Fellowship spotlight: Mack Hughes

Data collected on intertidal communities and nearshore predators help track the health of Alaska’s marine ecosystems. Monitoring species such as sea stars, sea otters, shorebirds, and sea ducks also offers insights into how these ecosystems respond to large-scale disturbances such as oil spills or marine heatwaves. These coastal zones are critical habitats for commercially important species and subsistence communities alike, and understanding how they’re changing is essential for sustainable resource management.

As an Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow, Mack Hughes supports these efforts through his work with the Nearshore Marine Ecosystem Research Program at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Alaska Science Center in Anchorage. His role involves contributing to long-term research and monitoring projects focused on the nearshore, including the Gulf Watch Alaska program, which has been collecting ecological data across the Gulf of Alaska since 2006.

Hughes sees long-term monitoring programs such as Gulf Watch as essential for understanding how Alaska’s ecosystems function and change over time. “Having consistent data across years and regions gives us the ability to recognize trends and inform better management decisions,” he said. “It’s important work, and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”

Hughes helps coordinate and carry out research at remote coastal sites, where teams use ships to gather data on intertidal and nearshore species. His responsibilities include managing logistics, operating skiffs, collecting samples, and overseeing data handling. “The days can be long, and sometimes the weather isn’t great,” said Hughes, “but I’m always learning something new. Spending time on the Alaskan Gyre feels a little like camping on the ocean.”

In addition to fieldwork, Hughes has taken the lead on a collaboration with the National Park Service in Kenai Fjords National Park, studying the ecological impacts of glacial retreat. He is overseeing the biological component, analyzing how deglaciation may be influencing intertidal communities. He’s also modernizing Gulf Watch’s nearshore temperature monitoring protocol by developing new standard procedures, managing historical datasets, and writing computer code to organize incoming data.

Originally from Western Washington, Hughes grew up crabbing with his family and exploring the coastlines near his home. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon, worked internationally in Indonesia, and returned to the Pacific Northwest to work for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. He later moved to Alaska to pursue his master’s in marine biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.