University of Alaska Fairbanks SCHOOL OF FISHERIES AND OCEAN SCIENCES  
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Photo of Brenda Norcross

Contact Information

Institute of Marine Science
116 O'Neill
P.O. Box 757220
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220
Phone: (907) 474-7990
Fax: (907) 474-7204
norcross@ims.uaf.edu

Brenda Norcross Professor

Fisheries Ecology • Fisheries Oceanography

Specialties

Education

Courses

Fall 2008

Research Overview

Norcross's research interest is the effect of the surrounding environment on fish. Generally that means investigating physical variables like water temperature, salinity, depth and bottom type, and biological variables such as type and amount of food. When asked how the Exxon Valdez oil spill would affect her career, Brenda Norcross replied "It won't; I don't do oil." That, she readily admits, was one of the most naive statements of her life. Exactly two months before the March 1989 oil spill, Norcross arrived at University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) from 10 years at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Because of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, she spent almost 12 years studying herring in Prince William Sound. Along with a variety of researchers, Norcross and her students were part of a large multidisciplinary study investigating the ecology of herring and pink salmon.

In addition to herring that are found near the surface, Norcross studies groundfish, especially flatfishes, that stay on the bottom. She and her students have found that depth and sediment, be it sand, mud, or gravel, determine where juvenile flatfishes can live. They can statistically predict habitats in which flatfishes should be found. In work they consider extremely fascinating, Norcross and her students collect fish in remote and beautiful locations throughout Alaska, including over 1000 miles of coastal waters from the Aleutian Islands around Kodiak Island to Cook Inlet, as well as the Bering and Chukchi Sea. The August 2004 cruise in the Chukchi Sea was part of a joint NOAA-Russian program for ecosystem-oriented exploration. When they are not at sea collecting samples, they are working long hours in the lab undertaking a computer analysis of their data.

Resulting from her productive and multifaceted work, Norcross serves on a number of committees that provide scientific advice to state, national and international governmental concerns. She serves on committees including the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish Plan Team of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the Scientific Steering Committee of PICES-GLOBEC Climate Change and Carrying Capacity (CCCC) Program. She also continues to be active in EVOS activities as a member of the Gulf Ecosystem Monitoring and Research Program (GEM) Science and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) and as a member of the Public Advisory Committee (PAC).

As a lifelong educator, Brenda Norcross also is dedicated to graduate education. She currently advises 6 graduate students who work on a wide range of projects and who major in Fisheries Oceanography, Fisheries, and Marine Biology. A perusal of the list to the right will reveal that Norcross's students have diverse interests and areas of study. In the past 15 years, 6 Ph.D. and 12 M.S. students working with Norcross have graduated. In addition to guiding student's research, Norcross alternates teaching Fisheries Oceanography (MSL-640), an upper level class encompassing knowledge of fisheries, physical and biological oceanography, and Fisheries Oceanography Seminar (MSL 692) focusing upon a different topic at each offering. In recent years, topics have included Interaction of Fisheries and Marine Mammals, Marine Reserves, Current Issues in Fisheries and Fisheries Oceanography, and Status of the North Pacific Ecosystem. She also developed a course in Writing Techniques.

Several years ago, Dr. Norcross spent 12 months on sabbatical leave living aboard a sailboat in the eastern Caribbean. During that time, she became increasingly aware of the public's lack of knowledge about the marine environment that surrounds them. It emphasized her belief in the need for outreach and public education.

In 2001, Norcross was honored for her research and outreach efforts by being named an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow and a Harriman Scholar.

Current Research Projects

Graduate Students

Ph.D.—Olav A. Ormseth Current. “Influence of ocean temperature on reproductive processes of Pacific cod in Alaskan waters” (Fisheries Oceanography).

Ph.D.—Andrew Seitz Current. "Population sub-structure of Pacific halibut derived from pop-up satellite archival transmitting (PSAT) tags." (Fisheries Oceanography).

Ph.D.—Robert Spangler Current. “Geographic difference in eulachon life history characteristics.” (Fisheries).

M.S.—Nicole Koehler Current. “Distribution of whales and forage at the tidal front around Point Adolphus, Alaska.” (Marine Biology).

