Constantine Alexander's Journal: Travel

Travel

09/07/2016

Scientists discover a new deep-reef Butterflyfish species in Papahānaumokuākea Monument

Discovery highlights a wealth of previously unknown biodiversity.

This is Pete Basabe's Butteflyfish (Prognathodes basabei Pyle and Kosaki 2016) at a depth of 180 feet off Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Credit: Greg McFall / NOAA.

Scientists from NOAA and the Bishop Museum have published a description of a new species of butterflyfish from deep reefs of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The study was published today in the scientific journal ZooKeys.

"Butterflyfish are the glamour fish of the coral reefs," said Richard Pyle, Bishop Museum scientist and lead author on the publication. "They are colorful, beautiful, and have been very well-studied worldwide. Finding a new species of butterflyfish is a rare event."

Deep coral reefs at depths of 150 to 500 feet, also known as mesophotic coral ecosystems or "the coral-reef twilight zone," are among the most poorly explored of all marine ecosystems. Deeper than most scuba divers can venture, and shallower than most submersible-based exploration, these reefs represent a new frontier for coral reef research.

"Discoveries such as this underscore how poorly explored and how little we know about our deep coral reefs," said Randall Kosaki, NOAA scientist and co-author of the study. "Virtually every deep dive we do takes place on a reef that no human being has ever seen."

This species was first observed in video taken from manned submersibles more than 20 years ago, at depths as great as 600 feet. At the time, Pyle and University of Hawaii marine biologist E.H. "Deetsie" Chave recognized this as a potential new species. However, because of the extreme depths, it was many years before technical divers using advanced electronic closed-circuit rebreathers were able to collect and preserve specimens in a way that would allow proper scientific documentation as an undescribed species.

Recently, the new butterflyfish has been encountered regularly on deep exploratory dives up to 330 feet on NOAA expeditions to Papahānaumokuākea. The description is based on these specimens from the NWHI.

The new fish, Prognathodes basabei, is named after Pete Basabe, a veteran local diver from Kona who, over the years, has assisted with the collection of reef fishes for numerous scientific studies and educational displays. Basabe, an experienced deep diver himself, was instrumental in providing support for the dives that produced the first specimen of the fish that now bears his name.

In addition to the specimens used for the published study, live specimens of the new butterflyfish were collected on a NOAA expedition to Papahānaumokuākea in June of this year. The fish are now on display at Bishop Museum in Honolulu and at the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo. An additional specimen is on display in the Deep Reef exhibit at the Waikiki Aquarium.

President Obama announced on August 26 the expansion of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument by from 139,797 square miles to 582,578 square miles, making it the largest marine protected area on Earth.

"This new discovery illustrates the conservation value of very large marine protected areas," said Kosaki. "Not only do they protect the biodiversity that we already know about, they also protect the diversity we've yet to discover. And there's a lot left to discover."

Papahānaumokuākea is cooperatively managed to ensure ecological integrity and achieve strong, long-term protection and perpetuation of Northwestern Hawaiian Island ecosystems, Native Hawaiian culture, and heritage resources for current and future generations. Three co-trustees - the Department of Commerce, Department of the Interior, and State of Hawai'i - joined by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, protect this special place. Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument was inscribed as the first mixed (natural and cultural) UNESCO World Heritage Site in the United States in July 2010.

NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our other social media channels.

Citation: Richard L. Pyle and Randall K. Kosaki; Prognathodes basabei, a new species of butterflyfish (Perciformes: Chaetodontidae) from the Hawaiian Archipelago; ZooKeys 614: 137-152 (06 Sep 2016); DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.614.10200.

Contact: Sarah Marquis
NOAA

Posted at 04:40 AM in Biodiversity, Marine Environment, Science, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/28/2016

Lionfish invading the Mediterranean Sea

Rising temperatures and Suez Canal widening open the door to invasive species.

A lionfish specimen photographed in the Mediterranean. Credit: Maria Papinikola.

Rising sea temperatures in the Mediterranean are encouraging alien lionfish species to invade and colonise new territories with potentially serious ecological and socioeconomic impacts.

Evidence collated from divers and fishermen reveals that in the space of a year, the poisonous predators have colonised Cyprus - and these may be at the vanguard of a pan-Atlantic Ocean invasion following the widening and deepening of the Suez Canal.

The report, published in Marine Biodiversity Records, was written by Mr Demetris Kletou, of the Environmental Research Lab, in Limassol, Cyprus; and Professor Jason Hall Spencer, of the School of Marine Science and Engineering at Plymouth University.

"Until now, few sightings of the alien lionfish Pterois miles have been reported in the Mediterranean and it was questionable whether the species could invade this region like it has in the western Atlantic," says Mr Kletou. "But we've found that lionfish have recently increased in abundance, and within a year have colonised almost the entire south eastern coast of Cyprus, assisted by sea surface warming."

Lionfish are generalist carnivores and can feed on a variety of fish and crustaceans, with large individuals preying almost exclusively on fish. They spawn every four days, year-round, producing around two million buoyant gelatinous eggs per year, which can ride the ocean currents and cover large distances for about a month before they settle.

