GAP Personnel:

Briana Witteveen, M.S.
Marine Mammal Technician 
Email: bwitteveen@sfos.uaf.edu

Education
2000 - B.S. Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
2003 - M.S. Fisheries, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska (GAP project)

Research Interests
My primary research interests focus on the foraging ecology of large baleen whales. Much of my research examines how whales may influence the environments in which they live through utilization of marine resources as part of the GAP project. This includes exploring the possible effects on ecosystems following whale removals due to historic exploitation.

Future additions to my work will include attaching suction cup tags to foraging fin and humpback whales. These tags will include time-depth recorders (TDRs) that will aid us in determine the exact depth to which foraging whales are diving. Concurrent with tag deployment efforts, acoustic and mid-water trawl (22 mm mesh cod end liner) surveys will be conducted to assess prey availability and local abundance. Following the research efforts, data from all tag deployments, sonar tracings, and trawl surveys will be combined to assess the foraging strategies of fin and humpback whales, which may include describing habitat usage and prey selectivity. Results from this study will contribute significantly to the overall goals of the GAP project.

Another major focus of my research is to explore the dynamics of humpback whale populations in the western Gulf of Alaska. This work includes estimation population sizes through photo-identification of individual whales.

Selected Publications

Lawson, B.H. 2001. Photo Identification of Humpback Whales off Sand Point, Alaska. in: Abstracts Fourteenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Vancouver, British Columbia. 28 November - 3 December 2001. Society for Marine Mammalogy, Lawrence, KS.

Witteveen, B.H. and J.M. Straley. 2003 Sand Point, Alaska Photo Identification Study. Final Report T03324686 to the Marine Mammal Commission Bethesda, MD 29814-4447. 12 pp.

Witteveen, B.H. 2003. Abundance and feeding ecology of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) within Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) critical habitat in Kodiak, Alaska. Marine Science in the Northeast Pacific: Science for Resource Dependent Communities, Anchorage, AK.

Witteveen, B.H. 2003. Abundance and Feeding Ecology of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Kodiak, Alaska. Master’s thesis. University of Alaska Fairbanks. 119 pp.