M.A.—Lauren Krueger Current (co-chair). “CDQs in Western Alaska.” (Northern Studies).

M.S.—Sean C. Rooney Current (co-chair). “Hydrography and fish distribution in the Gulf of Alaska.” (Fisheries).

Ph.D.—Sherri C. Dressel 2004. "Alternative survey designs and analytical methods for multispecies trawl surveys" (Fisheries Oceanography).

Ph.D.—Evelyn D. Brown 2003. "Stock Sturcture and Environmental Effects on Year-Class Formation and Population Trends of Pacific Herring, Clupea Pallasi, In Prince Wiiliam Sound, Alaska" (Fisheries).

M.S.—Christine Frazier 2003. "Effects of closed areas in the eastern Bering Sea on species characteristics" (Marine Biology)

M.S.—Michael C. Palmer 2003. "Environmental controls of fish growth in the Southeast Bering Sea" (Fisheries Oceanography)

M.S.—Sarah J. Thornton 2003 (co-chair). "Temperature and food effects on larval Pacific herring in Prince William Sound, Alaska" (Biological Oceanography)

M.S.—Monica H. Bando 2002. “Comparing the nutritional quality of Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) diets. (Marine Biology)

M.S.—Brandee L. Gerke 2002. “Spawning habitat characteristics of Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi, in Prince William Sound, Alaska” (Fisheries)

M.S.—Elizabeth A. Kitto 2002. “The ecology of eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) in Twentymile River, Alaska” (Fisheries)

M.S.—Brenda A. Holladay 2001. "Diets of juvenile flatfishes near Kodiak Island, Alaska” (Fisheries Oceanography)

Ph.D.—Robert J. Foy 2000. "Juvenile Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) feeding ecology in Prince William Sound, Alaska" (Fisheries Oceanography)

Ph.D.—Franz-Josef Mueter 1999. "Spatial and temporal changes in species composition of the groundfish community in the Gulf of Alaska." (Fisheries Oceanography)

M.S.—Alisa A. Abookire 1997. "Environmental factors affecting seasonal habitat and distribution of flathead sole and rock sole in Kachemak Bay, Alaska." (Fisheries Oceanography)

M.S.—Elizabeth A. Chilton 1997. “Environmental variables influencing distribution and abundance of juvenile flatfishes in an exposed coastal area of Kodiak, Alaska.” (Fisheries Oceanography)

Ph.D.—Adam Moles 1996. "Effects of oil laden sediments on behavior and growth of juvenile flatfishes." (Fisheries)

Ph.D.—Tina Wyllie Echeverria 1995. "Fish populations and environmental variables on a sub-arctic shelf." (Fisheries Oceanography)

M.S.—Franz-Josef Müter 1992. "Distribution, abundance, and growth of larval walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in a glaciated fjord." (Biological Oceanography)

M.S.—David M. Wyanski 1990. "Patterns of habitat utilization in 0-age summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus).” (College of William and Mary – Marine Science)

M.S.—Lucy E. Feingold 1989 (co-chair). "Influence of physical parameters on the distribution and survivorship of the early life stages of weakfish in Delaware Bay." (University of Delaware—Marine Science)

Selected Publications

Norcross, B.L. 2004. Chapter 8—Beyond Serenity: Boom and Bust in Prince William Sound. IN: T. Litwin (Ed.) The 1899 Harriman Alaska: A Century of Change, Rutgers University Press, pp. 115-124.

Seitz, A. C., Wilson, D., Norcross, B. L. & Nielsen, J. L. 2004. Pop-up archival transmitting (PAT) tags: a method to investigate the migration and behavior of Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis in the Gulf of Alaska. AK Fish. Res. Bull. 10:124-137.

Norcross, B.L., S.M. McKinnell, M. Frandsen, D.L. Musgrave, and S. Sweet. 2003. Larval fishes of the central North Pacific transitional areas, including the shelf break of west central Alaska. J. Oceanogr. (Japan) 59:445-460.

Brown, E.D., J. Seitz, B.L. Norcross and H.P. Huntington. 2002. Ecology of herring and other forage fish as recorded by resource users of Prince William Sound and the Outer Kenai, Alaska. Alaska Fish. Res. Bull. 9(2):75-101.

