SPECIAL NOTICE
B -- Complete Population Assessment of the South Pacific Humpback Whale Stocks
- Notice Date
- 5/29/2009
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Western Region Acquisition Division, 7600 Sand Point Way, Northeast, Seattle, Washington, 98115-6349
- ZIP Code
- 98115-6349
- Solicitation Number
- WRAD-09-0520-NFFS7300-9-13122
- Archive Date
- 6/30/2009
- Point of Contact
- Maria L Mendoza, Phone: (206)526-6671
- E-Mail Address
-
Maria.L.Mendoza@noaa.gov
(Maria.L.Mendoza@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This publication serves as notice of intent to procure services for the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Mammal Laboratory located in Seattle, WA on a sole source basis with Marine Research Limited. The government intends to acquire services using FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Proposed vendor will conduct work required to complete an assessment of South Pacific humpback whales. Background Management of marine mammal populations falls within the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 and, for some species, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. The agency is mandated to conserve the endangered species under its jurisdiction, and must undertake actions to prevent further decline of populations, facilitate their recovery, and safeguard the quality of their habitat. In the northwestern U.S., the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) is partly responsible for overseeing and partially funding research on marine mammals, notably those populations listed as Strategic Stocks. AFSC scientists also collaborate with various international organizations on topics relating to marine mammals in other oceans, including the International Whaling Commission (IWC). In this latter capacity, they have been extensively involved in assessments of IWC humpback whales in the Southern Hemisphere and elsewhere. Humpback stocks breeding in the South Pacific (in Oceania and off eastern Australia) are known to be complex (genetically and demographically sub-structured). Those in the Oceania region (including New Caledonia, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Tonga) show an apparently variable pattern of recovery from exploitation. Some regions nearby show strong trends in abundance (eastern Australia, Noad et al. 2008; Western Australia, Bannister and Hedley 2001) while others show little apparent recovery (e.g. Fiji, New Zealand). Recent photo-ID catalogue comparisons show a low rate of migratory exchange between Oceania and eastern Australia (Garrigue et al. 2007b) and limited interchange within Oceania (Garrigue et al. 2007a). High maternal genetic diversity across Oceania is likely to have been maintained by population sub-structuring on breeding grounds (Olavarría et al. 2007). Extensive 20th century exploitation of these stocks on their seasonal Antarctic feeding grounds is therefore likely to have resulted in multiple regional population declines or "bottlenecks" on humpback breeding grounds across Oceania. However the extent to which animals from these breeding grounds mix on feeding grounds is still unknown, which poses a considerable challenge for the reconstruction of breeding population histories. At a 2006 IWC workshop in Hobart, Australia, a number of stock structure scenarios were discussed for this region (IWC 2006). Assessments of the most complex scenarios are hindered by the difficulty of allocating Antarctic whaling catches to individual breeding populations. However, assessment of the breeding stocks of Oceania is a specific research priority of the IWC, and is required for the ongoing Comprehensive Assessment of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales. Conducting an assessment of the status of humpback populations in the South Pacific region is complicated by the challenge of catch allocation; all humpbacks share feeding grounds in the Antarctic south of 40°S and between 120°E and 110°W (IWC management Areas V and VI), where the most substantial 20th century catches were taken. The division between Areas V and VI is directly south of the Tongan breeding population, one of the most abundant populations in the region (Baker et al. 2006). Microsatellite genotyping has connected animals from Tonga with three feeding Areas (Steel et al. 2008), illustrating the difficulty of allocating feeding Area catches to individual breeding populations with accuracy. Previous population assessments of humpbacks wintering in the South Pacific have focused on the eastern Australian population (Johnston and Butterworth 2005) and on all South Pacific stocks (eastern Australia and Oceania) combined (Jackson et al. 2006). Jackson et al. (2008) recently reported preliminary progress on a two stock model for assessing the status of South Pacific humpbacks, considering eastern Australia and Oceania as two demographically separate stocks based on the evidence summarized above. Objectives The main objective of this contract is to complete a population assessment of South Pacific humpback whales. Specifically the contractor and the contractor's collaborators will: 1. Gather data from a quality review of DNA profiles (genotypes) and individual identification fluke photographs from humpbacks biopsy sampled and photographed in the Oceania region over a specified period (to be determined in consultation with the COTR). 2. Evaluate available abundance estimates for Oceania for the purpose of inclusion in the population model. 3. Provide new estimates of abundance from capture-recapture analyses of individual identification photographs (Baker et al. 2006) and from DNA genotyping. 4. Explore alternative catch scenarios using the latest corrected IWC catch records and develop catch scenarios to support stock hypotheses agreed in Hobart. Although the currently preferred scenario for Oceania has four breeding stocks, it is not possible to allocate catches independently to each of these proposed stocks. Instead, the contractor will consider a ‘two-stock' scenario in which eastern Australia and Oceania are considered demographically independent 5. Incorporate genetic data as a constraint on minimum historical abundance (N) using mtDNA data from Olavarría et al. (2007). 6. Design a population model incorporating the parameters described above and determine the range of population growth rates and pre-exploitation abundance that are compatible with the genetic estimate of minimum abundance, most likely catch series and best current abundance estimates. 7. Prepare a report to the IWC estimating the recovery levels of humpback whales across Oceania, and describing these estimates across the range of sub-structuring scenarios proposed for the region. The contractor shall first obtain (from collaborators at Oregon State University) a review of DNA genotypes from biopsy samples collected in the South Pacific. This review will include matching of genotypes between years and regions, and a quality review of all genetic loci and samples. The Contractor shall at the same time arrange to complete photo-ID matching and a quality review of photographs collected in the South Pacific region. The photo-id and genetic data shall be used to generate estimates of current abundance for the region, and the contractor will then design a population model to incorporate these abundances within the framework of a model of population history for the region. Population Assessment of South Pacific Humpback Whales is the culmination of years of research by South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, of which Dr. Jennifer Jackson of Marine Research Limited is the member with primary responsibility for such assessment. The Consortium holds all the primary data necessary for a population assessment of Oceania, including multiple regional photo-identification catalogues and genotypic DNA data from biopsy samples collected across region. The government intends to negotiate a firm- fixed price contract, period of performance will be twelve months from date of award. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all proposals received within 15 days of publication of this synopsis will be considered by the government. All responses must be in writing and may be faxed attention to Maria Mendoza at (206)527-7513or email at maria.l.mendoza@noaa.gov. This is a small purchase action estimated value not to exceed $100,000.00. ****The Western Regional Acquisition Division, requires that all contractors doing business with this Acquisition Office be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) as of October 1, 2003. After this date, NO award can be made unless the vender is registered in CCR. For additional information and to register in CCR please access the following web site: http://www.ccr.gov. In order to register with the CCR and to be eligible to receive an award from this acquisition office, all offerors must have a Dun & Bradstreet Number. A Dun & Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun & Bradstreet on-line at www.dnb.com/eupdate or by phone at (800) 333-0505. All contractors are also required to complete online Representations and Certifications at HTTP://ORCA.BPN.GOV.
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