• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • New theses and dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • New theses and dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Scholarworks@UACommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypeThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsType

    My Account

    Login

    First Time Submitters, Register Here

    Register

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    The rocky shores of Prince of Wales, Alaska: intertidal ecology, abalone, and community sustainability

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Bolwerk_A_2021.pdf
    Size:
    11.41Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Author
    Bolwerk, Ashley
    Chair
    Eckert, Ginny L.
    Committee
    Carothers, Courtney
    Dethier, Megan
    Keyword
    Intertidal animals
    Prince of Wales Island
    Intertidal fishes
    Intertidal ecology
    Seashore ecology
    Pinto abalone
    Pinto abalone fisheries
    Sea otter
    Ecology
    Food chains
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11122/12539
    Abstract
    Rocky, nearshore ecosystems are diverse and dynamic environments that function as the link between land and sea and provide important resources for people. In this two-part thesis, I first examined rocky intertidal ecological communities to better understand biotic and abiotic drivers in this system, and then I investigated the abundance of pinto abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana), a key subsistence resource that local community members identified as the most important because of limited harvest and drastic declines. Pinto abalone are tied to Haida subsistence, culture, and spiritual identity and have been a traditional harvest species for the Haida people for millennia. Pinto abalone were harvested by non-Native fishermen through heavy commercial (1970-1996) and personal use harvest, causing a crash of the population. In the rocky intertidal I surveyed the upper and lower extents of major biobands, frequency of occurrence of sessile organisms, and abundance of mobile invertebrates across a vertical gradient at 18 sites near the west coast of Prince of Wales Island. A multivariate approach was used to identify the major drivers of rocky intertidal community composition and structure. Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) occupation time, average fetch, beach aspect, rugosity, and rock texture were all identified as influential forces for at least one tidal zone and/or biological metrics. Sea otters were not found to restructure the ecosystem, as they do in deeper kelp forest habitats. To assess the current viability of pinto abalone harvest, concerns about sustainability, and their ecological relationships, I partnered with local harvesters within the community of Hydaburg on Prince of Wales Island to combine Indigenous Knowledge about pinto abalone harvest with SCUBA surveys at historically productive traditional harvest sites. Only four (out of 17) of our shallow transects (2 x 20 m), which are within the depth range for traditional harvest methods, had legal-sized pinto abalone (max = 1 abalone). The traditional pinto abalone harvest fishery failed three out of four fishery recovery criteria that were examined. Fourteen out of eighteen sites did not have large (≥ 100 mm) pinto abalone, and pinto large abalone densities were below 0.1 abalone/m2 at all sites. All intermediate size classes of pinto abalone were represented within the fishery, but only 20% of large size classes were observed. Low pinto abalone abundance leads to concerns about traditional harvest viability and spawning failure and thus recruitment failure, for this density-dependent spawning species. In our generalized linear models, pinto abalone presence, density, and biomass were affected by sea urchin biomass. This baseline study of the current state of pinto abalone at traditional harvest sites bestows critical information to a community that depends on pinto abalone as a resource. The Hydaburg Cooperative Association, as a federally recognized Tribe, can use this information to make local management decisions, which include adjustments to harvest guidelines, implementation of sea otter management zones, and/or the establishment of pinto abalone restoration projects. Working with the Tribe and community members throughout the research process led to better science, applicable data, and took a step toward equity and reciprocity in the research processes.
    Description
    Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2021
    Table of Contents
    General introduction -- Chapter 1: Trophic and environmental forcing in Alaskan rocky intertidal communities -- Chapter 2: The status of pinto abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) at traditional harvest sites: using a community-driven research framework -- General conclusion -- Appendices.
    Date
    2021-05
    Type
    Thesis
    Collections
    New theses and dissertations

    entitlement

     
    ABOUT US|HELP|BROWSE|ADVANCED SEARCH

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution and is a part of the University of Alaska system.

    ©UAF 2013 - 2022 | Questions? ua-scholarworks@alaska.edu | Last modified: September 25, 2019

    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.