic studies at Marmot Island, Alaska June-July 2000 Kathryn Chumbley, Anne E. York, and Julie Harper . 31 Using age-structure to detect impacts on threatened populations: a case study using Steller sea lions E. E. Holmes and Anne E. York . .43 Simulated brand reading test RodneyG. Towell .......45 Capture and instrumentation of pup and juvenile Steller sea lions in the Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska, February-March 2000 Johnl.Sease .......49 Seasonal diet trends among the western stock of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) E. H. SinclairandT.K.Zeppelin.. ......65 The use of fatty acid signature profiles to obtain dietary and other information from otariids CarolynKurleandThomasR.Loughlin.. ......67 Methods to determine gender and mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of Steller sea lions from fecal samples Rolf Ream .......71 iii Efficacy of trawl fishery exclusion zones in maintaining prey availability for Steller sea lions: description of Atka mackerel tagging project in Seguam Pass, Aleutian Islands, AK, in 1999 and 2000 Lowell W. Fritz, Susanne F. McDermott, and Sandra A' Lowe ' ' ' ' ' ' '75 Study to determine the effect of commercial fishing on walleye pollock distribution and abundance Anne B. Hollowed, chris wilson, Michiyo shima, andPaul walline . 89 Reports from Contractors of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center Summary of Steller sea lion studies in Russia, 2000 VladimirN. Burkanov . r07 Population genetic analysis across the distributional range of an endangered marine mammal (Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus) John W. Bickham, Robert G. Trujillo, and Thomas R. Loughlin . .lI7 Towards estimating the efficacy of fisheries restrictions around Steller sea lion critical habitat DanielHennen ....133 Trends and potential interactions between pinnipeds and fisheries of New England and the U.S. West Coast Lisa S. Baraff and Thomas R. Loughlin ' ' ' ' ' ' 137 Interannual and regional differences in clinical blood parameters as an indication of Alaskan Steller sea lion condition Patience Browne and Thomas R' Loughlin . ' ' 139 Reports from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Alaska Department of Fish and Game Steller sea lion research project summary KennethW.Pitcher " " '143 Trip report: brand resights of Steller sea lions within Southeast Alaska and northern British Columbia from 19 June to 10 July 2000 K. Raum-Suryan and K. W. Pitcher ' ' ' ' 149 Trip report: Steller sea lion captures in Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska during August-September 2000 K. Raum-Suryan, K. Pitcher, and M. Rehberg ' ' 159 IV Reports from the Alaska SeaLife Center Long-term monitoring of the Steller sea lion rookery on Chiswell Island using remote controlled video cameras Vladimir N. Burkanov and Donald G. Calkins . 169 Steller sea lion feeding regime study Donald Calkins, Vladimir Burkanov, and Michael Castellini . 199 Appendices I Contributor placement \ /ithin organizational structure of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center . .225 tr Map of Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and Sea of Okhotsk showing selected locations referred to in this volume . ,226 INTRODUCTION Brian S. Fadely National Marine Mammal Laboratory Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle,'WA 98115 This report summarizes much of the research conducted on Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) during 2000 by scientists of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML), and by researchers directly contracted by NMML. Other groups receiving NOAA funding were invited to contribute brief summaries of their year 2000 research activities, and summaries not originally produced for this report were provided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and the Alaska Sea Life Center (ASLC). Additional information on research activities conducted utilizing NOAA funds can be obtained by directly contacting ADF&G, the Alaska Sea Life Center, and the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium (NPUMMRC). An annual report summarizing1999-2000 research is available from NPUMMRC. This first version of Steller Sea Lion Investigations intends to provide a medium through which current research, and preliminary results if appropriate, can be rapidly communicated. In cases where a manuscript has been submitted to a journal for review, only the abstract is provided. Different levels of editing were conducted; reports with AFSC authors have received more editing, while reports from contractors, ADF&G and the ASLC received minor editing for citation style and table and figure numbering. Information presented in this report should be considered provisional, and should not be used without consent of the authors. Opinions expressed by authors of contract, ADF&G, or ASLC reports may not reflect the opinion of the National Marine Fisheries Service. References to trade names does not imply endorsement by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Updated and additional information and databases may be found on the NMML (http://nmml.afsc.noaa.gov/), ASLC (http:/iwww.alaskasealife.org/), ADF&G (http ://www. state. ak.us/adfg/wi ldlife/mm/mm. htm), an d the NPUMMRC (http://www.marinemammal.org/) web pages. The location of authors within the AFSC organizational structure is presented in Appendix I, and a map of the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska showing selected rookeries and haulouts referred to within this volume is in Appendix tr. I thank John Jansen, Sharon Melin, Gary Duker and James Lee for manuscript reviews, and to Keri Lodge for editorial assistance. Reports from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center AERIAL SURVEY OF ADULT AND JI-IVENILE STELLER SEA LIONS IN ALASKA, JLINE 2OOO John L. Seaser and William P. Taylol rNational Marine Mammal Laboratory Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98115 2Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation 333 Raspberry Road, Anchorage, AK 99518 ABSTRACT The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducted an Alaska-wide aerial survey of non-pup (adult and juvenile) Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) during June 2000. This was the most recent in a series of surveys in Alaska that began in the mid-1970s. This survey enumerated Steller sea lions from both the eastern and western stocks, which are separated at I44o W longitude. Adhering to protocols of earlier survoys, traditional sea lion rookeries and haul-out sites were photographed using a 35- Ítm, manual-focus camera and color transparency film. Adult and juvenile sea lions were later counted from projected images. Five rookeries in the Gulf of Alaska were surveyed twice, once by each of two survey teams. The decline of Steller sea lions in Alaska continues to be restricted to the westem stock. The number of non-pups at 30 rookery trend sites declined by 7 .57o since 1998 and 40.07o since 1989. For all 83 western-stock rookery and haul-out trend sites in Alaska, numbers of non-pups I0.37o since 1998 and 41.67o since 1989. The average annual rates of decline from 1989 to 2000 was 5.0Vo for both the trend rookeries and for all trend sites. The eastern stock in Alaska (Southeast Alaska) remained stable or increased slightly. Numbers of non-pups at three trend rookeriesincreasedby4Vo from l99Sbutchangedless thanLVo from 1989. Foralltrendrookery and haul-out sites in Southeast Alaska numbers of non-pups increased by l37o from 1998 and ITVo from 1989. The average annual rate of change from 1989 to 2000 in Southeast Alaska, however, was not significantly different from zero. In summary, overall trends remain unchanged over the last several years. The western stock continues to decline by about 57o per year whereas counts for the eastern stock in Southeast Alaska continue to increase by almost 27o per year. Sease andTaylor: June 2000 aerial survey INTRODUCTION The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) conducted an aerial survey of non-pup (adult and juvenile) Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Alaska during June 2000. This was the most recent in a series of surveys in Alaska since the mid-1970s (Braham et al. 1980, Calkins and Pitcher 1982, Loughlin et al. 1984; 1990; l99},Mernck et al. 1987; 1991; 1992, Sease et al. L993;1999, Strick et al. L997, and Sease andLoughlin 1999). The Final Recovery Plan for Steller sea lions (NMFS 1992) recommended annual aerial surveys of Steller sea lions in Alaska as the best tool for assessing population status and trends. Two peer reviews of the aerial survey protocol in 1992 concluded that a biennial schedule would result in reduced risk for survey personnel and considerable monetary savings with minimal loss of statistical power for trend analysis (Sease et al. 1993). The biennial schedule was adopted, beginning with the 1992 survey.
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