Freshwater Systems
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Freshwater Contaminants
To understand freshwater contaminants, we monitor mercury levels in resident, non-migratory lake fish.
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Water Quality
Water quality is an indicator of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem health in Southwest Alaska.
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Water Quantity
Lake levels affect how water integrates energy, nutrients, and pollutants from the landscape and atmosphere.
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Salmon
Each year, millions of sockeye salmon return to Bristol Bay, infusing life into the culture, economy, and ecosystem at large.
Nearshore Marine Systems
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Kelp and Eelgrass
Kelps and eelgrasses provide understory and ground cover for planktivorous fish, clams, and urchins.
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Marine Water Chemistry
Marine water chemistry, including temperature and salinity, are critical to intertidal fauna and flora.
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Marine Intertidal Invertebrates
Intertidal marine invertebrates are a food source for seabirds, marine mammals, and terrestrial carnivores, such as bears.
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Marine Birds
Marine birds are top-level consumers of marine invertebrates such as mussels, clams, snails, limpets, and forage fish.
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Black Oystercatchers
Black Oystercatchers provide a unique opportunity to view the nearshore zone from the perspective of an avian predator.
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Sea Otters
Sea otters can dramatically affect the structure and complexity of their environment.
Terrestrial Systems
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Bald Eagles
Southwest Alaska parks support large populations of Bald Eagles.
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Insect Outbreaks
A warmer climate is known to facilitate the growth of spruce beetle and spruce aphid populations.
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Glacial Extent
Glaciers currently cover approximately one-eighth of Southwest Alaska parks.
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Seasonal Processes
Seasonal processes are natural cycles such as lake ice formation and breakup or snowpack accumulation and melt.
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Sensitive Plant Communities
Salt marshes are important habitat to many species and are sensitive to environmental changes.
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Vegetation Composition and Structure
Vegetation drives ecosystem productivity, provides habitat and forage for wildlife, and food and materials for subsistence.
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Visitor Use
Identifying where visitors go in our parks and what they do helps us maintain excellent visitor experiences and protect natural resources.
Weather, Climate, & Air Quality
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Weather and Climate
Weather and climate are key physical drivers of ecosystem structure and function.
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Air Quality
The air quality monitoring program has three primary components: visibility, atmospheric deposition, and gaseous pollutant monitoring.
Vital Signs On Hold
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Geomorphic Coastal Change
Changes in shoreline geomorphology affect coastal and nearshore habitats and the species that depend on them.
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Brown Bears
Brown bears play an important ecological role as top predators influencing population dynamics of other species.
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Moose
Moose are an important subsistence and cultural resource to local Native Alaskans.
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Land Cover Change
Land cover change examines biophysical patterns on the landscape and how they change over time.
Last updated: May 3, 2018