Contact Information

Institute of Marine Science
221 O'Neill
P.O. Box 757220
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220
Phone: (907) 474-7956
Fax: (907) 474-7204
feder@ims.uaf.edu

Howard Feder Professor Emeritus

Marine Biology • Marine Invertebrates

Specialties

sea star biology
arctic benthic systems

Education

Ph.D. 1957 Stanford University (Marine Biology)

Research Overview

My research has examined intertidal and subtidal marine organisms in Alaskan waters. The main thrust of my work has been the investigation of the marine invertebrate fauna of benthic systems in fjords and embayments within Prince William Sound and the subarctic and arctic Alaskan shelf. Although studies mainly considered unstressed systems, several investigations addressed systems stressed by seafood-waste disposal, dredging activity and a major oil spill event. A long-term monitoring program in Port Valdez has assessed the intertidal and subtidal environment in the vicinity of the Marine Terminal of the Trans Alaska Pipeline. Some of my investigations in theArctic focused on benthic environmental-interactions in the Chukchi Sea. Other studies have addressed the food habits of marine invertebrates (e.g., Tanner and king crabs, pandalid shrimps, sea stars), the shell growth and age of bivalve mollusks (i.e., clams, cockles and mussels) and the reproductive and nutritional cycles of mussel in Port Valdez. Collaboration with graduate students resulted in studies on barnacle biology, the distribution, behavior and feeding biology of sea otters in Port Valdez, and the food habits of Pacific walrus.
Specific Alaskan investigations were pursued in the Beaufort, Chukchi and Bering Seas and the Gulf of Alaska. Many studies were on the open shelf. However, localized embayments and fjords were also examined (i.e., bays and fjords within the Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet and associated bays, bays of Kodiak and Afognak Islands, Unalaska Bay in the Aleutians and Prudhoe Bay within the Beaufort Sea.

Current Research Projects

The Subtidal Benthos in Port Valdez adjacent to the Marine Terminal

Selected Publications

Gregmeier, J.M., Cooper, L.W., Feder, H. M., and B.I. Sirenko. (In Press). Pelagic-benthic coupling and ecosystem dynamics in the Pacific-influenced Amerasian Arctic. Progress in Oceanography.

Feder, H. M., S. C. Jewett and A. Blanchard. 2005. Southeastern Chukchi Sea epibenthos. Polar Biology 28:402-421

Feder, H. M., D, Norton. and J. Geller. 2004. A review of apparent late 20th century changes in the presence of mussels (Mytilus trossulus) and macroalgae (Laminaria spp.) in arctic Alaska and of historical evidence used to connect mollusk distribution to climate change. Arctic 56: 391-407

Blanchard, A. and H. M. Feder. 2003. Adjustment of benthic fauna following sediment disposal at a site with multiple stressors in Port Valdez, Alaska. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 46: 1590-1599

Blanchard, A. L., H. M. Feder and D. G. Shaw. 2002. Long-term investigation of benthic fauna and the influence of treated ballast water disposal in Port Valdez, Alaska. Mar. Poll. Bull. 44:367-382.

Hoberg, M. K. and H. M. Feder. 2002. The macrobenthos of sites within Prince William Sound, Alaska, prior to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Int. Rev. Hydrobiol. 87:25-45.

Feder, H. M. 2001. A year at NARL: The experiences of a young biologist in the early days of NARL. In: Norton, D. (ed.), Fifty More Years below zero. University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, Alaska, pp. 33-60.

Sheffield , G., F. Fay, H. Feder and B. P. Kelly. 2001. Laboratory digestion of prey and interpretation of walrus stomach contents. Mar Mammal Sci. 17:310-330.

Blanchard, A and H. M. Feder. 2000. Some aspects of the biology of limpets in Port Valdez, Alaska. The Veliger 43:34-42.

Jewett, S. C., H. M. Feder, and A. Blanchard. 1999. Assessment of the benthic environment following offshore placer gold mining in the northeastern Bering Sea. Mar. Envir. Res. 48:91-122.

Feder, H. M. and A. Blanchard. 1998. The deep benthos of Prince William Sound, Alaska, sixteen months after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Mar. Poll. Bull. 36:118-130.

Blanchard, A. and H. M. Feder. 1997. Reproductive timing and nutritional storage cycles of Mytilus trossulus (Gould, 1850) in Port Valdez, Alaska, site of a marine oil terminal. The Veliger 40:121–130.

Feder, H. M., A. S. Naidu, S. C. Jewett, J. M. Hameedi, W. R. Johnson, and T. E. Whitledge. 1994. The northeastern Chukchi Sea: benthos-environmental interactions. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 111:171–190.

