Fellowship spotlight: Jenna Schlener

As an Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow, Jenna Schlener is collaborating with Mayumi Arimitsu of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Alaska Science Center’s Seabird and Forage Fish Ecology Program in Juneau.

Schlener first discovered her passion for seabirds and foraging ecology while conducting research on Great Duck Island, Maine, as part of her studies at College of the Atlantic. She was introduced to Alaska while pursuing her master’s degree at McGill University in Canada, conducting research and acting as crew lead of a research station on Middleton Island, Alaska. Prior to her fellowship, Schlener worked as a research coordinator at the Alaska SeaLife Center, monitoring seabird abundance, conducting research on seabird physiology, and leading a community science program. 

“One of the things I was most excited about for this fellowship was the opportunity to diversify my skill set and discover new ways to study marine ecosystems,” said Schlener. “Working with USGS has already provided me with many opportunities to do just that.” 

In her first month of the fellowship, Schlener assisted a team of USGS biologists to capture common murres and collect morphometric data, blood samples, and fecal samples for a long-term project monitoring seabird colonies and forage fish in Cook Inlet. She assisted with the Integrated Predator-Prey Survey in Prince William Sound as part of the Gulf Watch Alaska long-term monitoring program, gaining experience with hydroacoustic data acquisition, humpback whale behavioral observations, oceanography sampling, and forage fish sampling.

Recently, Schlener took a course on echosounder data processing, which will help her analyze humpback whale hydroacoustic data collected during the Integrated Predator-Prey Surveys. She will be using these data to assess differences in prey densities across multiple years.

“There are so many interesting questions that hydroacoustic data can be used to help answer. I’m excited to hone these new skills during my fellowship and apply them in future work.”