Their success at invading new territories stems from a combination of factors such as early maturation and reproduction, and venomous spines that deter predators, and they can quickly colonise reefs and reduce biodiversity in the area.

The research team collated information on reported encounters in coastal waters from divers, spearfishers and fishermen, and conducted interviews, gathering photographic and video evidence, and recording the date of the sighting, and the location. In addition, governmental officers of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research (DFMR) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, in Cyprus, shared information and specimens captured in nets by local coastal fishermen.

The results show that the lionfish P. miles has colonised almost the entire south eastern coast of Cyprus, from Limassol to Protaras in just one year. At least 24 new and confirmed sightings of 19 individuals were recorded, such as three pairs found on a wreck near Cape Kiti.

Professor Jason Hall Spencer said: "Groups of lionfish exhibiting mating behaviour have been noted for the first time in the Mediterranean. By publishing this information, we can help stakeholders plan mitigating action, such as offering incentives for divers and fishermen to run lionfish removal programmes, which have worked well at shallow depths in the Caribbean, and restoring populations of potential predators, such as the dusky grouper. Given that the Suez Canal has recently been widened and deepened, measures will need to be put in place to help prevent further invasion."

Citation: Demetris Kletou, Jason M. Hall-Spencer and Periklis Kleitou; A lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has begun in the Mediterranean Sea; Marine Biodiversity Records 9:46 (30 June 2016); DOI: 10.1186/s41200-016-0065-y.

Contact: Andrew Merrington
University of Plymouth

Posted at 09:09 AM in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Marine Environment, Science, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/08/2016

Coral reefs fall victim to overfishing, pollution, ocean warming

Three-year study of reef health is one of largest, longest ever undertaken.

Coral bleaching in the Maldives, captured by the XL Catlin Seaview Survey in May 2016.

One of the longest and largest studies of coral reef health ever undertaken finds that corals are declining worldwide because a variety of threats -- overfishing, nutrient pollution and pathogenic disease -- that ultimately become deadly in the face of higher ocean temperatures.

The study by marine biologists from Rice University, Oregon State University and other institutions was published today in Nature Communications on the eve of World Oceans Day, an annual global celebration of Earth's oceans. The findings are based on a continuous three-year experiment to measure how humans impact reef health. Data from the experiment on reefs in the Florida Keys suggests that widespread coral deaths, including the ongoing global bleaching event that affected 90 percent of the Great Barrier Reef this year, are being caused by a combination of multiple local stressors and global warming.

"Our findings serve as a challenge and an inspiration for World Oceans Day because they show that what we do locally impacts the ability of coral reefs to survive global stressors," said study co-author Adrienne Simoes Correa, a marine biologist in Rice University's Department of BioSciences. "If we catch too many reef fish and allow human waste, detergents and fertilizers to enter the ocean through runoff and river outlets, then it is even harder for corals to cope with warming seas driven by climate change. We can see the devastating results of these combined stressors around the world currently, as reefs bleach and corals die in the wake of the ongoing third global coral bleaching event."

Researchers found the combination of warming and other stressors greatly weaken corals and allow opportunistic pathogens to build to such levels that corals cannot survive.

The findings were made by researchers from six institutions following an experiment that simulated both overfishing and nutrient pollution on a Florida reef. A large body of field data collected over an extended period of time helped resolve fundamental questions about the cause of coral reef declines, scientists said.

"This is grim news, but at least it will help settle the argument over why corals are dying," said Rebecca Vega Thurber, an assistant professor in the College of Science at Oregon State University and corresponding author on the study.

"This makes it clear there's no single force that's causing such widespread coral deaths," she said. "Loss of fish that help remove algae, or the addition of excess nutrients like those in fertilizers, can cause algal growth on reefs. This changes the normal microbiota of corals to become more pathogenic, and all of these problems reach critical levels as ocean temperatures warm."

The end result, the scientists said, is a global decline of coral reefs that is now reaching catastrophic proportions.

"We need to know how human activities are affecting coral reef ecosystems," said David Garrison, program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the research. "Coral reefs are among the most sensitive indicators of the health of the oceans. This report is a major contribution toward understanding how reefs will fare in the future."

Correa said few studies rival the scale and scope of the one in Florida.

"It is incredibly difficult to keep an experiment running continuously for three years on the reef," she said. "To simulate overfishing effects, we put large cages over parts of the reef to keep fish out. It was a constant battle to make sure these cages were really 'fish-proof' and to keep macroalgae, fire corals and other organisms from growing on top of the cages. Every time a storm or hurricane blew through, there was a risk that the cages would be damaged or destroyed. Despite the challenges, field studies like this one are important because they show how coral reefs are suffering from 'death by a thousand cuts.'"

Scientists have said the problems caused by bacterial infections due to local stressors and warm temperatures are in addition to damage from mass coral bleaching events already under way. Only in the early 1980s did researchers observe the first mass-bleaching event in recorded history. There have now been three such events just in the past 20 years.

