What does 'overfishing' mean?

In case 'overfishing' was still an obscure concept, a recent study makes it clearer.

The study is focused on the dramatic fish stock decline (cod, haddock, ling, halibut etc.) occurred in British Isles waters across 118 years, 1889-2007.

Researchers analysed landings per unit power and found that the availability of bottom-living fish for the fleet fell by 94%.

Modern high-tech fishing fleets of today require 17 times more effort to catch the same amount of fish as compared with the late 1800s.

According to Callum Roberts, one of the authors of this study, "This research shows that the state of UK bottom fisheries, and by implication European fisheries since the fishing grounds are shared, is far worse than we had thought."

With these findings, researchers underlined the need for urgent action to eliminate overexploitation of European fisheries and rebuild fish stocks to much higher levels of abundance than those that exist today.

SB

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Figure: Landings of bottom-living fish per unit of fishing power of large British trawlers from England, Wales and Scotland. Closed circles show landings per unit of fishing power into England and Wales, open circles show those into Scotland (from Thurstan et al. 2010).

The article:
Thurstan R.H., Brockington S., Roberts C.M. 2010. The effects of 118 years of industrial fishing on UK bottom trawl fisheries. Nature Communications 1, Article #:15 - doi:10.1038/ncomms1013
Abstract -- In 2009, the European Commission estimated that 88% of monitored marine fish stocks were overfished, on the basis of data that go back 20 to 40 years and depending on the species investigated. However, commercial sea fishing goes back centuries, calling into question the validity of management conclusions drawn from recent data. We compiled statistics of annual demersal fish landings from bottom trawl catches landing in England and Wales dating back to 1889, using previously neglected UK Government data. We then corrected the figures for increases in fishing power over time and a recent shift in the proportion of fish landed abroad to estimate the change in landings per unit of fishing power (LPUP), a measure of the commercial productivity of fisheries. LPUP reduced by 94%—17-fold—over the past 118 years. This implies an extraordinary decline in the availability of bottom-living fish and a profound reorganization of seabed ecosystems since the nineteenth century industrialization of fishing.

For more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10096649.stm
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/fall-in-fish-stocks-far-worse-than-feared-study-shows-1962541.html

Dolphins of Greece 2 (26 April - 3 May)

In these eight days you have given me so much to thank you for. Thank you for the eagerness with which you shared information about not only dolphins, but the state of the oceans as a whole. Thank you for your openness and clear interest in the questions and views of others and of course thank you for the chance to come so close to dolphins in the wild, this meant more to me then I can express with words. But most of all thank you for not pushing me off the boat for insubordination!

Genevieve (USA)

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This experience was so educational and informative! What a wonderful opportunity to visit a veritable paradise, meet interestig people, learn, and do good work. I kept voluminous notes on all the documentaries and presentations Joan shared with us. I am not sure how I will use them to help spread the word about how we must all work to save our precious animals and environment, but with his approval I will find a way. A vegetarian and animal rights defender for decades, this experience not only deepened my resolve to continue to influence others whenever possible and appropriate, but it also heightened my sense of urgency about informing and educating the public and our policy makers. Returning to an intense learning environment for eight days after many years of a mentally unchallenging lifestyle was just the right jolt I needed to begin exercising my brain cells more often. Even the library of paperbacks and hardcover books here offered both leisure time pleasure and more learning opportunities. An overall good experience!

Joan and Ely (USA)

Monk seal shot in Greece

On April 27, a young monk seal of about four months was found in Northern Evoia, Greece, with a severe head injury.

The seal - a male - was still alive and he was rescued by MOm together with local vets. According to Vangelis Paravas of MOm, the seal was shot. One eye is lost and around it there is a large infected wound. The nasal cavity is damaged and the animal cannot dive. At the moment the seal is blind and unable to feed.

The poor seal is being provided first aid and medications and he was transferred to the wildlife clinic of the Veterinary School of Thessaloniki for rehab.

Senseless killing of critically endangered marine mammals is a crime towards both the animals and biodiversity. We humans do not own this planet: we share it with other creatures and we owe them respect.

Mediterranean monk seals survive in very low numbers, mostly in Greece. We should value their presence and welcome with great joy the animals' timid efforts to get back to healthy population numbers. What ignorant can ever think about shooting a young monk seal in the head, perhaps seeing this beautiful animal merely as a "competitor" for fish resources?

