State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) Marine Mammal Research Priorities

Listed Marine Mammal

Research Priorities

Polar Bear    
  • Support international conservation through engagement with Range State and Bi-Lateral relationships
  • Research to expand understanding of denning habitat 
  • Detail habitat overlap with industry 

Otters

Sea Otter (Northern)
  • Gain a better understanding of predation from killer whales
  • Conduct surveys in each Management Unit to estimate abundance and population trends including age and sex specific survival 

Walrus and Sea Lions

Pacific Walrus
  • Contribute to gaps in data for population models (calf attendance, disturbance, energy expenditure)
  • Monitor health, reproduction, and disease exposure

 Steller Sea Lion (western DPS)  
  • Population monitoring and research on key threats potentially impeding recovery.  This includes brand resight work, population vital rates, and health and disease monitoring

 Northern Fur Seal 
  • Expand research to monitor trends in stock and habitat essential to survival. 

Seals

Bearded Seal (Beringia DPS)  
  • Distribution surveys and tracking movements using telemetry and biological sampling 
  • State participation in development and review of a recovery plan
  • Health and disease monitoring

Ringed Seal (arctic subspecies) 
  • Distribution surveys and tracking movements using telemetry and biological sampling 
  • State participation in development and review of a recovery plan
  • Health and disease monitoring

Baleen Whales

Bowhead   
  • Habitat changes with changing Arctic weather, ice coverage, and human traffic

Sei Whale  
  • Develop population structures using genetics.

 Fin Whale    
  • Determine population structure and estimate population size. 
  • Monitor habitat and tends in abundance. 

North Pacific Right Whale   
  • Conduct outreach to promote public reporting of sightings. 
  • Determine habitat distribution and range.

Humpback Whale    
  • Education and outreach through promoting public involvement in citizen science programs directed at research and recovery 

Toothed Whales

 

Beluga (Cook Inlet DPS) 
  • Improve understanding of factors impeding recovery
  • Explore and implement in situ sampling to address key data gaps
  • Delineate habitats that support foraging and reproduction
     gain a better understanding of population characteristics 
  • Improve data collection on key prey species 

Sperm Whale   
  • Reduce Ship Strike, collisions, and entanglement through education and outreach 
  • Determine population structure and develop methods to estimate population.

Stejneger's beaked whale, Alaska
  • Educate the public about whale entanglement in fishing gear.

Baird's beaked whale, Alaska
  • Educate the public about whale entanglement in fishing gear.

Cuvier's beaked whale, Alaska
  • Educate the public about whale entanglement in fishing gear.

Dolphins and Porpoises

 Harbor Porpoise
  • Monitor population abundance and distribution including genetic structure