Meet the Scientists: F

Jim Fall Alaska Department of Fish and Game (retired)

No bio available.

Ed Farley NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center email

No bio available.

Ann Fienup-Riordan Calista Elders Council email

Ann Fienup-Riordan was raised in northern Virginia. She finished her BA and MAdegrees in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Michigan in 1973 and went on to earn a PhD in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Chicago in 1981. She has lived and worked in Alaska since 1973. Her books include "The Nelson Island Eskimo" (1983), "Eskimo Essays" (1990), "Boundaries and Passages" (1994), "The Living Tradition of Yup'ik Masks" (1996), "Wise Words of the Yup'ik People: We Talk to You because We Love You" (2003) and most recently "Yuungnaqpiallerput/The Way We Genuinely Live: Masterworks of Yup'ik Science and Survival" (2007).

In 2000, she received the Alaska Federation of Natives President's Award for her work with Alaska Natives, as well as the Governor's Award for the Humanities. At present, she works with the Calista Elders Council, mentoring Yup'ik men and women in documenting traditional knowledge. Her interest in the ocean stems from her desire to understand the detailed information Yup'ik elders have shared concerning sea ice and ocean hunting.

Nancy Friday NOAA National Marine Mammal Laboratory email

Nancy Friday is a Research Fishery Biologist at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle, WA. Previously, she was a National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Protected Species Branch at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, MA, where she conducted research on North Atlantic humpback whale population dynamics.

Nancy received a PhD in Oceanography with an emphasis in Biological Oceanography from the Graduate School of Oceanography of the University of Rhode Island. Her dissertation focused on photographic identification methods for estimating the abundance of the North Atlantic humpback whale population.

Nancy’s primary research interests include: 1) modeling cetacean distribution relative to their environment with the goal of predicting distribution, 2) estimating the abundance of cetacean populations using distance sampling and photographic identification, mark-recapture methods, 3) modeling cetaceans as part of their marine ecosystems, and 4) improving the management and conservation of cetaceans through the development of quantitative models.

She is currently studying cetacean distribution and abundance in relation to the oceanographic domains on the Eastern Bering Sea shelf. This study uses distance sampling methods to analyze sightings data collected by cetacean observers on walleye pollock stock assessment surveys. Nancy is also studying the seasonal occurrence and distribution of large whales in the Gulf of Alaska. This study models the presence/absence of large whale vocalizations relative to oceanographic conditions.