The day when there will be no competition by monk seals and dolphins - and therefore none of these animals around - will be a very sad day.

Giovanni Bearzi

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Photo of the injured monk seal by Vangelis Paravas / MOm

Dolphins of Greece 1 (17-24 April)

As Joan said very rightly: after this experience you will never look at a dolphin fin the same way. Who would have imagined fins can look so different! But of course the most marvellous experience was the time we spent on the boat, with the dolphins! It was really great to see the differences in their behaviour, to hear them breathing so close by and see their friendly faces. It completely made us forget the chilly wind – imagine that in a few weeks teams will be heat-battered in that same boat.

What made the expedition really enjoyable was the team spirit: it must be because we were such an international (5 nationalities) team that we were able to cooperate so smoothly. We were fortunate to have a team with great sense of humour: if jokes sometimes got a little out of hand, we can only blame that on “ouzo” and “krassi”. We learnt that Germans can be ferocious drivers, that being negative on command is not an easy thing to do and that Joan “no habla ingles” when the discussion gets tricky. Meanwhile our live-from-the-field teacher kept several classes of American kids up-to-date with our expedition findings and did a good deal to help them realise how they can help to save endangered marine species from extinction. We hope you will see some of them on an Earthwatch expedition in the future!

Stephan (Germany), Marie-Claire and Cas (Holland)

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This experience has been truly amazing for me. I left America with a very different attitude than I will be returning with. Joan’s passion for his work was contagious. He was a very good teacher when it came time to explain the big picture and how our choices are affecting the environment in such negative ways. I had no idea that overfishing was as bad as it is. The documentaries really showed how depressing is the situation and how we, as consumers, have the power to change what is happening. The message I want to take back to my classroom is that every one of us plays a part and that asking the right questions and becoming more educated about what we buy is the way to get things moving in the right direction. I have to say I am a changed woman and I will be approaching some aspects of my life very differently as a result of this trip.

I want to thank Joan and Panni for their hospitality. It cannot be easy welcoming four very different individuals into your home and successfully making them all feel comfortable. The balance between work and play was very nice. I got to see a lot more than the dolphins, which would have been enough. I will never forget the faces of those dolphins and how it felt when they looked at you. If only they would stay above the water just a little longer so I could get a decent picture of them. The time on the boat was amazing and intense! I am sorry that it has to end, but I leave here knowing that my students will benefit greatly from the information I have gathered. As a result, I believe our environment will benefit greatly too, even if it is just a little.

Apart from learning a lot about dolphins through presentations as well as constantly asking questions to our patient expedition leader, we received a thorough insight into the state of commercial fishing, the already depleted resources of the oceans and possible solutions to those problems.

Nicole (USA)

Jane Goodall on animal rights

Do you think that animals should have rights?

“I personally am never going to fight for rights 'per se'. (...) My approach is different. I'm fighting for human responsibility. 

So my job is to make people think of animals differently - as they really are. You can have a law - and we're surrounded by laws - but it's so often possible to get around them - they are continually being broken. So I want people to understand that animals really do have personalities and feelings - so that they want to obey laws that protect them.”

From:
www.theecologist.org

Photo by Michael Neugebauer: Jane Goodall with an orphan chimpanzee at the Tchimpounga Sanctuary in the Republic of Congo.

OCEANS - the film

On Earth Day 2010 (April 22nd), Disneynature will be releasing the documentary film OCEANS.

Featuring spectacular imagery captured by the latest underwater technologies and showed through the eyes of the creatures that live there, OCEANS promises an unprecedented look beneath the sea in a powerful motion picture.

OCEANS calls for the need to respect nature and it aims to demonstrate the negative impacts of human activities.

We have not seen the movie yet, but it looks like something that shouldn't be missed.

For more information and to view the trailer:
http://disney.go.com/disneynature/oceans/

If everyone

If everyone believed…
If everyone cared…
If everyone took responsibility…

(Click on the image to view a nice video message by NOAA)

SB

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For more information:
http://www.noaa.gov/features/04_resources/index.html

Overfishing in a coastal ecosystem in Greece

A collaboration between Tethys researchers and the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre in Vancouver has recently resulted in a new paper: “Effects of local fisheries and ocean productivity on the northeastern Ionian Sea ecosystem”.

