Dall's and Harbor Porpoise Survey Data, Prince William Sound, Alaska: 2007-2008, 2011-2015, Gulf Watch Alaska Pelagic Component

• Main Authors: Straley, Jan, Moran, John
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Axiom Data Science 2019
• Subjects: Pacific; Humpback Whale; Megaptera novaeangliae; Phocoena phocoena; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.24431/rw1k32w; https://search.dataone.org/#view/10.24431/rw1k32w

These data are part of the Gulf Watch Alaska (GWA), Pelagic component of the EVOSTC, project numbers 070804, 080804, 10100804, 12120114-N, 13120114-N, 14120114-N, 15120114-N, and 16120114-N. Gulf Watch Alaska is the long-term ecosystem monitoring program of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council for the marine ecosystem affected by the 1989 oil spill. As part of a larger study of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) impact to Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) populations in Prince William Sound (PWS), Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) and Harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) observations were recorded during boat-based whale surveys. Pacific herring in PWS have been classified as "not-recovered" by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOSTC). Predation by marine mammals has been cited as a factor in the failure of this population to rebound. Following protocols established during the winters of 2007/08 and 2008/09(EVOSTC project PJ090804), the seasonal trends and abundance of humpback whales in PWS were examined from 2012 to 2016. During these surveys, incidental observations of porpoise were also recorded. The dataset is a single comma-separated values (csv) file containing the date, time, location, number, and behavior of porpoise observed during humpback whale surveys in Prince William Sound, Alaska from 2007-2008, 2011-2015.