| Description | SAVE THE WHALES: USING CITIZEN SCIENCE TO CONSERVE ALASKA'S CRITICALLY ENDANGERED COOK INLET BELUGAS with Dr. Alison Gardell, UW Tacoma
The Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is one of Alaska’s five distinct beluga populations. However, it is the only population that is critically endangered, with an estimated 279 individuals remaining. Beluga whales routinely forage in estuarine and freshwater environments and have been known to travel considerable distances up large rivers. Specifically, Cook Inlet belugas forage seasonally in various rivers that flow into the inlet, including in the lower reaches of the Kenai River. Beginning in Fall 2019, the Alaska Beluga Monitoring Partnership was formed to engage local citizens in the collection of habitat-use and behavioral data for Cook Inlet belugas at known foraging sites. This presentation will share preliminary findings generated from this citizen science effort and will discuss implications for the management and conservation of this endangered population.
Alison Gardell is a newly hired Assistant Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington Tacoma. She earned a B.S. in Marine Science and Biology from the University of Miami and a Ph.D. in Marine Ecology from the University of California Davis. Alison completed a postdoctoral position in ecotoxicology at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Prior to joining the faculty at UWT, she was an Assistant Professor at Kenai Peninsula College. Alison’s research utilizes an integrative approach to understand mechanisms of toxicity that affect the health of aquatic organisms. |
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