A newsletter from the Prince William Sound Science Center

November 7, 2023

Thanks to Dr. Alysha Cypher, spools of ribbon kelp from our kelp hatchery were distributed to local farmers in mid-October. The spools have been “planted” to grow in eastern Prince William Sound over the course of the next six months. Photo credit: Dr. Alysha Cypher.

Unexpected Details About Pink Salmon

Dr. Pete Rand co-authored a recently published paper in Molecular Biology: Tidal gradients, fine-scale homing, and a potential cryptic ecotype of wild spawning pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha).

Results reveal that Prince William Sound pink salmon spawn within 100 meters of where their parents spawned, and there appears to be two spawning groups within a stream system. The intertidal area of a stream, where there is an influx of saltwater, are preferred by wild pink salmon; hatchery-origin pink salmon prefer to reproduce in the freshwater areas. This was all revealed by creating a family tree (assigning offspring back to their parents) using genetic markers.

The samples for this effort were collected by Prince William Sound Science Center crew members who handled over 30,000 adult pink salmon in western Prince William Sound back in 2014 and 2016 as part of the Alaska Hatchery Research Program.

View the press release here.

A humpback whale surfacing within a forage flock of kittiwakes and gulls. Photo credit: John Moran (NOAA), MMPA Permit #24378.

Avian research associate, Anne Schaefer, was recently part of the annual Gulf Watch Alaska Integrated Predator Prey (IPP) Survey in Prince William Sound. During this survey, two boats and a crew of researchers documented the interactions between upper trophic level predators (humpback whales and seabirds) and their prey (forage fish and krill). They recorded whale and seabird distribution, abundance, and behavior simultaneously with surveys that use hydroacoustic equipment to document fish and krill below the surface. 

One of the questions Anne and the other IPP researchers are trying to answer is how humpback whales and forage flocks of seabirds interact to locate prey. In some areas, seabirds key into whales that drive fish upwards toward the surface and therefore closer to the waiting seabirds. In other instances, whales have been observed cueing in on foraging flocks of seabirds diving on schools of fish. In Prince William Sound, researchers have mostly observed the latter behavior - whales seem to notice when flocks of seabirds are diving on a school, then swim through the school to join in on the feast!

We hope you can join us this month for some educational fun! Different programs are intended for certain ages, noted below. Younger participants need to be accompanied by a caregiver. All are welcome to attend. A current calendar of events can be found on our website. If you would like to receive email notifications for upcoming community education programs, subscribe here.

November 7 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Night Talk: Bands, Swabs, and Feathers

Brandt Meixell, Audubon and U.S. Forest Service, will be presenting on his experiences from 20 years of waterfowl fieldwork throughout Alaska.

November 13 (2-3 pm) Sea Squirts: Preschool Rocks 

Join us as we explore rocks through games and hands-on fun. Balance rocks, clean rocks, color on rocks, and practice describing rocks. The intended audience is kids ages 3-5 and their caregivers.  

November 14 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Night Talk: Ocean Acidification Research Center

Natalie Monacci of UAF will be discussing the Ocean Acidification Research Center and how they monitor Alaska’s ocean chemistry. 

November 17 (2:30-3:30 pm) Fun Friday: Oceanography

Join us to learn what it is like to be an oceanographer through games, crafts, and interactive learning stations. The intended audience is kids in grades K-4 and their caregivers.  

November 19 (7-8 pm) Nature Yoga: Go with the Flow

Join Aviva for a nature yoga session where we practice “going with the flow”. This month's focus will be on waves and currents. Open to all.

November 20 (7-8 pm) Science Trivia: A Little Kelp from our Friends

*Located at the Reluctant Fisherman. Geared toward adults.

November 21 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Night Talk: Bats

Jesika Reimer, Taiga Wildlife Research, will be discussing bat biology and behaviors, along with her research monitoring bats in southcentral Alaska.  

November 27 (7-8 pm) Astronomy Night: Marvelous Mars

Get a closer look at the red planet. There will be telescopes (weather permitting), learning activities for kids and adults, and smores around a campfire. 

November 28 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Night Talk: Alaskan Coastal Wetlands

Eden McCall will be discussing how Alaska's coastal wetlands are unique. Watch a premiere of three short films released this fall that highlight the importance and uniqueness of the Stikine River Delta, Yakutat Forelands, and Copper River Delta, and speak with the producer of the series. 

Fourth graders investigating intertidal invertebrates and their role in the food chain.  Photo credit: PWSSC.

Our theme for October was Creatures of the Deep, celebrating the weird and the wonderful! Here’s a recap of our adventures. Full details can be found on our news page.

Fun Friday included two events. “Creatures of the Deep” focused on deep sea creatures and the adaptations that allow them to survive in a difficult and vast environment. For “Spooky Creatures” we explored ominous creatures and their amazing adaptations. 

Nature Yoga was octopus themed. Participants were guided on a deep-sea experience as they explored the wonderful world of octopuses. 

Sea Squirts was focused on balance. Kids stacked blocks, practiced standing on one foot, made balancing sculptures, and played balance themed board games.

Little Dippers was full of exploration and movement in rain, sun, and wind. Children explored the concept of floating and sinking, and investigated mosses, lichens, birds, mammals, and invertebrates.

Trivia Night was a tough one! “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” contestants were asked questions about topics that we teach in our Discovery Room program at Mt. Eccles Elementary School. This trivia night left people saying, “I need to go back to school” and “I wish I went to school in Cordova!”

Tuesday Night Talks from last month can be viewed on our YouTube channel. The first was presented by Collin Bronson of the City of Cordova discussing the South Harbor Reconstruction Project. The next was presented by Tory Rhodes of ADF&G: As the Seasons Tern: 10 years of Aleutian Tern Surveys. Sierra Greene of UAF and Arron Jones of ASG capped off the month with a presentation about Environmental Drivers of Growth on Kelp and Oyster Farms. 

Mad Scientist Laboratory visitors were entertained with a variety of fun (and messy) science experiements that left them screaming with curiosity! Before they could get a treat, they had to walk through the haunted ocean, complete with portraits of real ocean creatures with spooky names, such as the Halloween crab, skeleton shrimp, and zombie worm.

Discovery Room at Mt. Eccles Elementary School was filled with exploration: 

• Kindergarteners explored the skills scientists need by making observations with their five senses.
• First graders created a forest symphony while learning how vibration creates sound. They used drum sticks to compare hollow logs, rocks, branches, and the ground.
• Second graders went on a field trip to the harbor to learn about biodiversity and species richness and “graphed” biodiversity using LEGO. They also explored parts of a plant and planted lettuce seeds to grow in their hydroponic system.
• Third graders went on a similar field trip to the harbor. They also investigated bird courtship and nest building by creating bird dances and playing games. 
• Fourth graders were brought kelp to examine as they continue to make their way up the food chain. Through their observations, they discovered how kelp benefits the ecosystem. Later in the month, they repeated the experience with marine invertebrates in classroom touch tanks. 
• Fifth graders dove headfirst into the world of systems thinking by diagramming a bicycle and creating a systems web of Cordova.
• Sixth graders explored another property of water during our density lab. They discovered that cold water is more dense than warm water. We ended the month with a lesson on the deep sea. Students learned about adaptations of deep sea creatures, including bioluminescence. After our lesson, Dr. Rob Campbell took the class on a cruise in search of bioluminescent plankton!

Many Thanks to our Fall Auction Supporters!