Historical Humpback Whale Abundance Estimates in Prince William Sound, Alaska: 1978 - 2009

• Main Authors: Olga Von Ziegesar, Suzanne Teerlink, Terrance Quinn, Jan Straley
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Gulf of Alaska Data Portal
• Subjects: Exxon Valdez; Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; humpback whale; evostc; oil spill; Alaska; Prince William Sound; population; abundance estimates; mark-recapture; photoidentification; Megaptera novaeangliae; novaeangliae; Fairbanks; Pacific; Humpback Whale
• Online Access: https://search.dataone.org/view/df35d.124.12

The principal objectives of this study were to analyze historical data on humpback whales (late 1970s to present) collected by research organization Eye of the Whale and others to develop time series of abundance for humpback whales in Prince William Sound. This historical data is proprietary and was not analyzed in depth. Annual high-quality surveys used photo-identification, so that numbers were counted accurately. In this work a relative index was also calculated from sightings and sampling effort but found to be of little value. Mark-recapture models were developed from the sighting histories to produce annual estimates of abundance. These estimates were then used in an age-structured assessment model of Pacific herring to estimate the historical effect of whale predation on herring. The main result was that humpback whales constitute an important component of predation on Prince William Sound herring. The recovery of the Pacific herring population may be limited by this predation along with other factors. This project is an offshoot from Project 090804 and gives a 30 year perspective to the findings of that project. This study was graduate student Suzie Teerlink’s master’s thesis under the advisement of Dr. Terrance Quinn II, Professor of Fish Population Dynamics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau Center, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. No field work was required for this data salvage project. Publications and Presentations: Teerlink, S.F., von Ziegesar, O., Straley, J.M., Quinn, T.J., Matkin, C.O., Saulitis, E.L. 2013. First time series of estimated humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) abundance in Prince William Sound. (Chapter 1 of Teerlink’s Masters Thesis). Juneau Center, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal and is in review. Teerlink, S., von Ziegesar, O., Straley, J., Quinn, T. 2010. Humpback whale predation on Pacific herring Part 1: Construction of historical time series of humpback whale abundance in Prince William Sound relative to Pacific herring dynamics. Presentation to the 2010 Alaska Marine Science Symposium. Heintz, R., Moran, J., Vollenweider, J., Straley, J., Quinn, T., et al. 2010. Humpback Whale Predation on Herring Part 5: Impacts of Whale Foraging on Three Herring Populations in Alaska. Presentation to the 2010 Alaska Marine Science Symposium.