Lloyd F Lowry

University of Alaska Fairbanks · College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS)

The monodontids—narwhals, Monodon monoceros, and belugas, Delphinapterus leucas—are found in much of the Arctic and in some subarctic areas. They are hunted by indigenous subsistence users. In the past, some populations were substantially reduced by commercial hunting and culling; more recently, some populations have declined due to uncontrolled su...

Western gray whales Eschrichtius robustus (WGWs) are endangered, and their range overlaps areas where several important commercial fisheries operate in the Russian Far East (RFE). Throughout their range, gray whales commonly become entangled or entrapped in fishing gear. In the western North Pacific, they have been killed in set nets and seen entan...

We collated available satellite telemetry data for six species of ice-associated marine mammals in the Pacific Arctic: ringed seals (Pusa hispida; n=118), bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus, n=51), spotted seals (Phoca largha, n=72), Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens, n=389); bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus, n=46), and five Arctic an...

The eastern Chukchi Sea (ECS) stock of beluga whales is one of three stocks in western Alaska that are co-managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Alaska Beluga Whale Committee. Abundance of this stock was estimated as 3710 in 1991 from incomplete data. Analysis of data from satellite-linked time-depth recorders (SDRs) attached to b...

At least five populations (stocks) of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are thought to winter in the Being Sea, including the Bristol Bay, Eastern Bering Sea (Norton Sound), Anadyr, Eastern Chukchi Sea, and Eastern Beaufort Sea (Mackenzie) populations. Belugas from each population have been tagged with satellite-linked transmitters, allowing us...

The first dedicated aerial surveys for beluga whales in the Norton Sound/Yukon Delta region of Alaska were flown during May, June and September 1992. During May 1992 surveys, all of the survey area was covered with pack ice and only a few belugas were seen. In June 1992, many whales were seen in the region of Pastol Bay and the Yukon River Delta, w...

There is increasing concern over how Arctic fauna will adapt to climate related changes in sea-ice. We used long-term sighting and genetic data on beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in conjunction with multi-decadal patterns of sea-ice in the Pacific Arctic to investigate the influence of sea-ice on spring migration and summer residency patterns...

At least five stocks of beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas, are found in Alaska waters: Beaufort Sea, eastern Chukchi Sea, eastern Bering Sea, Bristol Bay, and Cook Inlet. The two northernmost stocks (Beaufort Sea and eastern Chukchi Sea) are highly migratory; the two southernmost stocks (Bristol Bay and Cook Inlet) are nonmigratory. Little is kn...

Arctic marine mammals (AMMs) are icons of climate change, largely because of their close association with sea ice. However, neither a circumpolar assessment of AMM status nor a standardized metric of sea ice habitat change is available. We summarized available data on abundance and trend for each AMM species and recognized subpopulation. We also ex...

The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the world's rarest marine mammal species and is listed as depleted, endangered, and critically endangered based on national and international criteria. Although its precarious status was already rec-ognized by the 1950s, it was not until the 1970s that direct protection was afforded to monk seals by U.S. legislation...

This chapter examines the characteristics, taxonomy, distribution, and behavior of the ribbon seal, which is one of the least well known of all the world's pinnipeds. The species has been placed in the genus Phoca based on cranial morphology but molecular studies indicate that ribbon seals belong in the separate genus, Histriophoca. Pups are born w...

Thirty-eight aerial surveys of beluga or white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) were conducted in Bristol Bay, Alaska, during six different years between 1993 and 2005. Belugas were sighted mainly close to shore in the upper parts of Nushagak and Kvichak bays, as well as along the coast between these bays and in the lower parts of major rivers. Data...

Knowledge of mammalian diversity is still surprisingly disparate, both regionally and taxonomically. Here, we present a comprehensive assessment of the conservation status and distribution of the world's mammals. Data, compiled by 1700+ experts, cover all 5487 species, including marine mammals. Global macroecological patterns are very different for...

We review seven Arctic and four subarctic marine mammal species, their habitat requirements, and evidence for biological and demographic responses to climate change. We then describe a pan-Arctic quantitative index of species sensitivity to climate change based on population size, geographic range, habitat specificity, diet diversity, migration, si...

The Steller sea lion (Eumetopias juba-tus) is the largest of the Otariidae and inhabits the North Pacific Rim from California to Japan. Individuals breeding at rookeries 1 located along the west coast of North America from California northward through south-eastern A laska (Fig. 1) to 144°W longitude form a distinct population segment, generally re...