The study considers the time span 1964-2008 and 22 functional groups including dolphins, tuna, swordfish, monk seals, sea turtles as well as plankton, crustaceans and detritus.

Application of Ecopath with Ecosim highlighted a decline of top predators since the late 1970s. Decline of commercial fish resources, caused by overfishing, provoked a cascade-up effect through the ecosystem and had important negative consequences on species such as the short-beaked common dolphin - that almost vanished in this part of Greece.

The study was published in Ecological Modelling.

SB

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Piroddi C., Bearzi G., Christensen V. 2010. Effects of local fisheries and ocean productivity on the northeastern Ionian Sea ecosystem. Ecol. Model. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2010.03.002

Abstract -- To better understand the effects of fisheries and ocean productivity on the northeastern Ionian Sea we constructed an Ecopath with Ecosim model with 22 functional groups. Data on biomass, production/biomass, consumption/biomass, and diet for each group were estimated or extrapolated from the literature. Fisheries landings and discards were also included. Temporal trajectories were simulated using Ecosim. The model was fitted with time-series data for the most important groups from 1964 to 2006. Simulations highlighted a decline of top predators and of most of the commercial species since the late 1970s. The model shows that the decline of fish resources was mainly caused by an intensive fishing pressure that occurred in the area until the end of the 1990s and also by changes in primary production that impacted the trajectories of the main functional groups. In particular, simulated changes through time in PP impacted the abundance trends of all the commercial species, showing a cascade-up effect through the ecosystem. The application of Ecopath with Ecosim was a useful tool for understanding the trends of the main functional groups of the northeastern Ionian Sea. The model underlined that management actions are needed to restore and protect target species including marine mammals, pelagic and demersal fishes. In particular, measures to reduce overfishing, illegal fishing activities and to respect existing legislations are in need. Moreover, the adoption of marine protected areas could be an effective management measure to guarantee prey survival and to sustain marine predators.

Amazing nature, amazing photo

This incredible image, taken by wildlife photographer Tommy Hatwell, portrays a killer whale (Orcinus orca) attacking a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) and her calf in New Zealand waters.

"I have never known anything like this before to be captured on film. This is Mother Nature at its most brutal, a rare occurrence that it was seen by humans, and even more rare that it was captured on camera”, commented an excited Hatwell.

For more information:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7532131/Killer-whale-attacks-dolphin-in-front-of-tourists.html

Peroni and Tethys

The Italian brewing company ‘Peroni’ donated 3000 cans of beer to Tethys.

Volunteers participating in Tethys field courses will surely enjoy such a refreshing drink on the patio of the Galaxidi field station, or on the deck of the Pelagos boat.

We are grateful to Peroni for their contribution to our field activities.

SB

Fish2Fork

Had you ever wondered which is the best restaurant to eat sustainable fish, Fish2Fork may be the answer.

After The End of the Line, Fish2Fork is Charles Clover’s new conservation idea: the first online restaurant guide to highlight best and worst seafood places.

With a specific rating system, Fish2Fork evaluates restaurants in terms of food quality, impacts on marine life, and whether they provide information about fish or shellfish species served on the menu.

Unfortunately, Fish2Fork covers only the U.K. and the U.S.A. - a disappointing bias.

http://fish2fork.com/apps/welcome

SB

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (in the Pliocene)

Four million years ago a Pliocene dolphin Astadelphis gastaldii died. Its skeleton was recovered, then stored in an Italian museum where it lied unstudied for more than a century... until some researchers decided to have a deep look at it. The result was amazing.

Carved into the old dolphin bones, researcher Giovanni Bianucci and his colleagues from the University of Pisa, Italy, found visible shark bite marks. By carefully studying the morphology and disposition of the tooth marks, the authors managed to attribute the bites to the predation of a single shark, most likely a Cosmopolitodus hastalis.

Then Bianucci and colleagues reconstructed what probably happened during the attack:

"… the shark attached from below, biting into the abdomen. Caught in the powerful bite, the dolphin would have struggled, and the shark probably detached a big amount of flesh by shaking its body from side to side. The bite would have caused severe damage and intense blood loss, because of the dense network of nerves, blood vessels and vital organs in this area. Then, already dead or in a state of shock, the dolphin rolled onto its back, and the shark bit again, close to the fleshy dorsal fin".

