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Chatham University
B.S. Environmental Science
2016

Environmental and anthropogenic drivers in the decline of the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) on St. Paul Island, Alaska.

• Lara Horstmann

Chelsea Campbell (Kovalcsik) got her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science in 2016 from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduating, she moved to Alaska and absolutely fell in love with this wild and free place. Chelsea worked for four years as the Regional Environmental Coordinator for the Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC) where she helped to build the capacity of seven Tribes in Southcentral Alaska to tackle their environmental goals. She also worked at the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery in Seward where she helped implement ocean acidification, invasive species, and HAB monitoring and sampling programs in the communities. After CRRC, Chelsea moved to Namibia, Africa for a year where she led the marine mammal stranding program for the Namibian Dolphin Project (NDP), a branch of SeaSearch research and Conservation, located in Cape Town, South Africa. In her role at NDP, Chelsea oversaw all strandings, data collection, volunteer and intern coordination, and represented NDP around the country. During her time in Namibia, Chelsea led the efforts into sampling cape fur seals during an unusual mass mortality event. Unbeknownst to her at the time, this mass stranding event would pave the way for her future research in Alaska. After Namibia, Chelsea started working for the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island as the lead disentanglement coordinator, bio-sampling technician, and Island Sentinel. Over the past three summers, Chelsea led the disentanglement program on St. Paul where her and the team successfully disentangled over 125 NFS from marine debris! She also leads all bio-sampling efforts during the annual subsistence harvest and for any marine mammal strandings. 

Chelsea Campbell is a third year Master’s candidate at ������, pursing a degree in Marine Biology. She is working on transitioning into the Marine Biology PhD program. In her free time Chelsea loves to volunteer as a necropsy technician, mountain bike, play ultimate frisbee, play with her dog, spend time with friends and family, and travel! 

My research is broadly focused on the population decline of the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) or “laaqudax̂” in Unangam Tunuu (the language of the Indigenous Peoples of the Pribilof Islands) a culturally important subsistence resource for the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI) and, as a key predator in the region, an ecosystem sentinel. And through this work, I am attempting to quantify subadult male northern fur seal’s risk of exposure to environmental and anthropogenic contamination/toxins that could impact the subsistence users (Unangax̂ - “People of the Sea”) in the region.

I am specifically focused on harmful algal bloom toxins, saxitoxin and domoic acid, and microplastics. But I am also interested in understanding where subadult males are feeding spatially and trophically. I live on Tanax̂ Amix (St. Paul Island) from June-October. My samples are opportunistically collected from the annual laaqudax̂ subsistence harvest. I am grateful to live, work, study, and play as a guest on Unangax̂ lands of Tanax̂ Amix̂.

• AAUS Scientific Diving Certification (since 2023)
• PADI Advanced Open Water (2022)
• CPR, First Aid, AED, and O2 (valid until 3/2027)
• Part 107 Certification

Lefebvre, K.A., Campbell, C.M., Divine, L.M., Melovidov, P., Hellen, H., Burek Huntington, K., Bowers, K.B., Rouse, N., Fachon, E., Farrugia, T.J., Pickart, R.S., Lin, P., Lago, L., Bahr, F., Furst, E., Duncan, C.G., Charapata, P., Anderson, D.M., Kurtay, G. Saxitoxin linked to deaths of northern fur seals in the Southeast Bering Sea. Marine Mammal Science (2025) (in prep).

• Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Bloom National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Graduate Fellowship 2022 and 2023
• North Pacific Research Board Graduate Student Research Awards 2023
• Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center Research Fellowship 2024
• Rasmuson Fisheries Research Center Graduate Student Fellowship Awards 2023 and 2025
• University Women’s Association (2024)
• Byrd Award (2023)
• Dan Glass Award (2022)
• Dr. Donal Hood Memorial Scholarship for Marine Science (2025)