Mueter, F.J. and B.L. Norcross. 2002. Spatial and temporal patterns in the demersal fish community on the shelf and upper slope regions of the Gulf of Alaska. Fish. Bull. (US) 100:559-581.

Norcross, B.L. and E.D. Brown. 2001. Estimation of first year survival of Pacific herring from a review of recent stage-specific studies. In: F. Funk, J. Blackburn, D. Hay, A.J. Paul, R. Stephenson, R. Toresen, and D. Witherell (eds.). Herring: Expectations for a New Millennium. University of Alaska Sea Grant, AK-SG-01-04, Fairbanks, pp.535-558.

Brown, E.D. and B.L. Norcross. 2001. Effect of herring egg distribution and ecology on year-class strength and adult distribution: preliminary results from Prince William Sound. In: F. Funk, J. Blackburn, D. Hay, A.J. Paul, R. Stephenson, R. Toresen, and D. Witherell (eds.). Herring: Expectations for a New Millennium. University of Alaska Sea Grant, AK-SG-01-04, Fairbanks, pp. 335-345.

Foy, R.J. and B.L. Norcross. 2001. Temperature effects on zooplankton assemblages and juvenile herring feeding in Prince William Sound, Alaska. In: F. Funk, J. Blackburn, D. Hay, A.J. Paul, R. Stephenson, R. Toresen, and D. Witherell (eds.). Herring: Expectations for a New Millennium. University of Alaska Sea Grant, AK-SG-01-04, Fairbanks, pp. 21-35.

Norcross, B.L., E.D. Brown, R.J. Foy, M. Frandsen, S. Gay, T.C. Kline Jr., D.M. Mason, E.V. Patrick, A.J. Paul and K.D.E. Stokesbury. 2001. A synthesis of the life history and ecology of juvenile Pacific herring in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Fish. Oceanog. 10 (Suppl. 1):42-57.

Mueter, F.J., and B.L. Norcross. 2000. Changes in species composition of the demersal fish community in nearshore waters of Kodiak Island, Alaska. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 57:1169-1180.

Mueter, F.J. and B.L. Norcross. 1999. Linking community structure of small demersal fishes around Kodiak Island, Alaska to environmental variables. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 190:37-51

Foy, R.J. and B.L. Norcross. 1999. Spatial and temporal differences in the diet of juvenile Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Can. J. Zoolog.77(5) 697-706.

Norcross, B.L. and F.J. Mueter. 1999. The use of an ROV in the study of juvenile flatfishes. Fish. Res. 39:241-251.

Norcross, B.L., A. Blanchard and B.A. Holladay. 1999. Models for defining near-shore nursery areas of flatfishes in Alaskan waters. Fish. Oceanog. 8:50-67.

Moles, A. and B.L. Norcross. 1998. Effects of oil-laden sediments on growth and health of juvenile flatfishes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 55:605-610.

Abookire, A.A. and B.L. Norcross. 1998. Depth and substrate as determinants of distribution of juvenile flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon) and rock sole (Pleuronectes bilineatus) distribution in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. J. Sea Res. 39:113-123.

Norcross, B.L., F.-J. Müter and B.A. Holladay. 1997. Habitat models for juvenile flatfishes around Kodiak Island, Alaska. Fish. Bull. (US) 95(3):504-520.

Norcross, B.L., J.E. Hose, M. Frandsen and E. Brown. 1996. Distribution, abundance, morphological condition and cytogenetic abnormalities of larval herring in Prince William Sound, Alaska, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 53:2376-2387.

Norcross, B.L., B.A. Holladay, and F.-J. Müter. 1995. Nursery area characteristics of pleuronectids in coastal Alaska, USA. Neth. J. Sea Res. 34(1-3):161-175.

Holladay, B.A. and B.L. Norcross. 1995. Diet of age-0 Pacific halibut in near-shore waters of Kodiak Island, Alaska. Env. Biol. Fish. 44:403-416.

Moles, A. and B.L. Norcross. 1995. Sediment preference in juvenile Pacific flatfishes. Neth. J. Sea Res. 34(1-3):177-182.

Müter, F.-J. and B.L. Norcross. 1994. Distribution, abundance, and growth of larval walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in an Alaskan fjord. Fish. Bull. (US) 92:582-590