This study reveals how much can be inferred from skeletal remains, and offers a glimpse on ancient animal behaviour.

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Drawing: Attack sequence as hypothesized by Bianucci et al.
A) the shark approached the prey; B) the shark bitted the abdomen of the dolphin; C) the dolphin, mortally injured, rolled to the left and the shark bitted adjacent to dorsal fin area.

For more information:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316142519.htm

Bianucci G., Sorce B., Storai T., Landini W. 2010. Killing in the Pliocene: shark attack on a dolphin from Italy. Palaeontology 53(2):457–470.
Abstract - Shark bite marks, including striae, sulci and abrasions, in a well-preserved fossil dolphin skeleton referred to Astadelphis gastaldii (Cetacea, Delphinidae) from Pliocene sediments of Piedmont (northern Italy), are described in detail. The exceptional combination of a fossil dolphin having a significant part of the skeleton preserved and a large number of bite marks on the bones represents one of the few detailed documentations of shark attack in the past. Most bite marks have been referred to a shark about 4 m long with unserrated teeth, belonging to Cosmopolitodus hastalis, on the basis of their shape and their general disposition on the dolphin skeleton. According to our hypothesis, the shark attacked the dolphin with an initial mortal bite to the abdomen from the rear and right, in a similar way as observed for the living white shark when attacking pinnipeds. A second, less strong, bite was given on the dorsal area when the dolphin, mortally injured, probably rolled to the left. The shark probably released the prey, dead or dying, and other sharks or fishes probably scavenged the torn body of the dolphin.

Bernd and Melany Würsig in Galaxidi

In these days Bernd and Melany Würsig are visiting the field station of Tethys in Galaxidi (Gulf of Corinth, Greece), spending a few days with researchers Silvia Bonizzoni and Giovanni Bearzi.

Bernd and Mel are good friends, long-time advisors and a bright example of commitment to cetacean science and conservation. They have done incredible work, and managed all that with much generosity, never taking themselves too seriously and always willing to share the fun.

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Bernd Würsig is regents professor at Texas A&M University, and chair of the Marine Biology Graduate Program. Melany Würsig is curriculum instruction specialist at Cloverleaf Elementary School in Houston, Texas. Bernd has been senior advisor to 65 graduate students since 1981, and authored or co-authored approximately 150 research papers and six books, including the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2009, with Bill Perrin and Hans Thewissen). Bernd and Melany co-authored The Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin (1994, with Ken Norris and Randy Wells) and The Dusky Dolphin: Master Acrobat off Different Shores (2010).

Fishing bans do work

Many are against fishing bans, or think that are useless. A study proved this kind of regulation works.

Australian researchers showed that strict fishing prohibition has helped to regenerate wildlife and coral on one-third of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Laurence McCook, the lead author of the study, commented "The results are actually quite impressive. Having a higher proportion of protected areas is good for marine life, it's good for fish and it's good for people who rely on the reef for a living".

McCook and colleagues demonstrated no-take zones have less damaged coral, more and bigger fish (including sharks) in both reef and non-reef habitats, with benefits for fisheries as well as biodiversity conservation.

SB

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Photo: the Australian Great Barrier Reef

For more information:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7290755/Fishing-ban-regenerates-Australias-Great-Barrier-Reef.html

The article:
L.J. McCook, T. Ayling, M. Cappo, J.H. Choat, R.D. Evans, D.M. De Freitas, M. Heupel, T.P. Hughes, G.P. Jones, B. Mapstone, H. Marsh, M. Mills, F.J. Molloy, C.R. Pitcher, R.L. Pressey, G.R. Russ, S. Sutton, H. Sweatman, R. Tobin, D.R. Wachenfeld, D.H. Williamson. 2010. Adaptive management of the Great Barrier Reef: a globally significant demonstration of the benefits of networks of marine reserves. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.0909335107

