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Kyle Muirhead | Observations of Marbled Murrelets in Clayoquot Sound suggest habitat use is temporally and spatially stratified by prey availability. Patterns in the abundance and distribution of foraging birds should be suggestive of the underlying distribution of prey in the area. This bottom up relationship is investigated using a CTD to record trends in primary productivity alongside bird transects. As marbled murrelets populations are declining, the utility of local marine protected areas, and the frequency of foraging associations with gray whales will also be assessed. | ||
Laura-Joan Feyrer | Modeling Spatial and Temporal Variability of Foraging Gray Whales (Eschrichtius robustus) in Clayoquot Sound The objective of my research project is to collect the field data required to develop a spatially explicit habitat model for foraging gray whales (Eschrictius robustus). My thesis will examine the relationships between a marine species and its environment with explicit consideration of temporal and spatial scale to accurately model and map predictions of high quality gray whale habitat. Understanding the structure and ecological significance of available habitat is of considerable benefit for management of ecologically important marine mammal populations and for identifying significant sites for Marine Protected Areas and other management actions. Furthermore, this study will pay particular attention to the relative roles of physical and biological forces in a coastal marine ecosystem. As gray whales are a major contributor to the biophysical diversity and social economics of whale watching in the study area, research that advances our understanding of the spatial-temporal dynamics of habitat use is highly relevant to managing seasonal populations in Clayoquot Sound and throughout the North Pacific range of their coastal migration. | ||
