Prince William Sound and Copper River Ecosystem, Biological and Ecological Resources, 1991
Keywords: Geologic Characteristics
(An excerpt from Prince William Sound / Copper River / North Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem)
Assessment of an area's biological and ecological resources is fundamental to their stewardship and scientific understanding. Ecological importance can be attributed to all organisms with or without economic value, but usually applies to those species that support the production of other economically important species or are designated as sensitive, threatened, or endangered species.
Legislation has classified certain species within this ecosystem as threatened, endangered, or sensitive: all whales, osprey, Peale's peregrine falcon, Dusky Canada goose, trumpeter swan, Mantague Island tundra vole, Fish Creek chum salmon, northern pike, Wheeler Creek king salmon and the northern sea lion. Other animals, notably seabirds like kittiwakes and fork-tailed storm petrels, are abundant and play a major part in the ecology of the area.
The temperate rain forests, eel grass beds, kelp forests and wetlands found within the ecosystem provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife. These habitats constitute ecological resources upon which many of the economically and ecologically important biological resources are dependent.
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Map by: Ecotrust
Created: January 1, 1991
