Sea Lion Pregnancy Confirmed at Alaska SeaLife Center

From Press Release: ASLC Seward, AK – February 15, 2010

NMFS Permit No. 14334

Kiska is pregnant!

Alaska SeaLife Center scientists recently announced that they have reached a major milestone in their efforts to learn more about Steller sea lion reproduction:

Last summer, breeding was made possible by housing Kiska and Sugar, the Center’s two female sea lions, in the same habitat with the iconic, 2,000-pound male, Woody. The three sea lions had shared the pool for brief periods in the past, but this was the SeaLife Center’s first attempt to breed the endangered Stellers in captivity. An ultrasound examination confirmed the pregnancy, and scientists were thrilled to see a normally developing fetus with a healthy heart rate.

By collecting data from Kiska as her pup develops, researchers hope to determine the nutritional demands placed on Steller females as they carry, deliver, and nurse their pups. The studies will complement research completed over the past 16 years, including the Chiswell Island video monitoring project that has closely followed reproduction of wild Steller sea lions on an island 35 miles south of Seward.

“If all goes well, we expect the pup to be born this summer, and we anticipate breeding the sea lions again in 2010,” said Lori Polasek, a marine mammal scientist at the Alaska SeaLife Center. “Because wild Steller sea lions often mate within two weeks of giving birth, females are pregnant and lactating the majority of their lives. If we want to understand the population, it’s important to study energy demands on a female that is pregnant and supporting a nursing pup at the same time.

Research studies associated with the captive breeding efforts will focus on five major objectives:
1. Determining if reproductive status, success, and rates are limiting Steller sea lion population recovery;
2. Developing improved, non-invasive sampling techniques
3. Determining energetic costs of pregnancy and maternal investment after giving birth (i.e., how much time the mother spending nursing and caring for her pup);
4. Validating the use of chemical analyses that estimate the mother sea lion’s diet by collecting samples of her milk from nursing pups (“Quantitative Fatty Acid Signature Analysis”);
5. Using captive Steller sea lions to develop and validate new methods of monitoring Stellers and related species in the wild.
The Steller sea lion breeding project includes collaborators from the Alaska SeaLife Center, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of British Columbia, Dalhousie University, the University of Saskatchewan, and Mote Marine Laboratory.

- end release-

Stay tuned for details of the big day... and make sure you plan to come on down to Seward this summer to meet the new first Steller sea lion born in a marine research facility in the United States in more than 20 years...

Breaking News - PGA Endorses New Major in AK - SeaLife Center Mini Golf Tournament

Maybe we'll get an endorsement in the not too distant future.  With all that is happening in the game these days, we would be a great contender for the world's most northerly tournament!

Seriously, having played some of the great courses, I can already state that the ASLC offers the most entertaining and novel golf course in the world - come on - where else can you chip in front of the unwavering gaze of a 2,000 lb. sea lion, or risk the rough edges of moving escalator steps as you putt for glory or be caddied by the sartorially elegant Howard Ferren?

Last year was my first mini golf tournament, but I can now see why seasoned Alaskan golfers now make this annual outing.  Even Mr Whitekeys has played a round in his inimitable style...
All of which goes to say that I strongly encourage you to sign up early for:

The Alaska SeaLife Center’s

4th Annual Indoor Miniature Golf Tournament

Saturday, March 27th, 2010 - 7:00 pm

Proceeds support our Wildlife Rescue Program.

Registration and sponsorship forms available at

the Alaska SeaLife Center or by calling (907) 224-6890.

Forms also can be downloaded at http://www.alaskasealife.org/

See you on the course...

FORE

(friends of rescue efforts)!

2010 Alaska Stranding Network Meeting at ASLC - what does it take to be a strandings responder?

What would possess normally reserved researchers, nonchalant non-profit leaders, arcane administrators and otherwise sane scientists to volunteer to enter the labs at the SeaLife center, dress up like CSI investigators and begin dissecting dead and smelly marine life?..

Some insight may be gained by the fact that once again, for the 6th year in a  row, this same group had gathered from around the country and the State in snowy Seward in the middle of winter to discuss dead (and stranded) wildlife.  Yes, they are a dedicated bunch!  Last week the SeaLife Center hosted the Alaska Strandings network annual meeting and more than 50 eager partners joined us for three very intense days - this clearly is the meeting to be at if you work on injured and dead marine life.

As Seward Mayor, Willard Dunham noted in his opening remarks this network really is an important asset to the State of Alaska - with more than 500 person years of experience in responding the stranded marine mammals and birds, this group represents the core of Alaska's intellectual capital in this field.

Over the three days, the group heard about the range of cases that the network had been involved in, from the the species scale (e.g. walrus mass stranding event) to individual cases (such as the discover of pox in sea otters - a first for Alaska).  The group also undertook media training and engaged in a very useful discussion of how the Alaska SeaLife Center may be able to secure additional resources for stranding work - recommendations from that discussion will inform the ASLC 2020 strategic planning process currently underway.  They also heard a wonderful presentation on physiological adaptations to life below zero from the best selling author of "Cold" and active network member, Bill Streever.

The challenges confronting the group are enormous, particularly in view of the vast marine territory of Alaska, the uncertainties and unknowns associated with many species, the costs of strandings response in Alaska and the decentralized distribution of expertise and limited response resources.  Unlike many other states where there is vast expertise and widespread public support for strandings work, Alaskan network members really do have to improvise and scramble for resources. 

Despite those challenges, Alaska Strandings Network members are an incredibly resourceful and committed group.  We learn so much from this work that just would not be possible to obtain any other way. 

