Grantee Research Project Results

The Effects of Human Hunting on Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) Migration and Breeding Distributions in the Holocene

EPA Grant Number: U915384
Title: The Effects of Human Hunting on Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) Migration and Breeding Distributions in the Holocene
Investigators: Etnier, Michael A.
Institution: University of Washington
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: September 1, 1998 through September 1, 2001
Project Amount: $87,767
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Fellowship - Anthropology , Biology/Life Sciences , Academic Fellowships

Objective:

The objectives of this research project are to: (1) determine whether there is any archaeological evidence of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) breeding between Oregon and Alaska; and (2) determine what role, if any, human hunting pressure may have played in structuring the modern breeding distribution of fur seals, which presently is limited to the central Bering Sea and southern California. Although I have data spanning the past 2,000 years, the most reliable samples derive from archaeological sites over the past 500 years.

Approach:

I will utilize three main sources of data to evaluate: (1) the degree to which fur seal breeding and/or migration have changed; and (2) determine the timing and likely causal factors in those changes. Demographic profiles of fur seal skeletal remains will be used to track minimum age and average age over time as an indication of population health. Thin sections of canine teeth will be used to evaluate variability in the growth rate of individuals, as a proxy of population levels. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen will be analyzed to reconstruct migration patterns and long-term trends in oceanographic conditions.

Supplemental Keywords:

fellowship, Pacific Coast, Oregon, OR, Alaska, AK, aquatic, pinnipeds, biogeography, archaeology, over hunting, northern fur seals, Callorhinus ursinus, breeding distribution, canine teeth, isotopes, carbon, nitrogen, migration patterns, Bering Sea, Holocene, Southern California, California, CA., RFA, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Aquatic Ecosystem, Aquatic Ecosystems & Estuarine Research, Ecological Indicators, Ecological Risk Assessment, Ecosystem Protection, Zoology, Ecology, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, exploratory research environmental biology, Northwest, Social Science, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Habitat, Ecology and Ecosystems, breeding distributions, northern fur seal, Callorhinus ursinus, human impacts, coast of Washington, Holocene, southeast Alaska, British Columbia, migration distributions, breeding distribution, fur seal rookeries

Progress and Final Reports:

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.