The Albatross: Giants of the Sky

An image of Laysan Albatross showing its large wingspan taken by Monte M. Taylor

Imagine you just got married and for your honeymoon you decide to go to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to go whale watching. However, while on the boat you spot something far greater than a glimpse of a whale 100 yards away; you spot a Laysan Albatross gliding on the air right above you. To the untrained eye this looks just like any run-of-the-mill “sea gull”, except this "sea gull" has a wingspan 6 feet 8 inches long! What is even more fascinating than its sheer size is that the Laysan is actually the small cousin in the Albatross family. Laysan’s big cousin the Wandering Albatross, found in the southern hemisphere, has a wingspan of nearly 11 feet, making it the largest living bird in the world. I know, that makes the Laysan seem kind of lame now, but bear with me, it’s still quite fascinating. (All About Birds).

You see, not only is the Laysan Albatross’s wingspan as long as LeBron James is tall, but they represent great longevity. The oldest recorded Laysan is still living and is 63 years old! It takes 8 to 9 years for these birds to become sexually active and have successful breeding. A fascinating evolutionary adaptation of these birds is that they can drink salt water without becoming dehydrated. They do this by excreting the salts out of two bony tubes on their bill. Albatross’ and other birds that do this are appropriately referred to as “tubenoses” for this action. (All about birds). Granted, their populations are not strong in number, but what makes these birds really remarkable is that they are still alive after facing the challenges posed by humans. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) gives the level of concern for the Laysan Albatross as Near Threatened, and for the Black-footed and Short-tailed Albatrosses (who share range distributions with the Laysan) as Vulnerable and Endangered, respectfully. (IUCN Red List).

In a study performed by Lindsay C. Young and others, the life history of the Laysan in the Hawaiian Islands was given. It said that fossil evidence proves that the birds have been around in the Hawaiian Islands before humans were. Additionally, it mentioned how their population has plummeted since the early 20th century until the birds were eventually extirpated from the eight main Hawaiian Islands. This extirpation was due to a sundry of reasons, including; "human consumption, feather collecting, egg collection, predation from introduced mammals and military activities" (Young1). Through awareness and programs to help strengthen the population the birds are back on the islands in relatively strong numbers.

In another study led by Lindsay C. Young, two colonies of Laysan Albatross’ were examined for the amount of plastic debris fed to the young. By making the young puke up their meals, the amount of plastic ingested could be calculated. The one colony had approximately 10x more plastic fed to the young than the other, which is attributed to their closer proximity to the Western Garbage Patch. This just goes to show the more trash that is around, the more these birds will eat and feed their young (Young2).

Another study, which was performed by Eric Gilman looked at various seabirds as bycatch for many commercial fishing vessels. Some of the quick findings were that in the nine years of this study, there were 371 Laysan albatrosses retrieved (78% of which were alive). There were 144 retrieved Black-footed Albatrosses (69% of which were alive). Although the majority of these birds lived, there is still a substantial number of birds that were killed. Luckily, there are ways to limit the amount of birds caught. The Hawaiian longline swordfish fishery has required fisherman to begin incorporating these methods that are safer for the birds. Before the regulations, 0.55 seabirds were caught per 1000 hooks, but now only 0.04 seabirds are caught. (Gillman).

It is fantastic that the birds are doing better than in the past and that people are becoming more aware of the situation. It may seem as though there is little that can be done by people who don’t live on the Pacific coast, but we still have a role. We must reduce littering, no matter where we are for there are species all over the world who are suffering from our litter in the oceans. Additionally, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states that by not eating any fish caught by longline fisheries we can help promote safer fishing habits that don’t negatively impact the Albatrosses and other seabirds.

To show how charming and neat these birds can be, the courtship dance of the Laysan is shown in this video (above). 

References:
All About Birds. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, N.D. Web. 22 March 2014.

Gilman, Eric, et al. “Mitigation Seabird Bycatch during Hauling by Pelagic Longline Vessels.” PLoS ONE 9:1 (Jan 2014): 1-12. Web. IUCN 2013.

IUCN Red List.International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. n.d. Web. 22 March 2014.

Young, Lindsey C. et al. “Bringing Home the Trash: Do Colony-Based Differences in Foraging Distribution lead to Increased Plastic Ingestion in Laysan Albatrosses?” PLoS ONE 4:10 (2009): 1-9. Web.

Young, Lindsay C. et al. “Demography and Natural History of Laysan Albatross on Oahu, Hawaii.” The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 121.4 (2009): 722-729. Web.

Whalegeek. “Dancing Laysan Albatrosses.” Video. YouTube. YouTube, 8 May 2010. Web. 22 March 2014.

