Final Report

• Main Authors: Donald M. Schell, Amy C. Hirons
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fairbanks; Gulf of Alaska; Chukchi; harbor seal; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.160.9082; http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/pdf/final_reports/170.pdf

In cooperation with K. Frost of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, we began a stable isotope study of harbor seals and potential prey species in Prince William Sound. T. Kline, then of the University of Alaska, was a co-investigator but upon his taking a position with the Prince William Sound Science Center, the project was split into two parts, with Kline collecting data on lower trophic levels and this project focusing on harbor seals and prey species. Since FY 96, this project has remained separate, although we have been responsible for all of the stable isotope analyses run for the Prince William Sound Science Center, for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and for other investigators using isotopic data. project This has expanded upon the scope of data in a journal article recently published (Schell et al. 1998. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in zooplankton of the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Marine Ecology Progress Series 162:ll-23). Two additional manuscripts nearing publication and included in this report have resulted from this project as well. Abstract: Archived and recent harbor seal tissues have been used to determine food web structure and trophic dynamics of seals within Prince William Sound (PWS) and the adjacent Gulf of Alaska. Within the sound isotope ratios confirm that most harbor seals are the at top of