A before and after image of coral bleaching and later dying in March / May 2016, at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, captured by the XL Catlin Seaview Survey.

Among the findings from the study:

Overfishing, nutrient pollution and increased temperature all lead to an increase in pathogens.
The sheer abundance of pathogens is more important than what particular type or species they are.
Coral reef mortality mirrors the abundance of pathogens.
Heat exacerbates these problems, with 80 percent of coral deaths coming in the summer or fall, but only when fish are removed or nutrient pollution is present.
While high thermal stress has received the most attention, even modest temperature increases make corals more vulnerable to bacteria.
Loss of fish can increase algal cover up to six times.
In a distressed system with many algae, coral disease levels double and coral mortality increases eight times.
Increased algal cover or elevated temperature can reduce levels of naturally secreted antibiotics that help protect corals from harmful bacteria.
Direct algal contact driven by overfishing and nutrient pollution destabilizes the coral microbiome, in some cases leading to a six- to nine-time increase in mortality.

According to the researchers, the findings make it clear that in the face of global warming, some of the best opportunities to protect coral reefs lie in careful management of fishing and protection of water quality. This would give corals their best chance to have a healthy microbiome and resist warmer conditions without dying.

Citation: Jesse R. Zaneveld, Deron E. Burkepile, Andrew A. Shantz, Catharine E. Pritchard, Ryan McMinds, Jérôme P. Payet, Rory Welsh, Adrienne M. S. Correa, Nathan P. Lemoine, Stephanie Rosales, Corinne Fuchs, Jeffrey A. Maynard & Rebecca Vega Thurber; Overfishing and nutrient pollution interact with temperature to disrupt coral reefs down to microbial scales; Nature Communications 7, Article number: 11833 (7 June 2016); DOI:10.1038/ncomms11833.

Contact: Jade Boyd
Rice University

Posted at 03:24 AM in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Marine Environment, Protected Areas, Science, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/03/2016

Underwater 'lost city' found to be geological formation

The ancient underwater remains of a long lost Greek city were in fact created by a naturally occurring phenomenon -- according to joint research from the University of East Anglia and the University of Athens (Greece). Credit: University of Athens.

The ancient underwater remains of a long lost Greek city were in fact created by a naturally occurring phenomenon - according to joint research from the University of East Anglia (UK) and the University of Athens (Greece).

When underwater divers discovered what looked like paved floors, courtyards and colonnades, they thought they had found the ruins of a long-forgotten civilization that perished when tidal waves hit the shores of the Greek holiday island Zakynthos. But new research published yesterday reveals that the site was created by a natural geological phenomenon that took place in the Pliocene era - up to five million years ago.

Lead author Prof Julian Andrews, from UEA's School of Environmental Sciences, said: "The site was discovered by snorkelers and first thought to be an ancient city port, lost to the sea. There were what superficially looked like circular column bases, and paved floors. But mysteriously no other signs of life - such as pottery."

The bizarre discovery, found close to Alikanas Bay, was carefully examined in situ by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of Greece. Archaeologist Magda Athanasoula and diver Petros Tsampourakis studied the site, together with Prof Michael Stamatakis from the Department of Geology and Geoenvironment at the University of Athens (UoA). After the preliminary mineralogical and chemical analyses, a scientific research team was formed, composed of UoA and UEA staff. The research team went on to investigate in detail the mineral content and texture of the underwater formation in minute detail, using microscopy, X-ray and stable isotope techniques.

Prof Andrews said: "We investigated the site, which is between two and five meters under water, and found that it is actually a natural geologically occurring phenomenon. The disk and doughnut morphology, which looked a bit like circular column bases, is typical of mineralization at hydrocarbon seeps - seen both in modern seafloor and palaeo settings. We found that the linear distribution of these doughnut shaped concretions is likely the result of a sub-surface fault which has not fully ruptured the surface of the sea bed. The fault allowed gases, particularly methane, to escape from depth. Microbes in the sediment use the carbon in methane as fuel. Microbe-driven oxidation of the methane then changes the chemistry of the sediment forming a kind of natural cement, known to geologists as concretion. In this case the cement was an unusual mineral called dolomite which rarely forms in seawater, but can be quite common in microbe-rich sediments. These concretions were then exhumed by erosion to be exposed on the seabed today. This kind of phenomenon is quite rare in shallow waters. Most similar discoveries tend to be many hundreds and often thousands of meters deep underwater. These features are proof of natural methane seeping out of rock from hydrocarbon reservoirs. The same thing happens in the North Sea, and it is also similar to the effects of fracking, when humans essentially speed up or enhance the phenomena."

Citation: J.E. Andrewsa, M.G. Stamatakisb, A. Marca-Bella, C. Stewartc & I.L. Millarc; Exhumed hydrocarbon-seep authigenic carbonates from Zakynthos Island (Greece): Concretions not archaeological remains; Marine and Petroleum Geology, Volume 76, Pages 16–25 (September 2016); DOI:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2016.05.022.

