Marine Mammals from Southeast Alaska to the Arctic

The proximity of the University of Alaska Southeast to the beautiful Tongass National Forest and the inside waters of the Alexander archipelago of southeastern Alaska offer unique opportunities for students interested in biology and ecology in both the terrestrial and marine environments. While at UAS, I was a student in Beth Mathew's Marine Mammalogy class. Beth's enthusiasm for the subject matter was contagious and thus spurred my interest in the behavior and ecology of marine mammals.

After taking the class, I worked with Beth in Glacier Bay National Park on her harbor seal research project. I also had the opportunity to work with Dr. Brendan Kelly studying the diving behavior of sea otters in Cross Sound in southeast Alaska and the ecology of ringed seals in the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic.
I continued to pursue my interest in marine ecology in graduate school at University of Alaska Fairbanks, where my research addressed hypotheses related to the distribution of Steller sea lions in relation to spring-spawning fish species.

Currently, I have on-going research with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center-Auke Bay Laboratory and Glacier Bay National Park studying (1) relationships between seasonal prey availability and the diet and distribution of Steller sea lions and (2) the foraging ecology of harbor seals in glacial ice and terrestrial habitats. My experience at UAS provided an opportunity to gain a unique educational and research experience through working one-on-one with biology faculty in the classroom, laboratory, and field. My experience at UAS served as a springboard to a graduate degree and a professional career studying the ecology of marine mammals.

UPDATE: Jamie has been accepted at Oregon State University to pursue a PhD studying harbor seals.

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