Researchers
Gulf Apex Predator-Prey Project
Current Researchers
Kate Wynne
Professor, Marine Advisory Program Marine Mammal Specialist
Ms. Wynne is responsible for integrating marine mammal research objectives into GAP's overall goals and coordinating collaboration with particular focus on pinniped foraging ecology. She continues to collaborate with state and federal biologists studying Steller sea lion, harbor seal, and cetacean populations and their interactions with fisheries in the Aleutians and Gulf of Alaska.
Briana Witteveen, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Professor, Marine Advisory Program Marine Mammal Specialist
Dr. Witteveen earned her M.S. through the GAP project and has continued to work for the project as a technician, postdoc, and now a research professional. She is responsible for GAP projects relating to the foraging ecology and population dynamics of large whales. Additionally, she synthesizes previously collected data on species at upper trophic levels from GAP and other studies for input into ecosystem models to address questions regarding the impact of changes in the abundance of and consumption by baleen whale populations throughout defined time scales.
Lei Guo, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Guo earned his Ph.D. through the GAP project and began his work as a postdoc in March 2011. The goals of his postdoc are twofold:
- To continue monitoring seasonal distribution of forage fishes and macro-zooplankton in waters around the Kodiak archipelago through field surveys and laboratory analyses. Surveys are designed to spatially overlap with concurrent GAP studies of marine mammals, such as Stellar sea lions and humpback whales.
- To synthesize previously collected data on physical oceanography and species at lower trophic levels from GAP and other relevant studies. Output will be interfaced with synthesized data on apex predators in local ecosystems to establish conceptual models.
Past Faculty
Robert Foy, Ph.D.
Loren Buck, Ph.D.
Dean Kildaw, Ph.D.
Past Research Staff
Alf Haukenes, Ph.D.
Andreas Winter, Ph.D.
Jane McKenzie, Ph.D.
Past Graduate Students
Alexander Andrews
M.S. Fisheries – 2010
Robert Foy, committee member
Variation in the trophic position of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in the northeastern Pacific Ocean: An approach using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes
Lisa Baraff
M.S. Marine Biology – 2006
Kate Wynne and Robert Foy
Summer distribution and habitat chracteristics of balaenopterid whales off northeast Kodiak Island, Alaska
John Brewer
M.S. Marine Biology – 2007
Loren Buck
Adrenal responsiveness of Black-legged Kittiwake chicks: proximate effects of brood size, status and adult provisioning rate
Robert Fridinger
Brook Gamble
M.S. Biology
Loren Buck
Ecological and physiological factors contributing to reproductive success of Glacous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) in Chiniak Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska
Lei Guo
Ph.D. Marine Biology – 2010
Kate Wynne and Robert Foy
Describing forage fish availability in coastal waters of the Kodiak archipelago, Alaska
Shannon Hanna
M.S. Marine Biology – 2006
Loren Buck
Interrelationships among temperature metabolism, swimming performance and recovery in Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus): implications of a changing climate
Shawn Harper
M.S. Marine Biology
Kate Wynne
Dive physiology and behavior of two polar phocid species
Brian Knoth
M.S. Fisheries – 2006
Robert Foy
Investigation of the role of arrowtooth flounders (Atheresthes stomias) as a top level consumer in the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem from 2001–2004
Jennifer Marsh
M.S. Fisheries – 2010
Robert Foy, co-advisor
Ontogenetic considerations in the trophic level of commercial groundfish species in the Gulf of Alaska
Katie Murra
M.S. Marine Biology
Loren Buck
Black-legged Kittiwake foraging and reproductive performance in Kodiak, Alaska
Xian Wang
M.S. Marine Biology
Robert Foy
Interannual and seasonal zooplankton community composition near Kodiak Island, Alaska
Corey Williams
Ph.D. Marine Biology – 2008
Loren Buck
Foraging ecology and nutritional stress of tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) inferred from stable isotopes, fatty acid signatures, and field endocrinology
Briana Witteveen
M.S. Fisheries – 2003
Kate Wynne and Terry Quinn II, co-advisors
Abundance and feeding ecology of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Dana Wright
M.S. Marine Biology – 2015
Briana Witteveen and Kate Wynne, co-advisors
Variability in foraging by humpback whales (Megaptera novangliae) on the Kodiak, Alaska feeding ground
