Evaluation of Alaska Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Population Surveys: A Simulation Study. EXXON VALDEZ Oil Spill Restoration Project Final Report. (Restoration Project 00509)

摘要

The objective of this one-year project was to evaluate current monitoring programs for harbor seals in Alaska. Specific all y, the evaluation examined program sampling design, accuracy and precision, and application to the management and conservation needs of harbor seals. This evaluation and review used data and information from three primary sources: (1) Results of Trustee Council restoration project 064: Monitoring, Habitat Use, and Trophic Interactions of Harbor Seals in Prince William Sound, Alaska, (2) Annual reports of the ADF&G statewide harbor seal research program, and (3) NMFS reports on annual population abundance surveys of harbor seals in Alaska. The authors used simulation to investigate robust designs for the Alaska harbor seal population surveys. They employed an operating model approach, creating simulated harbor seal population dynamics and haul out behavior that incorporated all factors thought to potentially affect the performance of aerial surveys.