Project Information

Title: APEX: Alaska Predator Ecosystem Experiment in PWS and the GOA 99163

Project Year and Number: 1999: 99163

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2002: 02163, 2001: 01163-CLO, 2000: 00163, 1998: 98163, 1997: 97163, 1996: 96163, 1995: 95163, 1994: 94163

Principal Investigator (PI): David Duffy (Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit)

Managing Agency: NOAA

Assisting Personnel: None

Research Location: All Spill Affected Areas

Restoration Category: Research

Injured Resources Addressed: Common Murres, Harbor Seals, Marbled Murrelets, Pacific Herring, Pigeon Guillemot

Abstract: This project uses seabirds as probes of the trophic (foraging) environment of Prince William Sound and compare their reproductive and foraging biologies, including diet, with similar measurements from Cook Inlet, an area with apparently a more suitable food environment. These measurements will be compared with hydroacoustic, aerial, and net sampling of fish to calibrate seabird performance with fish distribution and abundance. This will allow a determination of the extent to which food limits the recovery of seabirds from the oil spill. Historical data from a variety of sources will be used to detect shifts in forage fish abundance and to test hypotheses explaining such shifts.


Proposal: Not Available

Reports:
Final Report: See Project 02163

Publications from this Project: None Available