Abstract - The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) provides a globally significant demonstration of the effectiveness of large-scale networks of marine reserves in contributing to integrated, adaptive management. Comprehensive review of available evidence shows major, rapid benefits of no-take areas for targeted fish and sharks, in both reef and nonreef habitats, with potential benefits for fisheries as well as biodiversity conservation. Large, mobile species like sharks benefit less than smaller, site-attached fish. Critically, reserves also appear to benefit overall ecosystem health and resilience: outbreaks of coral-eating, crown-of-thorns starfish appear less frequent on no-take reefs, which consequently have higher abundance of coral, the very foundation of reef ecosystems. Effective marine reserves require regular review of compliance: fish abundances in no-entry zones suggest that even no-take zones may be significantly depleted due to poaching. Spatial analyses comparing zoning with seabed biodiversity or dugong distributions illustrate significant benefits from application of best-practice conservation principles in data-poor situations. Increases in the marine reserve network in 2004 affected fishers, but preliminary economic analysis suggests considerable net benefits, in terms of protecting environmental and tourism values. Relative to the revenue generated by reef tourism, current expenditure on protection is minor. Recent implementation of an Outlook Report provides regular, formal review of environmental condition and management and links to policy responses, key aspects of adaptive management. Given the major threat posed by climate change, the expanded network of marine reserves provides a critical and cost-effective contribution to enhancing the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.

Extinct and quickly forgotten

Many species became extinct because of us, but our impact on Planet Earth continues to be forgotten as we lose track of environment changes.

This is the conclusion of a recent study led by Dr. Samuel Turvey.

In 2006, Turvey participated in a Yangtze River expedition to asses the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) population. The species was later declared ‘extinct’. Turvey returned in 2008 to interview locals about their knowledge of the baiji. The result was quite depressing: memories of this tremendous loss are quickly fading away.

Younger informants were less likely to know what a baiji was. While older people were aware of the historical decline of the baiji, younger fishermen from the same communities not only had never seen this animal, but had never even heard of it.

Soon, people will forget about the former existence of this cetacean species - once common in their environment. Progressively degraded environmental conditions and low biodiversity will come to be seen as normal.

"These shifts in community perception typically mean that the true level of human impact on the environment is underestimated, or even not appreciated at all, since the original environmental baseline has been forgotten” - Turvey commented.

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Drawing by Giovanni Bearzi

The article:
S.T. Turvey, L.A. Barrett, H. Yujiang, Z. Lei, Z. Xinqiao, W. Xianyan, H. Yadong, Z. Kaiya, T. Hart, W. Ding. 2010. Rapidly shifting baselines in Yangtze fishing communities and local memory of extinct species. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01395.x

Abstract - Local ecological knowledge can provide a unique source of data for conservation, especially in efforts to investigate the status of rare or possibly extinct species, but it is unlikely to remain constant over time. Loss of perspective about past ecological conditions caused by lack of communication between generations may create "shifting baseline syndrome," in which younger generations are less aware of local species diversity or abundance in the recent past. This phenomenon has been widely discussed, but has rarely been examined quantitatively. We present new evidence of shifting baselines in local perception of regional species declines and on the duration of "community memory" of extinct species on the basis of extensive interviews with fishers in communities across the middle-lower Yangtze basin. Many Yangtze species have experienced major declines in recent decades, and the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) and Yangtze paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) may have become extinct during the 21st century. Although informants across all age classes were strongly aware of the Yangtze ecosystem's escalating resource depletion and environmental degradation, older informants were more likely to recognize declines in two commercially important fish species, Reeves' shad (Tenualosa reevesii) and Yangtze pufferfish (Takifugu fasciatus), and to have encountered baiji and paddlefish in the past. Age was also a strong predictor of whether informants had even heard of baiji or paddlefish, with younger informants being substantially less likely to recognize either species. A marked decrease in local knowledge about the Yangtze freshwater megafauna matched the time of major population declines of these species from the 1970s onwards, and paddlefish were already unknown to over 70% of all informants below the age of 40 and to those who first started fishing after 1995. This rapid rate of cultural baseline shift suggests that once even megafaunal species cease to be encountered on a fairly regular basis, they are rapidly forgotten by local communities

For more information:
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0223-hance_shiftbaiji.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8530965.stm

The early ADP in Losinj, Croatia

One more video (Italian narration) bringing back memories of the early Adriatic Dolphin Project in Losinj, Croatia.

In the good old days

One more video from the good old days, posted by Drasko Holcer.

It features Tethys researchers working with 'eco-volunteers' back in the mid 1990s.

(Italian narration)

If you are interested in attending ongoing research courses by Tethys in Italy and Greece, please check:
http://www.tethys.org/tri_courses/courses_index_e.htm

Adriatic Dolphin Project video

Drasko Holcer, President of Blue World, posted a video collage with bits of history of the Adriatic Dolphin Project:

http://vimeo.com/9883799

There is a short part at the beginning which relates to the 14-year period (1987-2000) when the project was managed by Tethys.