After observing first hand the great work being done by all members, it was evident that the meeting strengthened the unique bonds that bring this group together - maybe sharing a necropsy experience is good for team and character building after all!

* all photos courtesy of Tim Lebling

50 blogs later - what should the next 50 cover?

Years ago I used to play a game called cricket that is unfamiliar to most Americans, but which has a huge international following.  You can get a  quick insight into the game at the governing body's website (http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/), but the very best orientation is to watch a game of the Twenty20 league from India where cricket has now moved to a new level!

Despite first appearances and the inevitable challenge of comparing it to more familiar sports, its really is a pretty simple game - played on a large oval field like the one pictured above by two teams who traditionally wear white uniforms.  Whoever scores the most points (runs) wins! 

I was mostly a  bowler (pitcher), but occasionally had the good fortunate to score a few runs/points as a batsman - each of the 11 team members has to bat at some time in a game.  As a batsman, a score above 50 is a great achievement - most of the top class players aspire to a career average above 50.  Occasionally they go on to massive scores like 300+, but that's another story..

As you may already have intuited after that long winded sporting diversion... the number 50 has a certain significance to me.  And so after agonizing long and hard over what to make the subject of this milestone 50th blog, especially now that we have opened the blog to a wider audience beyond SeaLife Center staff, I thought it only fair to ask...

what would you most like to see (or not see)       

in the next 50 blogs?

Howzat for an appeal?

please post you thoughts and suggestions following the protocols described in Blog#1 so very long ago...

Marine Invasives Matter!

As recent efforts to introduce a wider range of new animal species to Alaska have demonstrated, there is a classic lack of understanding of the impact of introduced, non-native or "exotic" invasive species on both natural systems and our economy and lifestyle. 

Whoa.. I hear you say...
How can an introduced species affect our economy and lifestyle?


There are (unfortunately) thousands of examples - ranging from deliberate and usually ill-informed efforts to re-engineer or "improve" ecological systems or due to lack of appreciation of the full consequences of moving species around the planet or creating more favorable living conditions for them. 

Two examples demonstrate these concerns.

1. The Brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) native to Australia and Melanesia was introduced (likely in ships cargo) to Guam in the 1950s and has caused the loss of  most of the native forest vertebrate species (incl. birds); thousands of power outages affecting private, commercial, and military activities; widespread loss of domestic birds and pets; and considerable emotional trauma to residents and visitors alike (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_tree_snake)

2. Caulerpa taxifolia is a light green macroalga that is widely used as a decorative plant in aquaria. A cold-tolerant strain was inadvertently introduced into the Mediterranean Sea in wastewater from the Oceanographic Museum at Monaco, where it has now spread over more than 30,000 acres of seabed. It has also spread to parts of the US and in Southern CA, more than $6m has been spent on control efforts to date. (further details on this invasive and its control history are available from: http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=115&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN).

Further details of these and more of the world's top 100 invaders can be found online at the Global Invasives Species Database site - http://www.issg.org/database/species/.  

These examples demonstrate the wider social, ecological and economic significance of invasive species. They underline why the Alaska SeaLife Center has both paid careful attention to ensuring we are  not an invasives vector and why we have begun a new invasive species program to help Alaska better address the many issues asociated with marine invasive species. 

Under the leadership of Howard Ferren and Rebekka Federer, the Alaska SeaLife Center will be hosting a Marine Invasive Species Workshop on March 3rd-4th, 2010. The Workshop is a joint effort among the Alaska Invasive Species Working Group and will bring together collaborating organizations in an effort to identify key concerns and recommend priorities to address marine invasive species issues in Alaska.  The Workshop will kick-off on March 3rd with a morning session that will be open to the public where invited speakers from various organizations will discuss species and areas of concern, vectors and ballast water rules, current management plans, insights from other states and global efforts, state law and policy, and economic impacts. The morning sessions will provide a foundation for discussion sessions to be held by the invited attendees the afternoon of March 3rd and all day March 4th. Funding for the Workshop was provided by the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council and Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center.

2010 - International Biodiversity Year (IYB)

2010 is an auspicious year for the life on earth - a year that marks the culmination of various global and national programs and a year that will see the launch of new initiatives that seek to protect the diversity of life on earth.  Biodiversity conservation has a mixed record of success over the past century. On the positive side more than 12% of the lands of the planet are now set aside for conservation. However, that increasing level of conservation has also been accompanied by increasing rates of species extinction and habitat loss. Marine species and habitats in particular remain under-conserved and inadequately protected at a global scale.

In recognition of the importance of 2010, the UN has declared the year the international year of biodiversity (IYB). 

Objectives of IYB:

• Raise awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity for human well-being and promote understanding of the economic value of biodiversity
• Enhance public knowledge of the threats to biodiversity and means to conserve it
• Encourage organizations (and through them individuals) to take direct or indirect biodiversity conservation activities
• Celebrate the achievements of Countdown 2010 partners and other stakeholders
• Reporting on the possible failures for not achieving the Target
• Prepare the ground for communicating the post-2010 target(s)

A website has been established to promote all IYB activities - http://www.countdown2010.net/year-biodiversity - it'll be worth tracking the site to see just what the world accomplishes in the year ahead and what we here in Alaska may both contribute to, and learn from, those efforts, even though, like the Law of the Sea Convention, the US is not a signatory to the Global Convention on Biodiversity.

 

It'll also be worthwhile to redouble our efforts to help others understand just why biodiversity matters - a  recent article in the NY Times described just how poor general ecological literacy is in much of the world... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/business/global/01green.html?ref=business