Legal Harvesting of Sea Turtles

A new study has been done to assess the effects that fisheries have on sea turtles compared to other global threats.  This study also look at the legal standpoint that these fisheries have, since all marine turtles are on the IUCN red list of threatened species.  The research was led by Frances Humber a PhD student at the University of Exeter.

Green sea turtle Chelonia mydas

There has been large scale taking of turtles all over the world.  The peak was in the late 1960's when it was estimated that the national intake of sea turtles was over 380,000.  There has been increased awareness across the entire world with 178 countries signed up to the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).  With this there are restriction in the international trade of turtle products.  There is still legal taking of the turtles for traditional coastal communities that support themselves with small scale fisheries.  This is one of the major threats to Chelonia mydas the green sea turtle.  

The researches collected data from 600 publications that covered all sea turtles.  They estimated that more around 42,000 sea turtles are caught legally each year.  These turtles are predominately green sea turtles.  They also have estimated that about 2 million turtles have been caught since the 1980's.  They also found that a minimum of 65,000 turtles are captured illegally since 2000.  Therer is much difficulty finding information regarding the illegal capturing of sea turtles so they estimate that there could be much more illegal captures.  

Green sea turtle hatchling

There has also been study's showing that around 30% of hatchlings don't survive their trip to the deep waters after hatching.  The study also looked at how long the turtles can survive off of their yolk sac.  The study was conducted by David Booth from the University of Queensland.  He studied this by capturing hatched sea turtles and measuring their kilojoules consumption during their 18-hour swim.  They found that they consume 4.79 kilojoules and can survive about two weeks after they've hatched without feeding.  These studies are vital to the safety of all sea turtles.  Hopefully this research will lead to more laws being made across the world to protect sea turtles.  

Resources:

http://www.macroevolution.net/sea-turtles.html

 http://www.macroevolution.net/sea-turtle-hatchlings.html#.UyY3bD9dWSp

 

Mapping by satellite pinpoints danger zones for turtles

photograph by Michael Patrick O'neill/Alamy

Many  migratory species in the ocean face a constant battle with fisherman.  However, satellite and fisheries data can help prevent some of these battles.  Some of the animals that are most affected by bycatch include seabirds, turtles, dolphins and cetaceans.  Recently, fisheries and satellites have been tracking leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the Atlantic Ocean and trying to prevent these unintended captures. 

The Atlantic Ocean is home to the last large populations of leatherback turtles.  Because these turtles have a migratory nature and are considered to be the world’s largest turtle, they are very vulnerable to unintended capture by fisherman.  In the past, understanding how to protect these turtles has been difficult because much of the bycatch is not reported by fisherman and the turtles cover very wide paths in the Atlantic.  The satellites have tracked leatherback turtles from 1995 to 2010 to find out many of the zones that the turtles regularly occupy, and to identify some areas where they may clash with fisherman.

A conservation scientist named Brendan Godley explained that the largest obstacle to protecting the turtles has been knowing where, when, and in what fisheries the bycatch is taking place.   He has published research that pinpoints four sites in the north Atlantic and five sites in the south Atlantic that are high-risk areas for leatherback turtles.  These high-risk sites include the economic zones shared by 12 different countries including the US and UK.  In these economic zones, many of which overlap with high-risk turtle zones,  longlines are cast regularly for tuna and other commercial fishing occurs here.

Action is being taken to protect the populations of these leatherbacks in the Atlantic, because the populations in the Pacific Ocean have nearly been wiped out and are considered critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.  Another scientist named Matthew Witt said that reversing the trend in the Pacific is almost impossible, but with his research they are trying to prevent this from happening in the Atlantic. 

His team was able to provide satellite data from over 100 turtles, showing their standardized tracks and also including longline-fisheries data to identify areas of low, medium and high interaction between turtles and humans.  The team then made a map that covers the Atlantic in a grid with squares that are 5 degrees latitude by 5 degrees longitude. 

Then, Rebecca Lewison, a conservation ecologist, backed up Witt’s team research by stating that his analysis makes it harder for governments to ignore the danger that bycatch poses to migratory species, including the leatherback turtles.  She also pointed out that ocean-wide scales like this one have to be taken into consideration if people are serious about preventing the extinctions of pelagic species. 

In summary, these scientists are all working together to prevent the bycatch of migratory species.  If they know where the turtles and other species are regularly found, fisherman can reduce bycatch by making better decisions on where to fish.  Maps like the one created in this study from satellite data can be used as a tool to prevent fisherman bycatch.  Longlines and other coastal fishing gear such as trawls pose the greatest risk to turtles, and future research can be done to incorporate these dangers into the maps as well. 