Additional information about the Adriatic Dolphin Project can be found at:

http://www.tethys.org/projects/VDP/vdp_home.htm

Should killer whales not kill?

Killer whale kills SeaWorld trainer

Orca uccide addestratrice del SeaWorld



Why not let orcas kill their own prey in the wild, instead of using these top predators as toys and then be shocked if some of them, sometimes, behave as wild animals?

Giovanni Bearzi

Foodball team

Some cetacean species - bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, dusky dolphins, killer whales etc. - are famous ‘fish ball’ hunters.

They gather together, circle around a school of fish, squish the fish into a ball, and then take turns swimming into the bait ball and eating the fish.

A new study suggests that sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) can probably do the same. Thanks to special tags attached to the animals, researchers could study movement, time and depth recorded during dives of several individuals within the same group.

‘We're speculating that the animals are herding a ball of squid’ said Professor Bruce Mate who led the study, and added: ‘Some whales appeared to guard the bottom of this bait ball, preventing the prey from sinking to unreachable depths, while other animals in the group took advantage of the centre of the ball’.

The sperm whale food-ball theory is not yet proved but researchers are working to better understand what happens when these giants feed at 1,000 m depth.

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Photo: a fish ball, at http://www.sea-way.org/blog/Beneath14.JPG

For more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8530116.stm

Whale funeral

A few days ago, a 16-m long dead whale was spotted along the Vietnamese coast and local fishermen hauled it ashore.

In Vietnam's fishing culture whales are considered sacred and the dead animal is attracting people from throughout the region. Fishermen are burning incense in its honour and they are planning to build a temple at the burial site.

Whales are named 'ngai': the honorific title used for kings, emperors and esteemed leaders.

SB

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Photo: dead whale dragged ashore (by The Associated Press)

For more information:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/23/1494845/thousands-give-last-rites-to-dead.html

Bottlenose dolphins as human-health sentinels?

Study bottlenose dolphins to better understand human diseases: this was the topic discussed during the session ‘Decoding the secret pathologies of dolphins: significance for human and ocean health’ held at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego.

Diseases found in bottlenose dolphins are similar to those found in humans (including diabetes, papilloma virus and RNS-based virus disease) and dolphins diet includes much of the same seafood we consume. All this prompted some researcher to think that these animals can help us discover health effects associated to contaminated coastal water or seafood.

“Our ecological and physiological similarities make dolphins an important ‘sentinel species’ to not only warn us of health risks, but also provide insight into how our health can benefit from new medical discoveries” said Carolyn Sotka of the NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative and lead organizer of the session.

Researchers are now investigating whether coastal dolphin populations and human communities sharing the same seafood resources experience similar exposures.

SB

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For more information:
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100218_dolphins.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218173114.htm

WDCS Species Guide

WDCS The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has recently launched a new online species guide.

The guide comes in three languages (English, Deutsch and Spanish), and provides information about appearance, distribution, behaviour, classification and threats for each cetacean species. It also features 80 maps and over 400 images.

Have a look at the WDCS Species Guide.

Monk seal birth filmed

The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals, has been observed giving birth for the first time in the eastern Mediterranean.

Thanks to an automatic 24-h infrared monitoring system installed in one reproductive cave at Kimolos island, Greece, researchers from MOm (Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal) were able to document two births as well as the postpartum behaviour.

The videos highlighted two threats related to the lactation period. In one occasion, bad sea conditions deteriorated so much that one pup was repeatedly washed away from her mother. Nothing happened to the pup thanks to the mother’s care: she moved the pup to a safer part of the cave and used her body to 'brake' the incoming waves.

The second threat occurred when a person entered the cave. A mother was so frightened that, in an attempt to escape, she trampled over her newborn pup. Fortunately the pup was not injured but the mother left it alone for seven hours.

Temporary mother-pup separation due to bad weather conditions or human disturbance, is the main cause of death for young Mediterranean monk seals. Work by MOm will help design more effective conservation measures.

SB

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Photo: a monk seal mother with her male newborn (from Karamanlidis et al. 2010)

Karamanlidis A.A., Paravas V., Trillmich F., Dendrinos P. 2010. First observations of parturition and postpartum behavior in the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in the Eastern Mediterranean. Aquatic Mammals 36(1):27-32.

