This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Inter-Research and can be found at: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10835
Two novel research approaches were developed to facilitate controlled access to, and long-term monitoring of, juvenile Steller sea lions for periods longer than typically afforded by traditional fieldwork. The Transient Juvenile Steller sea lion Project at the Alaska SeaLife Center facilitated nutritional, physiological, and behavioral studies on the platform of...
The endangered western stock of the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) - the largest of the eared seals - has declined by 80% from population levels encountered four decades ago. Current overall trends from the Gulf of Alaska to the Aleutian Islands appear neutral with strong regional heterogeneities. A published...
Zooplankton fecal pellet flux is a highly variable component of the biological carbon pump. While fecal pellets can comprise 0 to nearly 100% of particulate organic carbon collected in sediment traps, mechanisms for this variability remain poorly understood. Fecal pellet carbon flux is a complex function of several variables. We...
To directly determine mortality and predation in the endangered western Steller sea lion Eumetopias jubatus, we deployed implanted, satellite-linked post-mortem data transmitters in 21 juveniles. Data recovered from 4 of 5 detected mortalities exhibited precipitous drops in ambient temperatures followed by immediate onset of transmissions (N = 3), or gradual...
Biotic resistance is the idea that native species negatively affect the invasion success
of introduced species, but whether this can occur at large spatial scales is poorly
understood. Here we re-evaluated the hypothesis that native large-bodied grouper
and other predators are controlling the abundance of exotic lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) on...
Full Text:
Progress Series 367:233–238 DOI 10.3354/meps07620.
Barbour AB, Allen MS, Frazer TK, Sherman KD. 2011
Highly migratory marine species can travel long distances and across entire ocean basins to reach foraging and breeding grounds, yet gaps persist in our knowledge of oceanic dispersal and habitat use. This is especially true for sea turtles, whose complex life history and lengthy pelagic stage present unique conservation challenges....
Linking marine epizootics to a specific aetiology is notoriously difficult. Recent diagnostic successes show that marine disease diagnosis requires both modern, cutting-edge technology (e.g. metagenomics, quantitative realtime PCR) and more classic methods (e.g. transect surveys, histopathology and cell culture). Here, we discuss how this combination of traditional and modern approaches...
Predators must consume enough prey to support costly events, such as reproduction. Meeting high energetic requirements is particularly challenging for migrating baleen whales as their feeding seasons are typically restricted to a limited temporal window and marine prey are notoriously patchy. We assessed the energetic value of the six most...
Drones provide a privileged birds’-eye view for collecting high-resolution imagery formorphometric and behavioral sampling of animals. Biologically meaningful measurements extracted from overhead images require an accurate estimate of altitude, but current commercial drones include inaccurate barometer estimates. Recent proposals for coupling altimeter systems to drones have provided customized, open-source solutions,...