Contact: Lisa Horton
University of East Anglia

Posted at 04:30 AM in Biodiversity, Marine Environment, Science, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/14/2016

Uncovering the secrets of Arctic seabird colonies

Nearly two million seabirds nest along the Norwegian coast north of the Arctic Circle. How do they decide where to nest?

More than a million puffins nest in colonies on the coasts of the Norwegian and Barents Sea. Their nesting colonies are located in areas where currents and coastal features concentrate prey. Photo by Per Harald Olsen, NTNU.

Ninety per cent of Norway's two million pairs of cliff-nesting seabirds are located in nesting colonies above the Arctic Circle.

But why are these colonies located exactly where they are? Much of the 1200-km stretch of coastline from the Arctic Circle to Norway's easternmost point, on the Russian border, has features that ought to be attractive to birds that nest in colonies, mainly steep, protected cliffs that are essentially inaccessible to terrestrial predators.

Using computer models to describe ocean currents and the transport of floating fish larvae, researchers were able to show that bird colonies are located in areas where currents and the shape of the coastline cause fish larvae to concentrate.

More simply stated, "the birds are where the food is," said Hanno Sandvik, a biologist from the Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and first author of a paper published in Nature Communications on Friday.

This may seem like a self-evident fact, but the research team is the first ever to be able to essentially predict where seabird colonies should be, based on fish larvae "hot spots" that show up in computer models of how fish larvae are transported along the coast.

"We are starting from where the prey is," Sandvik said. "We know where the prey is (because of the computer models). Then, based on what we know about where their prey is, where should the colonies be?"

Spotting a pattern in hot spots

The idea for the study came about several years ago, when researchers met to discuss a different project for which oceanographers from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) had created a coastal current and fish larvae transport model.

By using wind, water temperature and salinity information that has been collected by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute for decades, the oceanographers could calculate the strength and direction of currents along the Norwegian coast, and could simulate how fish larvae and plankton, which float with the current, would be transported.

The IMR researchers showed the assembled group of researchers a series of PowerPoint slides of the northern Norwegian coast with fish larvae concentrations mapped along the coastline over a number of years. They used red to show the densest concentrations, which meant that fish larvae "hot spots" were highlighted in red.

Although currents transport larvae and plankton along the entire coast, these floating organisms are not uniformly spread along the coastline. That's because of the way the current interacts with different coastal features, which concentrate organisms in the eddies that form along banks, islets and promontories.

After Robert Barrett, a biologist from the Department of Natural Sciences at the Tromsø University Museum, saw several of the slides, he realized that the red "hot spots" were in exactly the same place every year, and their location neatly predicted seabird colony locations.

"I said, 'Hang on! Let's have a look at that,'" said Barrett, who is also the second author on the paper. "Those red concentration dots are distributed exactly where the seabird colonies are."

It was then that the researchers decided to develop a statistical test to see if northern Norway seabird colonies are in fact closely associated with areas along the coast where currents concentrate food.

"We had been discussing for a long time why seabird colonies are where they are," Barrett said. "Here the IMR researchers were showing us models of fish larval concentrations, and it fit. The food, of course, is totally dependent on ocean currents, climate and topography. It turns out that yes, there are hot spots along the coast where food is concentrated. And this is what the seabirds have tuned into long, long ago."

Timing, stability important

For the research presented in the Nature Communications article, the IMR oceanographers simulated what the fish larvae and plankton concentrations would have looked like along the northern Norwegian coast each year from 1982 to 2011, or for 30 years. Sandvik and his other colleagues then combined this with seabird population numbers collected by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research to see what kinds of patterns emerged.

So, for example, it is well known that July, which is relatively late in season for nesting seabirds, is a very important month when it comes to parents feeding their chicks. The chicks are nearly ready to leave the nest, so they are quite large and need a lot of food. That means the parents are working overtime to feed them.

Because of this demand, high fish larvae concentrations in July were among the most strongly associated factors with the presence of a nesting colony.

Sandvik also found that colony locations were strongly associated with locations where fish larvae concentrations had a high minimum level across many years. If an area along the coast had very high levels of fish larvae concentrations, but if those levels were not consistent over the years, then a colony was less likely to be associated with that spot.

"Birds prefer places where the (prey) numbers are as stable as possible," Sandvik said. "The best places are where you have enough fish larvae every year."

This makes sense from a biological standpoint because seabirds can't suddenly change their reproductive abilities from year to year--they can't lay 10 eggs in a good year and one egg in a bad year. So the birds simply can't take advantage of years when there is a lot of prey in the ocean.

But if prey is available nearly every year at the minimum level needed for birds to reproduce successfully, that is much more attractive to seabirds -- and the research backs this up.

The location of seabird colonies along the northern Norwegian coast is strongly controlled by fish larvae and plankton 'hot spots,' where currents and the contours of the coast concentrate food for the birds. Photo by Per Harald Olsen, NTNU.

Lofoten key, stable source of cod

One other surprising finding was the importance of cod larvae that originate from spawning grounds in the Lofoten Islands, Sandvik said.

