Migration and behavior of Dolly Varden in the Beafort Sea, examined with pop-up satellite tags
Project Description
Fisheries managers have long recognized the importance of Dolly Varden char in the diet of subsistence users from several villages in Arctic Alaska. To understand the biology and ecology of this anadromous fish species, fisheries managers and biologists have conducted a variety of research projects examining its freshwater life stages. In contrast, there is very little direct information about the ocean distribution and behavior of Dolly Varden that spend their summers in the Beaufort Sea portion of the Arctic Ocean. To fill in this important knowledge gap, we are using pop-up satellite archival transmitting tags to provide baseline information about the oceanic habits, distribution and migration patterns of Dolly Varden that occupy the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean during the summer.
Project Funding
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Subsistence Management
Amount: $400,978
Start Date: 2014-04-00
End Date: 2017-03-00
Research Team
Andrew "Andy" Seitz
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor
Specialties:
- Fish behavior
- Fish migration
- Behavioral ecology
- Electronic tagging
Michael Courtney
Audun Rikardsen
UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Randy Brown
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Fairbanks Field Office