Using DNA metabarcoding, we examined diet composition, prey resources, and saxitoxin (STX) and parasite exposure in Steller sea lions (SSL) in the Gulf of Alaska in July and October 2022–2023 using 251 scat samples and 45 seawater samples. Using 12S rRNA MiFish gene metabarcoding, diet items in Prince William Sound (PWS), Cook Inlet and near Kodiak ordered by prevalence were salmon, gadids, herring, flatfishes and capelin. Usi...

In August 2024, a northern fur seal mortality event was observed on St. Paul Island, AK in the southeast (SE) Bering Sea. Ten seals in good body condition were found dead along with large accumulations of dead fish on Benson Beach located on St. Paul Island. Full necropsies of the five available adult seals, one pup, and several fish did not reveal any overt causes of death. Testing of tissues for the algal neurotoxins domoic...

An opportunistic investigation into ecosystem instability in Kachemak Bay (KBay), Alaska, has led us to investigate exposure to toxic algae in sea otters. We used gene expression to explore the physiological health of sea otters sampled in KBay in May 2019. We found altered levels of gene transcripts in comparison with reference sea otters from clinically normal, oil-exposed, and nutritionally challenged populations sampled ov...

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) present an emerging threat to human and ecosystem health in the Alaskan Arctic. Two HAB toxins are of concern in the region: saxitoxins (STXs), a family of compounds produced by the dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella, and domoic acid (DA), produced by multiple species in the diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia. These potent neurotoxins cause paralytic and amnesic shellfish poisoning, respectively, in hu...

Domoic acid (DA) and saxitoxin (STX)‐producing algae are present in Alaskan seas, presenting exposure risks to marine mammals that may be increasing due to climate change. To investigate potential increases in exposure risks to four pagophilic ice seal species ( Erignathus barbatus , bearded seals; Pusa hispida , ringed seals; Phoca largha , spotted seals; and Histriophoca fasciata , ribbon seals), this study analyzed samples...