The two currents that are responsible for moving water along the northern Norwegian coast move north and then east, wrapping around the top of Norway near Hammerfest and heading east towards Kirkenes. These currents thus bring cod larvae north from spawning grounds and then east along the coastline.

If Sandvik looked just at concentrations of herring larvae, there was no significant association between herring and colony location. But if he looked at cod larvae, the association between larvae concentrations and colony location was highly significant, he said.

The Lofoten area has continually exported dried cod since the Viking times, 900 years ago, which suggests that the cod spawning area there has been stable over long periods, Sandvik said. That means it's possible that the location of the seabird colonies in northern Norway might have persisted for centuries, if not longer.

"It really seems to be the area that is driving this entire system," he said.

Citation: Hanno Sandvik, Robert T. Barrett, Kjell Einar Erikstad, Mari S. Myksvoll, Frode Vikebø, Nigel G. Yoccoz, Tycho Anker-Nilssen, Svein-Håkon Lorentsen, Tone K. Reiertsen, Jofrid Skarðhamar, Mette Skern-Mauritzen and Geir Helge Systad; Modelled drift patterns of fish larvae link coastal morphology to seabird colony distribution; Nature Communications, 2016; 7: 11599; DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11599.

Contact: Hanno Sandvik
Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Posted at 03:25 AM in Avian, Biodiversity, Marine Environment, Science, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/11/2016

Northern Galapagos Islands home to world's largest shark biomass

A group of hammerhead sharks swims over the sandy seafloor populated with garden eels at Darwin Island. These sharks are known for their ability to make sudden and sharp turns as the unique wide-set placement of their eyes allows them a vertical 360-degree view, which is ideal for stalking their prey. Photo by Enric Sala/National Geographic, from 'National Geographic Pristine Seas'.

In a study published today in the journal PeerJ, scientists from the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) and the National Geographic Society revealed that the northern Galapagos islands of Darwin and Wolf are home to the largest shark biomass reported to date (12.4 tons per hectare).

Worldwide, overfishing has reduced the biomass of most sharks and other large predatory fishes by more than 90 percent -- even in remote areas. The findings detailed by CDRS and National Geographic Society researchers in PeerJ are significant because the presence of these top predators indicates a healthy marine ecosystem. Moreover, the data amassed over two years of rigorous research will add to a growing body of literature about the role of top predators in marine ecosystems.

"The islands of Darwin and Wolf are jewels in the crown of the Galapagos because of the sheer abundance of sharks and other top predators," said Pelayo Salinas de Leon, the paper's lead author and senior marine ecologist at CDRS.

Despite the large shark biomass, the abundance of reef fishes in this area has been severely reduced because of excessive fishing. The area was not fully protected from fishing until the Ecuadorian government announced the creation of a marine sanctuary around Darwin and Wolf in March 2016. Given how important the Galapagos are to Ecuador's tourism industry and to the well-being of these top predators, the paper's authors urge strong enforcement of the new marine sanctuary.

"Charles Darwin made the Galapagos Islands famous, but for the underwater world to be so full of life is something he probably never imagined," said Enric Sala, National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence and leader of the Society's Pristine Seas project.

A natural rock formation known as "Darwin's Arch" protrudes from the water southeast of Darwin Island. The waters around the small, remote islands of Darwin and Wolf contain the largest biomass of sharks on the planet. Photo by Neil Gelinas/National Geographic, from 'National Geographic Pristine Seas'.

The National Geographic Society conducted a Pristine Seas expedition in the Galapagos Marine Reserve in December 2015. Led by Sala, the Pristine Seas team of international scientists and filmmakers, in collaboration with the Galapagos National Park and CDRS, surveyed and documented the waters around the islands, with a focus on the deep and offshore environments. The expedition, made possible in part by a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, helped inform the government's decision to create the new sanctuary around Darwin and Wolf.

The shark biomass research team collected data using stereo-video surveys at seven sites in collaboration with the Galapagos National Park Directorate. The quantitative surveys recorded at Darwin and Wolf are considerably larger than those reported at Costa Rica's Cocos Island National Park and the Chagos Marine Reserve in the Indian Ocean, home to the world's next largest shark biomasses.

According to the CDRS and National Geographic Society scientists: "The study published today adds to the growing body of literature highlighting the ecological uniqueness and the irreplaceable value of Darwin and Wolf -- not only for Ecuador but for the world."

Citation: Salinas de León P, Acuña-Marrero D, Rastoin E, Friedlander AM, Donovan MK and Sala E.; Largest global shark biomass found in the northern Galápagos Islands of Darwin and Wolf; PeerJ (May 10, 2016) 4:e1911; DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1911.

Contact: Claire Gwatkin Jones
National Geographic Society

Posted at 07:19 AM in Biodiversity, Marine Environment, Protected Areas, Science, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/25/2016

Conservation alliance to focus on Peruvian Amazon deforestation

International research center led by Wake Forest University experts.