For more information:
http://www.monachus-guardian.org/library/karam09c.pdf

Looking for trawlers: the new seabird’s lifestyle

Fisheries can affect seabird movements and behaviour. This
is the result of a recent study conducted in the Balearic islands, south of Spain.

Researchers analysed and modelled satellite tracking data of 10 foraging trips of breeding Balearic shearwaters (Puffinus mauretanicus) and 26 trips of breeding Cory’s shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea). By relating the birds movements with trawling activities, an interesting link was found.

When trawlers were active, the birds tended to concentrate in certain high-resource density area where the fishing boats were operating. When trawlers were inactive - during weekends, holidays or trawling moratorium days - the birds engaged in more widely spread and long flights.

Birds were probably attracted to the fish discarded by trawlers, as this represents an easy meal which does not require spending too much time and energy. Availability of discards may improve the breeding performance of Mediterranean seabirds but it may also decrease their fidelity to certain areas.

It’s unclear whether this may be good or bad for the birds in the long run, but it’s obvious how human activities are continuously impacting on nature.

SB

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Photo:
trawler and pelagic seabirds http://www.twooceanssportfishing.com/pelagic-birding

For more information:
http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(09)02160-5

Bartumeus F., Giuggioli L., Louzao M., Bretagnolle V., Oro D., Levin S.A. 2010. Fishery discards impact on seabird movement patterns at regional scales. Current Biology 20:215–222.
Summary - Human fishing activities are negatively altering marine ecosystems in many ways, but scavenging animals such as seabirds are taking advantage of such activities by exploiting fishery discards. Despite the well-known impact of fisheries on seabird population dynamics, little is known about how discard availability affects seabird movement patterns. Using scenarios with and without trawling activity, we present evidence that fisheries modify the natural way in which two Mediterranean seabirds explore the seascape to look for resources during the breeding season. Based on satellite tracking data and a mathematical framework to quantify anomalous diffusion phenomena, we show how the interplay between traveling distances and pause periods contributes to the spatial spreading of the seabirds at regional scales (i.e., 10–250 km). When trawlers operate, seabirds show exponentially distributed traveling distances and a strong site fidelity to certain foraging areas, the whole foraging process being subdiffusive. In the absence of trawling activity, the site fidelity increases, but the whole movement pattern appears dominated by rare but very large traveling distances, making foraging a superdiffusive process. Our results demonstrate human involvement on landscape-level behavioral ecology and provide a new ecosystemic approach in the study of fishery-seabird interactions.

Slow conservation

Why conservation is a slow process?

A (small) part of the problem could be that it takes longer for conservation biologists to submit scientific papers than it does for other experts. This, at least, is the result of a recent study published in Conservation Biology.

After data collection, the average conservation biologist waits nearly two years to submit a paper. For a taxonomist it takes about 20 months, 17 for a behavioural scientist, and only 6 for an evolutionary biologist.

One of the challenges is therefore trying to submit a bit earlier, hoping this will encourage a ‘greener’ management.

Indeed, journal Editors also may play a role in delaying publication of conservation-oriented work.

SB

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Photo by Nciri Khaled at http://photo.net

For more information:
http://journalwatch.conservationmagazine.org/

O’Donnell R., Supp S., Cobbold S. 2010. Hindrance of conservation biology by delays in the submission of manuscripts. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01424.x
Abstract - Timely dissemination of scientific findings depends not only on rapid publication of submitted manuscripts, a topic which has received much discussion, but also on rapid submission of research after the research is completed. We measured submission delay (time from the last date of data collection to the submission of a manuscript) for every paper from 14 journals in 2007 and compared these submission delays among four fields of biology (conservation, taxonomy, behavior, and evolution). Manuscripts published in leading journals in the field of conservation biology have the longest delays in publication of accepted manuscripts and the longest intervals between completion of research and submission of the manuscript. Delay in manuscript submission accounts for more than half of the total time from last date of data collection to publication. Across fields, the number of authors was significantly negatively correlated with submission delay, but conservation journals had the second highest number of authors and the greatest submission delay, so submission of conservation manuscripts was not hindered by a shortage of collaboration relative to other fields. Rejection rates were greater in conservation journals than in behavior and evolution, but rejection times were faster; thus, there were no obvious net differences among fields in the time papers spent waiting to be rejected. Publication delay has been reduced significantly in the last 7 years, but was still greater in conservation journals than in any of the other three fields we studied. Thus, the urgent field of conservation biology is hindered in both preparation and publication of manuscripts.

