Principal Investigator(s): (Include name, affiliation and email address):

• Main Author: Sea Otters
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Total Other Support; Archipelago; Bering Island; Killer Whale; Kodiak; Alaska; Aleutian Islands; Killer whale
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.553.7302; http://doc.nprb.org/web/07_prjs/717(43).pdf

Summary of Proposed Work: The decline in the SW Alaska sea otter stock extends from the western end of the Aleutian archipelago eastward to somewhere between the ShumaginIslands and the Kodiak archipelago. Although Killer whale predation is apparently a significant cause of the decline in the Aleutians, the eastern extent of the decline and the role of predation in this region are unknown. The nearshore marine ecosystem in the central and western Aleutians has changed markedly over the past 15 years. The present-day system is characterized by extremely low sea otter densities, large increases in the macro-invertebrates that sea otters prey upon (primarily sea urchins), and corresponding declines in the abundance of kelps as a result of urchin grazing. We will use the observed direct (reduced sea otter densities) and indirect consequences of Killer whale predation (change in body size, increased food availability, modified behavior and habitat use) to; 1) delineate the eastern extent of the sea otter decline, 2) evaluate the role of predation as a consistent cause within the area of decline, and 3) evaluate factors other than predation as potentially constraining recovery. These project goals will be met through the collection of systematic data at a series of locations extending eastward from the Andreanof Islands in the Central Aleutians to Cook Inlet. These data will be integrated with information from Bering Island, Russia, the western Aleutian Islands, the Kodiak archipelago, and Prince William Sound to establish a transect of relevant information across and beyond the range of the decline.