River in Manú National Park in Cusco Region and Madre de Dios Region. Photo by Corey Spruit (CC 2.0)

Wake Forest University has received nearly $10 million in support to establish The Amazon Center for Environmental Research and Sustainability (ACERS). The new center, established through the University's Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES), aims to develop transformative solutions to promote sustainable use of tropical landscapes, combat environmental destruction and improve human health in the Amazonian province of Madre de Dios (MDD) in Peru.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the award of $2.5 million to help establish ACERS, an alliance of U.S. and Peruvian institutions led by experienced scientists, conservationists and affiliates. An additional $7 million in support, including cash and in-kind contributions, will come from the Amazon Aid Foundation, Ecosphere Capital Partners/Athelia Climate Change Fund, ESRI Global Inc., World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC).

International hub promotes collaboration and scientific capacity

In Peru, this research center will be known as Centro de Innovación Científica Amazónico (CINCIA). The official announcement of the launch of ACERS was made on Earth Day, April 22, during a celebration event hosted by the U.S. Ambassador to Peru, Brian A. Nichols, at UTEC in Lima, Peru.

ACERS will serve as an international hub for Peruvian and foreign scientists and affiliates to collaborate on critical priorities in Madre de Dios - restoration and reforestation, the reduction of human health threats from environmental mercury, detection of deforestation threats, and sustainability.

The goal of ACERS is to build scientific capacity needed in the local communities to face the growing environmental threats to the people and the region's rainforests.

Through collaborative research, innovative education programs and apprenticeships, ACERS aims to inspire and groom future local scientists while also engaging with the local community to create needed change and sustainability to turn the tide of destruction in the rainforest province.

ACERS will operate in partnership with the region's primary research institutions - the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute (IIAP) and the National Amazonian University of Madre de Dios (UNAMAD), the sole national university in the region. IIAP is a governmental research entity under the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment with a 35-year history of scientific investigation in the Amazon.

The vision for this project was inspired by the work of Sarah DuPont, founder of the Amazon Aid Foundation and her work to build awareness of the Amazon through her film River of Gold. ACERS will be led by the efforts of Wake Forest conservation biologist and CEES director Miles Silman, who will serve as the associate director for science; longtime colleague and a leading expert on mercury in the Amazon Luis Fernandez, who will serve as executive director; and Michelle Klosterman, director of academic development and assessment in the Office of Global Affairs at Wake Forest who will serve as associate director for outreach and communication.

Fernandez, a tropical ecologist who is one of the world's leading experts on the MDD region, has led similar research efforts in the Amazon Basin in previous positions at Stanford University, the Carnegie Institution for Science, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

"There are critical issues facing Madre de Dios which is one of the most important areas of Amazonian biodiversity on the planet and is home to the last vestiges of indigenous tribes that still live unconnected to modern society," Fernandez said.

Amazon deforestation in Madre de Dios, Peru. Credit: WFU/ACERS.

Fast Facts: Madre de Dios

MDD is a region in the Peruvian Amazon the size of South Carolina and covered by the most biodiverse and pristine tropical rainforests in the Amazon Basin.
172,000-plus acres of virgin tropical forests have been clear-cut over the last 10 years by illegal gold mining and logging creating vast, barren wastelands, some of which is located in national protected areas.
40 tons of toxic mercury every year are released into rivers and lakes by mining, contaminating air, water, soils, wildlife and people, including several recently contacted indigenous communities.
Three of every four people in MDD have mercury levels above maximum health limits recommended by the World Health Organization indicating a looming public health crisis.
Environmental and health risks in MDD continue to rise as the rate of deforestation and contamination grows unchecked.

Informing sustainability issues from public health to governance

"ACERS is about making sure that the local people and institutions in one of earth's last best places have the scientific, technical and entrepreneurial capacity to make sustainable decisions on issues from development to public health to governance," said Silman, who has conducted research in the region for more than 20 years, focusing on understanding biodiversity and the response of forest ecosystems to climate and land use changes over time.

"We're faced with big challenges, but ACERS will help us apply the knowledge we've gained over the last 20 years and use it to address one of the major environmental issues of our time," he said.

Klosterman is tasked with working with the research apprenticeship program to strengthen career pipelines for science, conservation and restoration, as well as enhancing the two-way flow of information between the scientific community and the general public, especially women and indigenous populations.

"We need to be able to communicate the science and the conservation efforts and their broad impacts to many different audiences, especially to the local population most affected as well as the officials in position to effect change through policy," she said.

The establishment of ACERS will bring together vast academic knowledge and resources gathered over the last decades to solve very real and very immediate environmental and social problems and to do it in a way that builds enduring institutional and human infrastructure.

"For me, personally, I feel like we've been given a great opportunity and we have a chance to bring our expertise to bear, to help a country-sized region of the Amazon develop sustainably," said Silman. "Wake Forest houses a lot of expertise that is working to make the world a better place. If ever there was a project we've been involved with that embodies the University's guiding principal of Pro Humanitate, this is it."

Contact: Bonnie Davis
Wake Forest University

Posted at 03:15 AM in Environmental Activism, Environmental Disasters, Environmental Politics, Environmental Project Financing, Science, Sustainable Development, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/19/2016

Hunting/Shooting could lead to extinction of threatened primates on African island

Red-eared monkey (Cercopithecus erythrotis). Photo by Ian Nichols/National Geographic.

