the BREAKWATER 
A newsletter from the Prince William Sound Science Center
March 2019
COPPER RIVER STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATIONS ARE DUE FRIDAY
CRSP students take a break by a waterfall, 2018.
Apply now for the Copper River Stewardship Program!

This in-depth, hands-on adventure will take 10 youth throughout the Copper River watershed on an amazing exploration of our landscape. CRSP is open to all current students in grades 8-12 with a connection to the Copper River watershed. 

Trip dates: July 16-27, 2019 

Get the Copper River Stewardship Program application  here.
30TH ANNIVERSARY RECEPTION
Join us for a special celebration during our anniversary open house reception.

Friday, April 26, 2019
4:30-6:30 p.m.
At the Prince William Sound Science Center

We'll have tasty treats, activities for the young (and young-at-heart), and remarks from Science Center president, Katrina Hoffman.

CASPIAN TERNS ON THE COPPER RIVER DELTA
Caspian Tern Photo: Adam Peck-Richardson
The discovery of a Caspian Tern colony on one of the barrier islands of the Copper River Delta in 2005 by Tyee and Teal Lohse was no surprise to researcher Dr. Mary Anne Bishop. Sightings of Caspian Terns and their young had been regularly reported since the late 1980s, and in many ways, the barrier island that they settled on is the perfect habitat for a breeding colony. It's a federally owned sandy island, mostly devoid of potential mammalian predators, with very few nesting gulls who would try to steal their eggs. The remote location makes the island relatively safe from human disturbance and development as well. Unfortunately, like many of the world's coastal communities and colonies, the Caspian Tern colony is not safe from the effects of climate change. Nine years of colony monitoring shows what the future might look like for these resilient birds...

Read the full story here! 

MARINE HEAT WAVE
Warm water anomalies in mid-October of 2018. Anomalies are the departure from the long-term average temperature. Photo: NOAA/NESDIS
Abnormally warm sea surface temperatures across the North Pacific have researchers worried that we may be facing another marine heat wave like the 2013-16 'Blob'. Prince William Sound Science Center Oceanographer Dr. Rob Campbell first started noticing the sea surface temperature anomalies late last summer on NOAA's sea surface anomaly map. The Bering Sea was extremely warm going into winter and both the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound had switched over to warm anomalies.

Read the full article about the most recent marine heatwave and its potential implications for our regional ecosystem here.  
BYOB: BUILD YOUR OWN BIRD
Students in Mt. Eccles' third grade class try out different "beaks" for different kinds of foods. Photo: Lauren Bien
Third grade students at Mt. Eccles are continuing to explore birds during Discovery Room this year. Last week, PWSSC educators taught them all about bird adaptations. They learned how to tell where a bird lives and what it eats based on the legs/feet and bill/beak of a bird. 

Students got a chance to feel real bird feet from ptarmigan, ducks, shorebirds, and a turkey. They tried to "flap their wings" as fast as a hummingbird (it was exhausting!) and played a feeding game to see which "beaks" were best at eating different kinds of food (results were even graphed!).

To tie it all together, students got to "Build Your Own Bird." Each student received details on where their bird lives (shoreline, forest, or wetland) and what it eats. Using their newfound bird expertise, some pre-cut bird parts, and a bundle of creativity--they designed some fabulous birds--well adapted for their lifestyles.
HUNGRY SALMON
Fourth grade students learn how to take care of the salmon in the Mt. Eccles salmon tank. Photo: Teal Barmore
We want to thank the 4th grade class for taking such good care of our salmon in the tank at Mt. Eccles. The coho have made it through the eye-egg and alevin stages of life and are now hungry fry, ready to start eating. 

The 6th graders have taken over salmon-care responsibilities and were trained on how to feed them last week. 

It is a lot of work to feed these hungry salmon--good luck 6th grade!
DEPARTING STAFF
Ben Gray loads gear for an Ocean Tracking Network Cruise. Photo: Teal Barmore
Fisheries research assistant Ben Gray left the Prince William Sound Science Center after two years of working for Dr. Mary Anne Bishop. During his time at the Science Center Ben went on numerous trips in Prince William Sound to maintain and deploy acoustic receivers for the Ocean Tracking Network and tag herring for the Herring Research and Monitoring Program. When he wasn't in the field, Ben helped Mary Anne with data analysis and report writing. 

Join us in wishing Ben luck in his new job as the assistant area management biologist for the AYK region (Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim) at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game!
TICKETS! TICKETS! TICKETS!
Tickets are now on sale for our annual Copper River Nouveau dinner and auction!

Dinner will be held on Saturday June 8th at 6 p.m. in the Cordova Center in Cordova Alaska.  Seats are $125 for members; $150 for nonmembers.

Please contact Signe at sfritsch@pwssc.org to buy tickets, sponsor, make a donation, or volunteer.  Click here for more information on Copper River Nouveau.  

The Science Center is committed to understanding how one place on earth can maintain a reliable economy and natural environment for the long term. 
 
We invite you-- donors, researchers, partners, funders, elected officials, citizens--to join us in better understanding one of the world's last, great natural regions, home of the world's richest waters.

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