The outbreak of seabird deaths this spring and summer in Northern California has scientists turning their attention to krill and how some animals can adapt to changing foodstocks and others don’t. In a story in the San Francisco Chronicle today, researchers are studying how the disappearance of Anchovies – that left diving birds like Cormorants … Read more
A new idea in hazing birds from busy airport flight paths includes the idea that birds can be warned when they’re in harms way. According to a recent NPR news report, some wildlife biologists are testing their theory by communicating with them visually. “Vision is the primary sensory pathway in birds,” says a researcher. He … Read more
A recent study has concluded, not surprising, that pelicans suffer the most fishing line injuries. Over 30% of the animals harmed by fish hooks and entangled fishing line were Brown Pelicans. The report was published in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 45(2), 2009, pp. 355–362. The report was authored by Brynie Kaplan Dau including contributors, … Read more
There’s an excellent report on the Santa Barbara natural oil seepage from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The study documents the 5,280 to 6,600 gallons (nearly 20 to 25 tons) of oil per day that seeps into the area waters and has been active for hundreds to thousands of years. In earlier days local Native … Read more
Scientists have gotten closer to figuring out why ocean fish have high levels of Mercury even though the levels of the chemical aren’t that high in surrounding Pacific Ocean waters. >> See Mercury cycle explained by Oceana A new study has concluded that the Pacific Ocean absorbs Mercury from the pollutants in the atmosphere where … Read more
An important new study about the 2007 Monterey Bay bird die off is pointing toward a red-tide algae bloom that induced a dangerous sea foam. According to the study, the birds feathers lost their water-repellant nature after being coated with the foam. The main species in the red tide was a type of dinoflagellate known … Read more
If you’ve been on the fence regarding global warming, here’s a sobering Audubon California report that should move you to some sort of action. The study released Tuesday finds that California will lose significant numbers of its native birds as the continuing shifts in climate change quickly shrinks the range and habitat of more than … Read more
Lots of stories will emerge this month on how the fragile San Francisco Bay is doing following last year’s Cosco Busan oil spill. Most of them so far seem to have swallowed the state’s reports verbatim. The first that I saw is from the San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Bay seems recovered a year after oil … Read more
There’s tell tale research from scientists studying Brown Pelicans on the Farallon Islands: The numbers are way up. Researchers at the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) counted a new peak of 5,856 pelicans on the the islands. The low was in 1968 when only 363 pelicans were counted. “Only in 1984 were there counts over … Read more