Gun hunting may be driving some of the most threatened primates toward extinction on Bioko Island off the coast of Africa, according to a new study by a team led by Drexel University researchers.

The research team found that as evidence of gun hunting increased, the abundance of the seven monkey species found on Bioko Island fell. Four of those species were determined to be especially vulnerable and unable to adapt to hunting.

Featuring scientists from the Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program, a joint venture between Drexel's College of Arts and Sciences and the National University of Equatorial Guinea, this study -- published in Biological Conservation as "Impact of gun-hunting on monkey species and implications for primate conservation on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea" -- comes on the heels of findings that bushmeat sales in the region markedly increased over the last two decades. Bushmeat is meat hunted from the wild, which can include primates.

"Ecologically, primates are key seed dispersers responsible for the maintenance of Bioko's forests," said Drew Cronin, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Mary Katherine Gonder, Ph.D., the Drexel associate professor serving as director of the Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program. "In hunted forests, where animals like primates have been hunted out, there have been negative cascading ecological effects and large scale changes to forest structure."

Bioko Island is a part of Equatorial Guinea and lies off the coast of Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea. A critical site for many endangered species, including primates, the island is considered a biodiversity gem.

"Bioko's monkeys are also a real national treasure: Think of the iconic fauna in the U.S., like the bison or the bald eagle, and the national identity that those species lend to the population," Cronin said. "Bioko's monkeys are its most charismatic species and can be flagships for conservation in the country."

However, Equatorial Guinea's government has not effectively enforced hunting bans on the island. And as more roads are constructed, areas previously inaccessible to hunters are becoming exposed.

One region, Belebu, which was accessible by vehicle, averaged 2.89 signs of gun hunting per kilometer (instances could be as small as spent shotgun shells or discarded batteries to as large as hunting camp). Monkey sightings there averaged just 0.18 groups per kilometer. That's compared with Ureca, which at the time of the study was 22 kilometers from the closest road, where the next lowest figures, an average of 1.82 primate sighting per kilometer were observed. Those numbers correlated with a much lower hunting presence -- just 0.29 signs of gun hunting per kilometer.

The researchers found that two species, the red-eared monkey (Cercopithecus erythrotis) and putty-nosed monkey (Cercopithecus nicitans), were somewhat tolerant of heavy hunting. Potential reasons for their tolerance may be behavioral changes, such as vocalizing less or becoming more cryptic, according to the study.

Although those two species fared better when faced with heavy hunting, four other monkeys were found to be significantly vulnerable. The Bioko drill monkey (Mandrillus leucophaeus), crowned guenon (Cercopithecus pogonias), black colobus (Colobus satanas) and Pennant's red colobus (Procolobus pennantii) all appeared unable to cope with the hunting threat.

For example, Pennant's red colobus -- which scored the worst on the Hunting Response Index created by the researchers -- is more specialized and only able to thrive in certain environments. Its larger relative body and group sizes also impacted the red colobus negatively when it came to hunters.

Pennant's red colobus monkey (Procolobus pennantii). Photo by Ian Nichols/National Geographic.

A combination of these factors -- bigger body/group sizes and a more specialized niche -- seems to have combined to make red colobus so vulnerable to gun hunting that they are likely gone from large portions of Bioko Island.

In light of what they found, the researchers suggested two routes to conservation on the island: a long-term and a short-term plan.

The long-term solution would involve developing a comprehensive management plan for the Gran Caldera Scientific Reserve, the island's 130,000 acre preserve. Such a plan would require significant governmental and financial commitment.

Short-term or "stop-gap" measures could include the immediate implementation of a system of forest guards in particularly troubled areas. Effectively enforcing laws already on the books against poaching would also be an important short-term measure. This could be done relatively easily by military already present throughout the island conducting road-side enforcement.

But, in the end, political will is the strongest and most effective tool for conservation.

"We haven't yet reached the tipping point, but we believe it's achievable," Cronin said. "We have been gaining a lot of momentum in recent years and there are more and more capable people getting engaged in the culture of conservation that we're advocating. If we are successful in in convincing a few of the 'right' people, we'll take some big steps forward."

If the government's attention is not turned to Bioko's wildlife soon, the extermination of several species on the island, including the endemic red colobus, could be not far down the line.

"It is incredibly important to protect these species from hunting and other threats," Cronin said. "Bioko's primates are largely endemic to the island, and even those that are also found on the mainland are endemic only to the region, which means they're not widespread. If we don't protect them on Bioko, they may be lost forever."

Citation: Drew T. Cronin, Cirilo Riaco, Joshua M. Linder, Richard A. Bergl, Mary Katherine Gonder, Michael P. O'Connor and Gail W. Hearn; Impact of gun-hunting on monkey species and implications for primate conservation on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea; Biological Conservation, 2016; 197: 180; DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.03.001.

Contact: Frank Otto
Drexel University

Posted at 02:06 AM in Biodiversity, Environmental Disasters, Science, Sustainable Development, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/12/2016

Shark population threatened due to fin harvesting

Study shows shark conservation needs to include alternative livelihoods for fin harvesters.

