Marine scientists discover an important, overlooked role sea urchins play in the kelp forest ecosystem

JULY 10, 2019

by Harrison Tasoff, University of California - Santa Barbara

Sea urchins have gotten a bad rap on the Pacific coast. The spiky sea creatures can mow down entire swaths of kelp forest, leaving behind rocky urchin barrens. An article in the New York Times went so far as to call them "cockroaches of the ocean." But new research suggests that urchins play a more complex role in their ecosystems than previously believed.

A team led by Christie Yorke, a postdoctoral scholar at UC Santa Barbara's Marine Science Institute, studied how urchins might function to break up tough kelp into more manageable pieces that can feed other scavengers, also known as detritivores, living on the kelp forest floor. The paper, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, is the first to look at sea urchins' role as shredders in the kelp forest ecosystem.

Urchins can have an outsized effect on kelp forests, especially when their predators aren't around to keep their population in check, Yorke explained. Overhunting of the sea otter, one of urchins' most significant predators, has allowed some urchin populations to clear cut vast tracts of kelp forest, drastically reducing the productivity and biodiversity of sites they've munched through. Some groups have even taken to indiscriminately smashing urchins to stem this scourge.

Continued

Decades-long butterfly study shows common species on the decline

JULY 9, 2019

by Oregon State University

The most extensive and systematic insect monitoring program ever undertaken in North America shows that butterfly abundance in Ohio declined yearly by 2%, resulting in an overall 33% drop for the 21 years of the program.

Though the study was limited to one group of the insect class and one geographic area, the findings provide an important baseline for what's happening more broadly with insect populations amid climate change and other human-caused disturbances, the study's corresponding author said. The findings also are in line with those of butterfly monitoring programs in multiple European countries.

"These declines in abundance are happening in common species," said Oregon State University researcher Tyson Wepprich, who led the study. "Declines in common species concern me because it shows that there are widespread environmental causes for the declines affecting species we thought were well adapted to share a landscape with humans. Common species are also the ones that contribute the bulk of the pollination or bird food to the ecosystem, so their slow, consistent decline is likely having ripple effects beyond butterfly numbers."

Findings were published today in PLOS ONE.

Read on

New research helps managers and ship crews predict locations of blue whales so ships can maintain safe distances

JULY 10, 2019

by NOAA Headquarters

A new model based on daily oceanographic data and the movements of tagged whales has opened the potential for stakeholders to see where in the ocean endangered blue whales are most likely to be so that ships can avoid hitting them.

The research was published in Diversity and Distributions by Dr. Briana Abrahms, research ecologist at NOAA Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Center, and related the movements of more than 100 tagged blue whales to daily oceanographic conditions. Abrahms found that ocean conditions affected the whales' travels in very predictable ways.

Abrahms and her colleagues are now developing an app that will allow managers and ship crews to predict the location of blue whales as they transit along the West Coast. The app will also be accessible to the public and to managers making recommendation on vessel slow-downs or the use of alternative shipping lanes.

"The more we learn about how the physical ocean affects whales and other marine life, the better we are able to predict where those species will be," Abrahms said. "The goal is to put this technology into the hands of managers, the shipping industry and other users who can most use it to help protect these animals from ship strikes and other human threats."

Continued

Chimp champ Jane Goodall enlists advanced mapping technology for nature and humanity

JULY 10, 2019

by Bradley J. Fikes

In groundbreaking research beginning nearly 60 years ago, Jane Goodall has devoted her life to understanding our closest relatives, chimpanzees.

Goodall, 85, lived among chimps in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park, gathering observations that reached the public in a series of popular books. She was first scientist to describe chimpanzees as individuals, giving them memorable names such as Flo, Fifi and Flint. She also depicted how chimps live in societies, in peace, conflict and even war.

Now the English primatologist has enlisted a provider of 21st-century mapping science to understand and protect nature, and help their human neighbors thrive alongside wildlife without conflict.

Goodall and Geographic Information System, or GIS, provider Esri announced the partnership Monday at Esri's 2019 user meeting in San Diego.

The Redlands-based company will provide the Jane Goodall Institute GIS software tools to document natural and human resources, including wildlife reserves, towns, and flood control areas. The institute, fellow scientists and local volunteers will collect the information and with Esri's help, use that knowledge to refine their conservation efforts.

Continued

Manatee deaths by watercraft rising at record pace in Florida

JULY 9, 2019

by Katie Kustura

Wildlife experts have blamed toxic red tide algae and a cold snap for the deadly 2018 experienced by manatees, but so far this year, boats are the primary cause.

From the beginning of this year through June 21, 81 manatees have been killed by watercraft in Florida's waters, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. During the same time frame in 2018, watercraft caused the deaths of 59 manatees.

At that rate, the number of manatee deaths caused by watercraft could hit an all-time high this year, officials say.

The reason for the increase is likely a combination of factors, said Cora Berchem, research and multimedia specialist for the Save the Manatee Club, headquartered in Maitland.

Berchem said she believes one of the factors is manatees being downlisted from endangered to threatened, which may cause people to think it's safe to exhibit less caution while operating watercraft.

"That's not the case," Berchem said by phone Monday. "If we have more manatees, we also have more to protect."

A recovering economy also puts more people in the position to be able to go boating at their leisure, Berchem said.

This year a total of 300 manatees have been reported dead in Florida from Jan. 1 through June 21, according to the FWC.

Read on