Feder, H. M., N. R. Foster, S. C. Jewett, T. J. Weingartner, and R. Baxter. 1994. Mollusks in the northeastern Chukchi Sea. Arctic. 47:145–163.

Feder, H. M., A. S. Naidu, and A. J. Paul. 1990. Trace element and biotic changes following a simulated oil spill on a mudflat in Port Valdez, Alaska. Mar. Poll. Bull. 21(3):131–137.

Grebmeier, J. M., C. P. McRoy, and H. M. Feder. 1989. Pelagic-benthic coupling on the shelf of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. II. Benthic community structure. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 51:253–268.

Feder, H. M. and B. Bryson-Schwafel. 1988. The intertidal zone. In: D. Shaw and J. M. Hameedi (eds.), Environmental Studies in Port Valdez, Alaska: A Basis for Management. Lecture Notes on Coastal and Estuarine Studies. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 117–164.

Feder, H. M. and T. Pearson. 1988. The benthic ecology of Loch Linnhe and Loche Eil, a sea-loch system on the west coast of Scotland. V. Biology of the dominant soft-bottom epifauna and their interaction with the infauna. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 116:99–134.

Feder, H. M. and S. C. Jewett. 1987. The subtidal benthos. In: D. W. Hood and S.T. Zimmerman (eds.), The Gulf of Alaska. Physical Environment and Biological Resources. U. S. Dept. of Commerce. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. pp. 347–396.

Jewett, S. C. and H. M. Feder. 1982. Food and feeding habits of the King crab, Paralithodes camtschatica, near Kodiak Island, Alaska. Mar. Biol. 66:243–250.

Feder, H. M. and S. C. Jewett. 1981. Feeding Interactions in the Eastern Bering Sea with Emphasis on the Benthos, pp. 1229–1261. In: D. W. Hood and J. Calder (eds.), The Eastern Bering Sea Shelf: Oceanography and Resources, Vol. II. U. S. Dept. of Commerce.

Feder, H. M. 1981. Aspects of the Feeding Biology of the Brittle Star, Ophiura texturata. Ophelia 20:215–235.

Feder, H. M. and G. E. Keiser. 1980. Intertidal Biology, Chapter 8, pp. 145–233. In: J. M. Colonell (ed.), Port Valdez, Alaska: Environmental Studies, 1976–1979. Inst. Mar. Sci. Univ. Alaska, Fairbanks.

Feder, H. M. 1980. Asteroidea: The Sea Stars, Chapter 8, pp. 117–135. In: R. Morris, D. P. Abbot, and E. C. Haderlie (eds.), Marine Intertidal Invertebrates of the California Coast. Stanford Univ. Press, pp. 690.

Jewett, S. C. and H. M. Feder. 1977. Biology of the harpacticoid copepod, Harpacticus uniremis Kröyer on Dayville Flats, Port Valdez, Alaska. Ophelia 16:111–129.

Paul, A. J. and H. M. Feder. 1975. The food of the sea star, Pycnopodia helianthoides (Brandt), in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Ophelia 14:15–22.

Feder, H. M., C. Turner, and C. Limbaugh. 1974. Observations on fishes associated with kelp beds in southern California. Calif. Dept. Fish and Game Fish. Bull. 160:144.

Paul, A. J. and H. M. Feder. 1973. Growth, recruitment, and distribution of the littleneck clam, Protothaca staminea, in Galena Bay, Prince William Sound, Alaska. Fish. Bull. 71:665–677.

Feder, H. M. 1972. Escape responses in marine invertebrates. Sci. Amer. 227:92–100.

Feder, H. M. 1970. Growth and predation by the ochre sea star, Pisaster ochraceus (Brandt), in Monterey Bay, California. Ophelia 8:161–185.

Lasker, R., H. M. Feder, G. Theilacker, and R. May. 1970. Feeding, growth, and survival of larval anchovies reared in the laboratory. Mar. Biol. 5:345–353.

Feder, H. M. 1967. Organisms responsive to predatory sea-stars. Sarsia 29:371–394.

Feder, H. M. 1966. Cleaning symbiosis in the marine environment. In: M. Henry (ed.), Symbiosis, Vol. I., Academic Press, pp. 327–380.

Feder, H. M. and A. M. Christensen. 1966. Aspects of asteroid biology. In: R. A. Boolootian (ed.), Physiology of Echinodermata, Interscience Publishers (John Wiley and Sons), New York, pp. 87–127.

Feder, H. M. 1963. Gastropod defensive responses and their effectiveness in reducing predation by starfishes. Ecology 44:721–724.

Feder, H. M. 1959. The food of the starfish, Pisaster ochraceus, along the California Coast. Ecology 40:721–724.

Feder, H. M. 1955. On the methods used by the starfish, Pisaster ochraceus, in opening three types of bivalve mollusks. Ecology 36:764–767.