Black tip reef shark. Photo by Marc Nadon/University of Victoria.

The world's largest shark fin industry lies in the heart of the Coral Triangle, a region of the Indian and Pacific Oceans home to the world's most diverse coral reefs and known as the Amazon of the seas. This idyllic-sounding environment sustains an industry responsible for the deaths of over 3 million sharks a year. With a reported annual catch of 100,000 tons, Indonesia's shark fishery contributes more to the international shark fin trade than any other nation.

Shark fins are tempting targets for fishermen from Indonesian island communities because they have high monetary value and shark fishing is one of the most lucrative livelihoods in these remote coastal regions. The finning industry presents the main livelihood for fishermen in this region and the enormous profits have transformed remote coastal villages to cash-based communities. But in recent years, shark populations have seen a worrying drop in numbers.

The staggering increase in the supply of shark fins to a global market has led to overexploitation of these populations and it not only affects the biological ecosystem but also the highly profitable marine tourism industry. To protect both the sharks as well as the local economy, conservationists and scientists are urgently calling for better fisheries management.

According to a landmark study, published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Marine Science effective shark conservation in Indonesia only works when shark protection through no-fishing zones is combined with efforts to involve local communities in the management of their own fisheries and by providing alternatives to sustain their livelihoods.

To study the effect of No-Take Zones (NTZs) that ban commercial and artisanal fishing of all sharks and reef fish, Vanessa Jaiteh and colleagues went to the Raja Ampat regency of far Eastern Indonesia, the centre of the shark finning industry and where sharks have high monetary value as a tourism attraction.

In the two well-enforced NTZs of a Marine Protected Area within a recently established shark sanctuary in Raja Ampat, the number of sharks was shown to be up to 28 times higher compared to areas open to fishing. The scientists propose that this significant difference is most likely due to continued fishing in the open zones while the NTZs are a safe haven for remaining sharks and their offspring by providing more food and refuge. And not only the sharks were shown to thrive in these closed-off areas but other reef fish, too, were also much more abundant.

Often, the research stops here, but the scientists set out to also address the socio-economic side. Their aim was to look at the impact of the closure of large stretches of ocean on the responses and behaviour of shark fishers whose main fishing grounds were closed through the establishment of the Raja Ampat shark sanctuary. Of the shark fishers interviewed, all of whom lost access to their primary fishing grounds, 88% knew that sharks were protected in Raja Ampat but many were unsure about the purpose of the sanctuary and few felt their livelihoods were considered by conservation agencies.

Talking to the fishermen and running surveys on catch data, the authors revealed that shark fishers adapted to the closures by moving to other fishing grounds, targeting populations in unprotected regions, or by finding other means of supporting their livelihoods, including illegal petrol transport.

'The fishers we interviewed were aware that sharks are important for marine ecosystems and tourism, but also expressed their dilemma in pursuing more sustainable livelihoods within the limitations of geographic remoteness, poverty, and debt with boat owners and traders," Vanessa Jaiteh explained. "Some of their self-initiated alternatives involve high personal or environmental risk and are hardly more sustainable than shark finning, which undermines the broader benefits of locally successful conservation strategies."

The findings of this study make it clear that the establishment of no-fishing zones will result in the protection of marine life only if it is embedded within a broader conservation strategy, which includes giving fishers incentives to leave the fishery by providing livelihood options that are legal and sustainable.

Citation: Vanessa F. Jaiteh, Steve J. Lindfield, Sangeeta Mangubhai, Carol Warren, Ben Fitzpatrick and Neil R. Loneragan; Higher Abundance of Marine Predators and Changes in Fishers' Behavior Following Spatial Protection within the World's Biggest Shark Fishery; Frontiers in Marine Science, 2016; 3 DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00043.

Contact: Michelle Ponto
Frontiers in Marine Science

Posted at 12:26 AM in Environmental Disasters, Marine Environment, Science, Sustainable Development, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/07/2016

Marine reserves are critical for coral reef resilience

Due to the combined effect of human and natural disturbances, coral reefs are declining at an alarming rate. Researchers who studied the effects of various disturbances on reef communities of coral and fish found that those in ‘no-take’ marine reserves are less impacted and recover faster than those in reefs that are not located in marine protected areas.

“Understanding the utility of no-take zones in conservation and management is key, but until now there was very little evidence that these no-take zones provided benefits for non-target or non-fished species, as well as wider ecosystem processes,” said Dr. Camille Mellin, lead author of the Ecology Letters study. “Our research demonstrates the wide range of benefits that well-designed and well-managed no-take marine reserves can offer, and reinforces the idea that such marine reserves should be widely implemented and supported as a means of maintaining the integrity of coral reefs globally.”

Citation: Mellin, C., Aaron MacNeil, M., Cheal, A. J., Emslie, M. J. and Julian Caley, M.; Marine protected areas increase resilience among coral reef communities; Ecology Letters (2016); DOI:10.1111/ele.12598.