Resource

Related PDF

A quieting ocean: Unintended consequences of fluctuating economy.

            Climate change, conservation, energy, overpopulation, and pollution may be the most talked about environmental issues today. Public leaders have even down played some and voters saying, “it is junk science” or “it can be improved all the time.” Well, out all of the ones I have mentioned, I think it would be hard for anybody to down play pollution. What do you think of when you hear the word pollution? For me it is the Cuyahoga River. It caught on fire not once, but twice! It made Cleveland infamous though and it carries on today. It did spark a progression for change though. The Clean Water Act established better standards for our waterways. However, there is a different kind of pollution that does not get as much attention as say air or water. Do you ever think how noisy our environment is? How do you handle noise? Do you find noise disrupting at all?

            Lets delve a little deeper. What do you think about ocean noise? Have you ever thought about it? Mind you, we are terrestrial organisms, but marine organisms suffer the same implications from noise pollution as we do. In a 2012 publication, scientists looked at ocean noise and found correlations between ship noise, economic trends, and regulations on the shipping industry.

            Increased ocean noise poses a potential threat to marine animals that depend on sound for a myriad of ecological functions. This study was trying to better understand and reduce noise in marine habitats. The researchers used statistical correlations between regional commercial ships (ships that stayed close to California) and measured low-frequency sounds they emitted. They first looked at these ships when the economy sank (no pun intended) and then when regulations from the California legislator enacted new rules on the shipping industry. They were able to evaluate the trade-offs (and the economic costs) in noise pollution reduction with economic drivers to make additional efforts in reducing noise in the ocean.

            In the end, the statistical analysis the scientist did revealed small reductions in noise frequency with the changing economy and commerce regulations. Specifically, when one ship a day did not sail, one decibel was decreased in the area in in question. During the economic slump, noise levels were significantly reduced by about 40 hertz. They did not notice any significant change in noise levels when new regulations were impose. They did notice the great costs regulations impose on shipping (roughly $19 billion). The scientist point out that legislation needs to be focused on how ships are built and not on regulating how they run.

            In summary, the researchers focus on low-intensity, chronic noise, rather than high-intensity, short duration noise. Determining the ecological and organismal impact of these noises is difficult to document damages. This is due in large part to a very large habitat (the ocean) and organisms do not stay in one place for long. Physiological impacts are also a concern. However, as research on ocean noise continues, we will be better to evaluate it and find solutions that reduce them significantly to the point were oceanic impacts will be minimal (hopefully nothing).

Source: McKenna et. Al,: A quieting ocean. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 132, September 2012.

Cool Coral Communities

Corals are animals in the Phylum Cnidaria, a coral polyp the main organism in the reef is made up of  a skeleton of CaCO₃. The coral polyps are not the only ecosystem engineers of this community; sponges, bryozoans, sea anemones, fish, crabs, worms, and many other animals all call the Great Barrier Reef home. Being the world's richest area of diversity the animals all work together to survive in such a complex ecosystem. There are fish, Parrotfish, that play a major role in the life of coral reefs because the fish eat the seaweeds that over grow the coral. Even though this is a benefit to coral, Parrotfish also eat coral adding to the complex ecosystem found within coral reefs. Coral reefs provide not only food but protection for many animals. Because corals are so fascinating and unique many people desire to visit them. Tourism in the Great Barrier Reef is a huge economic advantage as well as a potential danger to the corals themselves. Runoff into the reef can pollute the ecosystem causing the corals to die off. The pollutants can cause disease and death with in the corals. This destroys one of the most beautiful places on earth.

 Tourists can break coral off while scuba diving or snorkeling slowly diminishing the reef little by little. Since the tourism of the reef is such a huge economic advantage for Australia, receiving two million visits a year, researchers have been discovering ways to protect the reef. NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program has been working on methods to preserve the reefs around the world. There is ongoing research around the world, the University of Miami in Florida is researching how to protect the reefs off the coast. While the University of Sydney is also doing research on understanding the coral communities. Much of the protection is regulating the tourists and the public to specific activities at certain times. Monitoring the fishing and the amount of water entering the reef are both ways the universities are helping to maintain their corals. The research on coral reproduction helps to place time frames for some restricted activities. Researchers are working on understanding the coral lifestyle to better protect the areas. Finding the presence of benthic organisms helps to define the habitat. On some reefs the benthic organisms are the problem, and others it is the fish. Depending on the characteristic of the reef, only specific organisms need protected to maintain the reef population. As more and more information is discovered about the fish and other creatures within this habitat better protection can be made.



http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v429/n6994/full/nature02685.html
http://www.media.australia.com/en-au/factsheets/3311_7931.aspx