Satellite-linked dive recorders were attached to 53 harbor seal pups in Prince William Sound (PWS) and at Tugidak Island, Alaska, during 1997–1999. We used generalized additive models and bootstrap techniques to describe pup diving behavior during their first year of life. Pups increased their ability to dive during the first 3–6 mo, as indicated b...

Movement patterns of Alaska harbor seal pups were studied using satellite telemetry during 1997–2000. Mean tracking duration was 277.3 d (SD = 105.8) for Tugidak Island pups (n= 26) and 171.2 d (108.3) for Prince William Sound (PWS) pups (n= 27). Movements were similar for males and females and were largely restricted to the continental shelf. Mult...

This study examined feeding of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) taken by Alaska Natives at Barrow (western Beaufort Sea), Nuiqsut (central Alaskan Beaufort Sea) and Kaktovik (eastern Alaskan Beaufort Sea) during 1969-2000. The objectives were to: (1) identify the proportion of harvested whales that had been feeding; and (2) describe the diet bas...

Aerial surveys were conducted during late May and early June 1996 - 99 in the central Beaufort Sea of Alaska, using strip-transect methods. The purpose of these surveys was to quantify and model the effects of environmental covariates on ringe d seal counts and to provide density estimates that would be useful for evaluating trends in seal abundanc...

Twenty eyes from 10 Pacific sleeper sharks Somniosus pacificus, infected with the copepod Ommatokoita elongata, were collected in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and the eyes of an additional 18 S. pacificus captured in the same area were inspected for copepods. Prevalence of infection by adult female O. elongata was 97% (n = 28); mean intensity of i...

Satellite-linked depth recorders (SDRs) were attached to 47 harbor seals in Prince William Sound, Alaska, during 1992–1996. Parameters describing diving effort, diving focus, and focal depth (depth bin to which diving was focused) were calculated from binned data on maximum dive depth and time spent at depth, and analyzed using repeated-measures mi...

Satellite-linked tags were attached to 49 subadult and adult harbor seals captured in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, and their movements were monitored during 1992–1997. Seals were tracked for a total of 5,517 seal-days and were located on about 80% of the days that tags transmitted. Most locations were in or near PWS, but some juvenile seals...

Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) congregate in nearshore waters of the eastern Chukchi Sea, especially in Kotzebue Sound and Kasegaluk Lagoon, in June and July. Where they travel after they leave this area was unknown before this study. We live-captured five belugas in Kasegaluk Lagoon and attached satellite-linked depth recorders to them. The...

Satellite-linked tags were attached to 49 subadult and adult harbor seals captured in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, and their movements were monitored during 1992-1997. Seals were tracked for a total of 5,517 seal-days and were located on about 80% of the days that tags transmitted. Most locations were in or near PWS, but some juvenile seals...

Twelve spotted seals (Phoca largha) equipped with satellite-linked tags were tracked in the Bering Sea for 46-272 days during August-June 1991-1994. Alaskan seals were mostly near shore during August-October and 100-200 km offshore in January-June, and were broadly distributed in the region north of the 200-m isobath. Russian seals were located pri...

Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are relatively small odontocete ceta-ceans; standard lengths of newborn calves are about 160 cm and adults range from 300 to 450 cm (Doidge, 1990). At birth, calves are dark slate gray, and the color gradually lightens until they become pure white as adults (Brodie, 1989). When actively swim-ming or diving, the...

We used aerial counts to monitor the trend in numbers of harbor seals, Phoca vitulina richardsi, in Prince William Sound, Alaska, following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Repetitive counts were made at 25 haul-out sites during the annual molt period each year from 1990 through 1997. A generalized linear model indicated that time of day, date, and...

Seven of 8 Pacific sleeper sharks (Somniosus pacificus Bigelow and Schroeder, 1944) captured in Prince William Sound, Alaska, were actively infected, and all 8 had been at one time infected with the parasitic copepod Ommatokoita elongata (Grant, 1827) (Siphonostomatoida: Lernaeopodidae). Active infections consisted of adult females and chalimus lar...

The first systematic aerial surveys of beluga whales in the Norton Sound/Yukon Delta region were flown during May, June, and September 1992, and June 1993-1995. During May 1992 surveys, all of the survey area was covered with pack ice and only a few belugas were seen. In June 1992-1994, many whales were seen in the region of Pastol Bay and the Yuko...

Satellite-linked tags were attached to 12 spotted seals (Phoca largha) captured at a coastal lagoon in the eastern Chukchi Sea during August 1991–1993. Movements of seals were tracked for 32–298 days using the Argos system. Of 9,651 total location records obtained, 7,268 were usable. Individual seals were located on 41–96% of the days that tags wer...