Amazing photos of beluga whales

Remarkable and curious underwater photos of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) as ‘stars’, have been taken in the northern Russia White Sea.

Capturing these images was not so simple. Before each dive the photographers had to create holes in the three-foot-deep ice using a hand saw, to have access to a cold, cold sea.

While divers were enjoying the company of beluga whale, someone else had to stay above the ice — and wait in the wind at temperatures of up to -30°C (!) — to make sure the ice hole didn’t freeze over and trap the underwater group. BRRR!

SB

To see the photos:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1244149/What-doing-Amazing-underwater-photos-beluga-whales-meeting-divers-Arctic-rehabilitation-farm.html

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Photo: a beluga's close approach, by Franco Banfi

For more information:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7019127/Inquisitive-beluga-whales-take-an-interest-in-scuba-divers.html

Thinking science

A scientist who is deeply preoccupied with the solution of a problem will find not so much that he allocates special times to thinking about it but rather than reflection upon the problem is the equilibrium state or the zero point on the dial to which his mind tend automatically to return when it is not occupied by anything else.

-- P.B. Medawar in Advice to a Young Scientist (1979)

Mud-ring feeding

The bottlenose dolphin is one of the most adaptive cetaceans. Numerous studies of its behaviour highlighted various and different feeding strategies to have a food-full belly.

Thes dolphins are able to surface-feed, patrol fish-farms looking for wild fishes around the cages, take advantage of various fishing gear, ‘crater-feed’, ‘beach-feed’, use sponges to ferret prey from the sea floor, and prepare their meal by removing the ink and the calcareous bone from cuttlefish.

The ultimate hunting trick is ‘mud-ring feeding’.

By beating the tail down hard and swimming in tight circles, they create a wall of mud around shoaling fish. Inside of these rings, scared fishes try to escape by jumping out of the water but... they end directly into a dolphin's mouth!

This strategy has been caught by video and showed in the first episode (Challenges of Life) of the new BBC series Life.

Silvia Bonizzoni

No reason to kill minke whales

Some think Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) are more numerous than usual, that they compete for food with larger whales and they are preventing them from recover after decimation by industrial whaling. Therefore, culling of minke whales was proposed as a valid management solution to allow blue, sei, fin and humpback whales to increase in numbers.

A recent study published on Molecular Ecology confuted this theory. Based on analyses done on samples of minke whale meat purchased at Japanese markets, researchers proved that numbers B. bonaerensis have not increased unnaturally in the wake of industrial whaling. No way. Their numbers are close to historical ones.

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Image: Four main species of baleen whale hunted in the Southern Ocean in the early 1900s (from Ruegg et al. 2010)

For more information:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100114104935.htm

Ruegg K., Anderson E., Baker C., Vant M., Jackson J., Palumbi S. 2010. Are Antarctic minke whales unusually abundant because of 20th century whaling? Molecular Ecology 19(2):281-291.
Abstract - Severe declines in megafauna worldwide illuminate the role of top predators in ecosystem structure. In the Antarctic, the Krill Surplus Hypothesis posits that the killing of more than 2 million large whales led to competitive release for smaller krill-eating species like the Antarctic minke whale. If true, the current size of the Antarctic minke whale population may be unusually high as an indirect result of whaling. Here, we estimate the long-term population size of the Antarctic minke whale prior to whaling by sequencing 11 nuclear genetic markers from 52 modern samples purchased in Japanese meat markets. We use coalescent simulations to explore the potential influence of population substructure and find that even though our samples are drawn from a limited geographic area, our estimate reflects ocean-wide genetic diversity. Using Bayesian estimates of the mutation rate and coalescent-based analyses of genetic diversity across loci, we calculate the long-term population size of the Antarctic minke whale to be 670 000 individuals (95% confidence interval: 374 000–1 150 000). Our estimate of long-term abundance is similar to, or greater than, contemporary abundance estimates, suggesting that managing Antarctic ecosystems under the assumption that Antarctic minke whales are unusually abundant is not warranted.