Marine mammals and seabirds in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve are among the most emblematic and readily observable wildlife in the park. A large proportion of these species is also of particular management concern, due either to conservation status, iconic, or charismatic characteristics. Many visitors to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve both aspire and expect to observe a variety of seabirds, cetaceans, and pinnipeds. Top trophic-level predators (including marine mammals and seabirds) can serve as an index of ecosystem health because they assimilate and reflect the dynamics of populations at lower trophic-levels.
Marine predator surveys are conducted along the outer coast of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve with concurrent physical and biological oceanographic sampling.
Contact: Jamie Womble
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- Locations: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
- Offices: Southeast Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network
Unoccupied aircraft surveys were conducted in 2023 and 2024 using Blue UAS to collect high-resolution digital imagery of seals at glacier ice and terrestrial habitats in Glacier Bay. These photos acquired by Blue UAS will be used to estimate density, abundance, and body condition of harbor seals. These efforts will help refine sustainable long-term population monitoring methods and improve the safety of biologists, pilots, and efficiency of future data collection efforts.
- Locations: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
- Offices: Southeast Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network
Read the abstract and get the link to a paper that looks at the dynamics of tidewater glaciers and iceberg habitat: Kaluzienski, L., J. Amundson, J. Womble, A. K. Bliss, and L. Pearson. 2023. Impacts of tidewater glacier advance on iceberg habitat. Annals of Glaciology pp. 1-11.
- Locations: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
This summary provides an update on NOAA-AFSC’s latest research on seal-vessel interactions jointly conducted with the National Park Service. This research builds on studies since 2002 on ice-associated harbor seals in Disenchantment Bay focused on effects such as when, where, and at what distances vessels were causing a disturbance. By employing GPS satellite tracking (for both seals and ships), we aim to address broader population-level effects.
- Offices: Southeast Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network, Southwest Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network
Oceans have always been integral to the people inhabiting Alaska, driving culture and economics for thousands of years. Ecologically, productive northern oceans and seas provide abundant and commercially important fisheries and habitat for marine mammals, seabirds, shorebirds, and many other species. Recent marine heatwaves provide a window into what may happen to ocean life in a warming world. Alaska Park Science 22(1), 2023
- Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Seals Depend on Ice from Tidewater Glaciers
- Locations: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Read the abstract and link to a journal article that describes the links between ice habitat created by tidewater glaciers and harbor seal population distribution and abundance: Womble, J. N., P. J. Williams, R. W. McNabb, A. Prakash, R. Gens, B. S. Sedinger, and C. R. Acevedo. 2021. Harbor seals as sentinels of ice dynamics in tidewater glacier fjords. Frontiers in Marine Science.
- Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Counting Sea Lions
- Locations: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Read the abstract and link to a newly published article on estimating sea lion abundance: Whitlock, S. L., J. N. Womble, J. N. and J. T. Peterson. 2020. Modelling pinniped abundance and distribution by combining counts at terrestrial sites and in-water sightings. Ecological Modelling 420:108965.
- Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Combining the Old and the New to Monitor Harbor Seals
- Locations: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Read the abstract and get the link to a peer-reviewed article on a method used to combine datasets for harbor seal abundance counts: Womble, J. N., J. M. Ver Hoef, S. M. Gende, and E. A. Mathews. 2020. Calibrating and adjusting counts of harbor seals in a tidewater glacier fjord to estimate abundance and trends from 1992-2017. Ecosphere 11(4): e03111.
- Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Glacier Bay Steller Sea Lions
- Locations: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Read the abstract and get the link to an article recently published in Endangered Species Research: Rehberg, M., L. Jemison, J. N. Womble, and G. O’Corry-Crowe. 2018. Winter movements and long-term dispersal of Steller sea lions in the Glacier Bay region of Southeast Alaska. Endangered Species Research 37:11-24.
Last updated: February 29, 2024