|
 SEAWEAD
founded its research, monitoring and natural history efforts on the
marine and terrestrial ecosystems of Northern Chichagof Island,
specifically at Point Adolphus and Mud Bay. These sites are located in
Icy Strait, just south of Glacier Bay National Park in northern
Southeast Alaska.
Since our inception in 1998 we have expanded the
geographic scope of our habitat surveys to include sites on Baranof
Island, Admiralty Island, Prince of Wales Island, Kuiu Island and the
mainland. We have worked on projects that focused on a variety of
species and habitats including: Brown Bears, Humpback Whales and other
marine mammals, Western Toads, migratory song birds, big tree forests,
resident and anadromous fish habitats and post glacial wetland and
forest complexes.
Although
our core projects have been those associated with brown bears and
humpback whales our experiences and interests have been wide ranging.
We are passionate about ecological thinking in general and are glad to
support any timely research project being conducted in Southeast
Alaska.
|
Our brown bear studies began with a two year pilot project (summers of 2000
and 2001) on northern Chichagof Island. We developed methods for
mapping habitat characteristics (primarily vegetation and anadromous
qualities) and signs of use by bears. Bear use was surveyed and
monitored through mapping 'perennial' bear sign (trails, habitual mark
trees and bedding areas) and 'ephemeral' bear sign (scat, carcasses,
bed activity, and digging activity). The purpose of the mapping was to
provide ecological context for studying changes in bear behavior when
interacting with humans at important feeding areas, and to further our
general understanding of brown bear patterns of habitat use.