What’s killing sea otters?
Where do the humpback whales go?
Those were some of the questions asked by presenters at the fourth annual Kachemak Bay Science Conference, held last weekend at Homer High School. The conference brought together about 125 students, fishermen, tour guides, Natives, locals and scientists in the three-day event. Whether researching single-cell algae in grass flats or humpback whales in open ocean, an overriding approach developed, said Beth Trowbridge, the conference coordinator and part of the staff at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies.
A presentation by Anne Solomon of the University of Washington and Nick Tanape of Port Graham illustrated the conference’s theme, “Observing Our Bay: An Exchange of Scientific and Local Traditional Ecological Knowledge.”
Working with Port Graham residents and elders, Solomon used their knowledge to find out why populations of the bidarki, or black leather chiton, have declined. Solomon’s research looked at chiton population changes over time at 11 sites. She also interviewed Port Graham people about declines of other marine species. Locals sometimes suggested points to consider.
“‘You ought to be keeping an eye on ocean temperature,’” Solomon said Nick Tanape told her.
Solomon said evidence suggests increased predation of chitons by sea otters and humans is a major cause in smaller bidarki populations. Otters and people preyed heavily on other species like crabs, but, when those species declined, they moved on to species like chitons — “sequential prey switching,” Solomon called it.
Another instance where locals helped scientists get information is an ongoing study of sea otter deaths being done by Verena Gill, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage. Gill helped set up the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, a program to train volunteers who monitor and help rescue sick or stranded marine mammals. The program also encourages people to report dead otters. Gill collects dead otters — even bones — and later does a necropsy, or animal autopsy. It’s been successful enough that she’s seen a dramatic increase in the number of specimens collected.
“It doesn’t mean more otters are dying,” she said at her talk. “It means you’re doing an incredible job calling them in.”
Gill has done 102 necropsies since 2002. Of that group, 54 percent were males, and 48 percent were animals in the prime age of 4 to 10 years. Infectious disease caused the death of 34 percent of the otters, while trauma caused the death of 27 percent. A bacteria called streptococcus bovis/intermedius caused most of the infectious deaths by a condition called valvular endocarditis — essentially, a lesion on the otter’s heart valve. Gill didn’t know what caused the bacterial infection or where it came from.
Most of the death by trauma came from boat strikes. Gill said otters aren’t always good at getting out of the way of speeding boats — a reason to keep an eye out for otters and to slow down when they’re seen.
Trowbridge said Gill’s research showed how much the Homer community is involved in research. Another presentation discussed research results from the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies’ annual Coast Walk survey.
“There’s really a lot of citizen science happening here that’s really helping the researchers,” she said.
Scientists at the conference didn’t only consider problem trends. Some of them came up with solutions. A group of students from the Aurora Borealis Charter School in Kenai wowed the audience with their presentation on using flocculants — a substance that binds to silt — in cleaning muddy streams.
Coach and teacher Suzanne Phillips’ Polar Bears Robotics Team livened up the conference with a skit about their research. Looking at the problem of warm stream temperatures raised by research done by volunteer water quality monitors with Cook Inlet Keeper — another group of citizen scientists — the Polar Bears team showed how chitosan, a biodegradable chemical made from shrimp and crab shells, could reduce turbidity.
“So many people enjoyed their presentation,” Trowbridge said. “Not only was it refreshing and entertaining — people saw they knew their stuff.”
Trowbridge said the conference brought together scientists from different disciplines and gave them the chance to share their research formally and informally.
“I think there were a lot of connections that scientists made,” she said. “That’s one of the values of something like the science conference.”
Homer got praise for its citizen involvement in research, Trowbridge said. One presenter from North Carolina remarked on how many people were interested in what’s going on. The presenter said that not as many people in North Carolina would do monitoring or attend a science conference.
“We are an active, intelligent community,” Trowbridge said.
The Kachemak Bay Science Conference is held every two years. The fifth conference is scheduled for the spring of 2008.
Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.
“There are a lot of people out there trying to figure out what’s happening in Kachemak Bay,” she said. “For some reason or other, there are a lot of resources that are being depleted.”
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