Fatty acid signature analysis was used to investigate the diet and the spatial scales of foraging in harbor seals Phoca vitulina richardsi in Prince William Sound (PWS) and elsewhere in the Gulf of Alaska. Blubber samples collected in 1994 and 1995 from 104 harbor seals from PWS, Kodiak Island, and southeast Alaska were analyzed for fatty acid comp...

In the weeks following the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) harbor seals, Phocavitulina richardsi, swam through oil and inhaled aromatic hydrocarbons as they breathed at the air/water interface. Concentrations of fluorescent aromatic compounds in bile clearly indicated that most seals from oiled areas had been exposed to hydrocarbons. Before the EVOS,...

Provides 1) a discussion of relevant laws pertaining to marine mammal mortality in fisheries in each of the three countries; 2) a synopsis of the target species and the area and method of operation for the fishery; 3) information on the economic importance of the fishery and the size of recent catches; and 4) information on the levels of take of ce...

Emphasis was on the 170km long Kasegaluk Lagoon, known to be regularly used by both species during the open-water season. Belugas Delphinapterus leucas were seen on every survey during 3-14 July 1990 and 4-16 July 1991, with numbers ranging from 7-1212. Whales sometimes arrive as early as 22 June and leave the area by late July. The presence of nea...

An unusual number of killer whales appeared in inshore waters of the southeastern Bering Sea in summer 1989 and 1990. Multiple sightings occurred in Bristol and Kuskokwim bays where killer whales had been seen only rarely in previous years. Three animals became stranded on mud flats in Kuskokwim Bay but were able to free themselves on a high tide....

An unusual number of killer whales appeared in inshore waters of the south-eastern Bering Sea in summer 1989 and 1990. Multiple sightings occurred in Bristol and Kuskokwim bays where killer whales had been seen only rarely in previous years. Three animals became stranded on mud flats in Kuskokwim Bay but were able to free themselves on a high tide....

Stomach contents of crabeater (Lobodon carcinophagus) and leopard (Hydrurga leptonyx) seals collected in the pack ice west of the antarctic Peninsula in August–September 1985 were analyzed. Food remains were found in 7 of 56 crabeater seals and 5 of 29 leopard seals. The primary foods were krill (Euphausia superba) which occurred in all 12 stomachs...

The 3-year study intended to develop a program for monitoring the abundance of ringed seals in Alaska through aerial surveys. The report presents the results of aerial surveys of ringed seals on the shorefast ice of the eastern Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea in May-June 1987 and compares them with the results of similar surveys conducted in 1985 and...

Examination of stomach contents and behavioral observations showed conclusively that bowhead whales were feeding in the Point Barrow area during the spring of 1985. All three bowheads harvested near the village of Barrow had over five litres of pelagic zooplankton (calanoid copepods and euphausiids) in their stomachs. Over 60 whales were observed d...

In the Bering Sea at least 11 species of marine mam-mals, 13 seabirds, and 10 fishes are known to feed on walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogra:mrna (Frost and Lowry 1981a). Walleye pollock are a major food of most pinnipeds, particularly in the southern Ber-ing Sea (Lowry and Frost 1981), and are sometimes eaten by several species of baleen and toot...

Research was conducted in Bristol Bay, Alaska, to determine the applicability of radiotagging to studies of behavior, distribution and movements of belukha whales. Backpack-style VHF transmitters were attached to two belukhas by pinning through the dorsal ridge. Both packages were shed after about 2 wk due to migration of the pin through the tissue...

Information on foods of spotted seals was obtained by analysis ofstomach contents from specimens taken in spring in Karaginskii Gulf, Anadyr Gulf, and southeastern, central, and northern Bering Sea. Pollock was the major prey in central Bering Sea and ranked second in Anadyr Gulf. Capelin was the major food in southeastern Bering Sea and ranked sec...

Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) feed primarily on benthic invertebrates, but they are known to eat seals (Phocidae) occasionally, ostensibly when the benthic foods are unavailable. We investigated reports of a marked increase in occurrence of seal-eating walruses in the Bering Strait region in the late 1970's by examining stomach contents of animals t...

Stomach contents were examined from a bowhead whale, Balaena mysricerus, killed at Gambell, Alaska, on I May 1982. It contained an estimated 20-40 litres of recently ingested prey, principally gammarid amphipods (91.7% of the volume of a 157-ml subsample) and cumaceans (7%). All identified prey were primarily epibenthic forms. The stomach of this w...