04272nam 2200733Ia 450 991095730320332120251116161100.09786610209408978030916872403091687249781280209406128020940297803095125340309512530(CKB)111069351130750(OCoLC)56119860(CaPaEBR)ebrary10032362(SSID)ssj0000135892(PQKBManifestationID)11146205(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000135892(PQKBWorkID)10062887(PQKB)10546369(MiAaPQ)EBC3375174(Au-PeEL)EBL3375174(CaPaEBR)ebr10032362(OCoLC)923254046(Perlego)4730335(BIP)8948233(EXLCZ)9911106935113075020030425d2003 uy 0engurcn|||||||||txtccrDecline of the steller sea lions in Alaskan waters untangling food webs and fishing nets /Committee on the Alaska Groundfish Fishery and Steller Sea Lions, Ocean Studies Board, Polar Research Board, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies1st ed.Washington, D.C. National Academies Pressc20031 online resource (216 p.)Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph9780309086325 0309086329 Includes bibliographical references.Front Matterr -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Executive Summary -- 1 Introduction -- 2 The Environmental Setting -- 3 Identifying Clues and Testing Hypotheses -- 4 Review of Steller Sea Lion Biology -- 5 Fisheries -- 5 Fisheries -- 6 Steller Sea Lion Decline: Environmental Context and Compendium of Evidence -- 7 Information Needs and Recommendations -- References -- APPENDIX A Committee and Staff Biographies -- APPENDIX B Acronyms -- APPENDIX C Glossary -- APPENDIX D Early Account of Steller Sea Lions -- APPENDIX E Federal Funding Summary -- APPENDIX F Meeting Agendas -- APPENDIX G National Research Council Project Oversight Boards -- APPENDIX H Guide to the Common and Scientific Names of Marine Mammal, Fish, Invertebrate, and Bird Species.For an unknown reason, the Steller sea lion population in Alaska has declined by 80% over the past three decades. In 2001, the National Research Council began a study to assess the many hypotheses proposed to explain the sea lion decline including insufficient food due to fishing or the late 1970s climate/regime shift, a disease epidemic, pollution, illegal shooting, subsistence harvest, and predation by killer whales or sharks. The report's analysis indicates that the population decline cannot be explained only by a decreased availability of food; hence other factors, such as predation and illegal shooting, deserve further study. The report recommends a management strategy that could help determine the impact of fisheries on sea lion survival -- establishing open and closed fishing areas around sea lion rookeries. This strategy would allow researchers to study sea lions in relatively controlled, contrasting environments. Experimental area closures will help fill some short-term data gaps, but long-term monitoring will be required to understand why sea lions are at a fraction of their former abundance.Sea lionsAlaskaFisheriesAlaskaAnimal populationsFood chains (Ecology)Fishing netsEnvironmental aspectsAlaskaSea lionsFisheriesAnimal populations.Food chains (Ecology)Fishing netsEnvironmental aspects333.95/979/7509798National Research Council (U.S.).Committee on the Alaska Groundfish Fishery and Steller Sea Lions.MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910957303203321Decline of the steller sea lions in Alaskan waters4368066UNINA