December 2023 | View in browser

Emily Crum, Outreach Specialist with NOAA Ocean Exploration, chats with Seward Marine Science Symposium attendees. Photo Credit: ASLC.

Partnerships in Science

Dr. John Maniscalco, ASLC, presents "Changes in Overwintering Diet of Steller Sea Lions" & Carol Conant, CRRC, shares traditional ecological knowledge resources at their booth during the poster session. Photo Credit: ASLC.

The Seward Marine Science Symposium was held on September 17th, 2023, strategically coinciding with the presence of the NOAA Ocean Exploration vessel, Okeanos Explorer, in Seward. Recognizing the significance of the public presence of the ship as a draw for attendees, the symposium built on the CORaL mission by working to align current scientific research with the community's interests and needs and creating access for community engagement.

The symposium, driven by the inspiration from the Okeanos Explorer, offered an opportunity to bring together work from across a group of collaborators from NOAA Ocean Exploration, and our regional UAF, CRRC, NPS, and ASLC researchers. Themed "Exploring the Edges of the Unknown," the symposium drew participants from Seward, Homer, Anchorage, and beyond. Attendees included students, teachers, researchers, and curious community members who engaged in talks, a poster session, and exclusive behind-the-scenes tours offered by partner organizations. CORaL members, Alaska SeaLife Center and Chugach Regional Resources Commission, and other planning partners were also able to tour the Okeanos to learn about the technology supporting their research and some of the extraordinary video and samples collected from the sea floor.

Staff from the Alaska SeaLife Center attending the program said that the presentation of these new findings alongside the current work taking place in the region generated immense excitement within the community.

The overwhelmingly positive feedback from the community and debrief sessions with planning partners fueled enthusiasm for an annual continuation of the symposium. Future announcements will highlight opportunities for involvement and participation, reinforcing the commitment to making scientific information accessible and relevant to the ongoing needs of the local communities in the region.

2023 Event Details

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in port in Seward, Alaska, prior to the start of the Seascape Alaska 6 expedition. Photo Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska.

This point cloud was generated from multibeam sonar soundings of the seafloor made during the Seascape Alaska 6 expedition. Photo Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska

Seascape Alaska 3 Dive 04 was dominated with dense “fields” of Lamellibranchia sp. tubeworms, like those pictured here from a depth of 2,018 meters (1.25 miles). The field extended at least 200 meters (656 feet) wide, but is likely even larger based on the bubble trail discovered during expedition mapping operations. Photo Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska.

Connect with CORaL at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium in January!

Representatives from the CORaL Network Partner organizations will attend the upcoming Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS) in Anchorage, January 2024.

Visit our CORaL Network booth during the poster sessions and plan to attend our workshop on Communicating Science and Outreach to communities.

Hands-on science learning in Seldovia

The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies (CACS) has been working with the Kachemak Bay Environmental Education Alliance (KBEEA) to facilitate hands-on science learning opportunities in the community of Seldovia. The first event focused on night-time beach exploration during an extreme low tide. It was exciting to work alongside local Seldovians with expertise in marine ecology, algae, education, and art to reach 25 attendees ranging from kids, teens, and adults. Imagine how fun it was to see all those headlamps and flashlights bobbing up and down as people observed sea stars, anemones, crabs, chitons, and more in the intertidal! Before heading out to the beach, participants met at the Sea Otter Community Center for marine worm art projects, up-close investigation of macroalgae from the harbor, and a challenge to create a model of a rocky shore organism that could hold on against big waves.

CACS is now starting regular KBEEA-led Science sessions at the Sea Otter Community Center and planning to offer them throughout the winter, every Friday morning that school is in session. Guest presenters and educators are welcome. Reach out if you want to help with a KBEEA Science Friday in the future!

Seldovians of all ages explore the rocky intertidal at Inside Beach! Photo Credit: Paul Cziko, NOAA Kasitsna Bay Lab.

Looking closely at macroalgae, amphipods, and tunicates collected from the Seldovia dock. Photo Credit: Paul Cziko, NOAA Kasitsna Bay Lab.

Children prepare their model creatures to withstand a simulated wave. Photo Credit: Paul Cziko, NOAA Kasitsna Bay Lab.

CRRC's Tribal Fish & Wildlife Director presents in D.C.

Last month, the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission invited Raven Cunningham, Chugach Regional Resources Commission's Tribal Fish & Wildlife Director, to present at its annual meeting in Washington D.C.!

Raven discussed stock assessments, co-management, and CRRC's Chugach Imaq Project. This project focuses on creating a harvest management plan for the region that conserves marine mammals, which are essential to CRRC Tribes and coastal communities. CRRC is currently studying the health of marine mammals through bio-sampling subsistence harvested seals.

Subsistence is essential to the cultural, nutritional, economic, and spiritual well-being of Tribal communities. CRRC's Subsistence Program focuses on advocating for Alaska Native harvest rights, working on species-related projects, providing information to Tribes regarding wildlife management, and liaising between regional Tribes and state and federal management entities.

CRRC is thrilled this work was shared in D.C.- Way to go, Raven!

To learn more, visit the CRRC website at crrcalaska.org.

Raven introducing the Chugach Imaq Project at the 2023 U.S. Marine Mammal Commission Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. Photo Credit: CRRC.

Raven posing with a seal and halibut harvest on a a raining day in Prince William Sound. Photo Credit: CRRC.

Communicating Science at Tuesday Night Talks in Cordova

Starting in 1999, PWSSC has been hosting a weekly lecture series for experts from Cordova, the state of Alaska, and around the world to share their research and findings with the communities of Cordova and beyond.

Tuesday Night Talks occur every Tuesday, September - April, at 7pm (AKST). Talks are available both in person at the Science Center and virtually. You can use the following link to join from your computer, tablet, or smartphone: https://meet.goto.com/736232741

Additionally, lecture recordings are posted weekly to our YouTube channel under the lecture series playlist.

Photo Credit: PWSSC.

AMAR Lecture Series

This fall the Alutiiq Museum co-hosted a lecture series sharing research within the Kodiak region. Presentation topics included Kodiak Alutiiq/Sugpiaq placenames, brown bear research, and Alutiiq pottery. Dr. Hollis Miller from the State University of New York at Cortland, and Allison Pestrikoff-Botz from Nuniaq (Old Harbor) shared their work from Ing'yuq -- an ancestral Alutiiq/Sugpiaq settlement occupied during the 19th century.

Over two summers, Dr. Miller led archaeological excavations at Ing'yuq -- uncovering the lives of Alutiiq ancestors during the tumultuous Russian colonization of Kodiak Island. Based on the finds from the site, historical documentation, and personal knowledge, Pestrikoff-Botz wrote and shared a fictionalized story of a young woman who lived during the Russian occupation. This presentation melded archaeological research with modern storytelling -- sharing a piece of Alutiiq history through a modern lens. Stay tuned on the Alutiiq Museum website and social media for a link to the recording of this presentation.

Photo Credit: AMAR.

Upcoming Events

Alaska Sea Grant

Alaska Marine Policy Forum, January 24, 2024, 1-2pm.

2024 Mariculture Conference of Alaska, February 26-29, 2024. Anchorage, AK.

Call for presentations is open!

Chugach Regional Resources Commission

Webinar Series: Climate Change in the Chugach Region

Future webinars:

January 18: Mariculture and Water Quality

February 15: What can we do? Local and Regional Action

Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies

The 2023 CCE group poses with members of the U.S. Forest Service dusky Canada goose monitoring team at a nest island site in the Copper River Delta near Cordova.

Community Coastal Experience (CCE) 2024 application now open!

Alaska SeaLife Center