My research is focused on the spring denning habitat of ringed seals (Pusa hispida, or natchiq in Iñupiaq), which are ice-associated seals that give birth to their pups in snow-covered lairs. This unique strategy means that ringed seals are likely to face unique challenges under climate change. To better predict how changes in snow and sea ice conditions will impact ringed seals, we first need to learn more about lair habitat requirements, including snow depth and the duration of the snowpack.
The first chapter of my dissertation research addresses this by investigating spatiotemporal patterns in ringed seal counts at broad spatial scales in the eastern Bering and Chukchi Seas. This project uses previously collected aerial survey data collected by scientists from the Polar Ecosystems Program at NOAA’s Marine Mammal Lab. Ringed seal detections from these aerial surveys are then modeled in relation to snow and sea ice variables from satellite remote sensing and short-term weather variables from reanalysis datasets.
I am also involved in a more local-scale effort to study ringed seal habitat through the interdisciplinary project Ikaaġvik Sikukun (Iñupiaq for “Ice Bridges”). The project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and led by PIs at Columbia University, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Native Village of Kotzebue, and Farthest North Films. The research questions for Ikaaġvik Sikukun were co-developed with an Indigenous Elder Advisory Council of four local Iñupiaq Elders, and their collaboration has been a key component throughout the project. The ringed seal piece of this project uses a combination of on-ice data collection and aerial surveys from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). For more information about Ikaaġvik Sikukun, visit the Ikaaġvik Sikukun website and check out the series of short films produced by filmmaker and co-PI Sarah Betcher of Farthest North Films. To watch Sarah’s 10-minute short film about Ikaaġvik Sikukun’s seal research (for both natchiq and ugruk, Iñupiaq for bearded seals), click below:
In addition to working with aerial survey data in those two projects, I will also be investigating ringed seal emergence timing from a different angle using data from satellite tags. These tags, which were deployed on ringed seals by collaborators at NOAA, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, and North Slope Borough during previous projects, record information on seal location and the amount of time seals spend hauled out of the water. We’re hoping to use observed changes in ringed seal haul-out behavior over the course of the spring to estimate when seals are switching from using lairs to basking and molting.
My graduate research has been supported by a SAFS fellowship, Achievement Rewards for College Scientists, a North Pacific Research Board Graduate Student Research Award, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.