Today, NOAA Fisheries released its biennial abundance estimate for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales. Scientists estimated that the population size is between 250 and 317, with a median estimate of 279. The population is estimated to be smaller and declining more quickly than previously thought. Abundance estimates can vary from year to year due to a […]
JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska’s population decreased by 3,048 people — 0.4 percent — from July 2018 to July 2019, based on estimates released Wednesday by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. This was the third straight year of decline for the state’s total population, which peaked at 739,649 in July 2016 and […]
Written by: Michelle Ma | University of Washington Killer whales prefer to eat only the biggest, juiciest Chinook salmon they can find. The larger the fish, the more energy a whale can get for its meal. Each year these top ocean predators consume more than 2.5 million adult Chinook salmon along the West Coast. […]
Image: An Aleutian tern in Yakutat. Photo by Nate Catterson. YAKUTAT — On sandy barrier islands between mountains and the sea, two different birds that look alike lay their eggs side-by-side. Biologists here are learning more about the less-common, more mysterious one. Arctic terns and Aleutian terns gather together on ocean spits to scratch out […]