The threat and impacts of marine debris have long been ignored. Perhaps it is the perceived vastness of ocean and lack of visibility of marine debris to most people that has allowed society to dismiss the problem as a serious threat. However, recent research demonstrates that quantities and impacts of marine debris are significant and increasing. The Algalita Marine...
December 2003 NOTICIAS DE GALAPAGOS 62
A NEW RECORD OF ANEMONE BARRENS IN THE GALAPAGOS
By: Thomas. A. Okey, Scoresby. A. Shepherd, and Priscilla C. Martinez
Continuous carpets of the anemone Aiptasia sp. were recorded on vast areas of shallow reef platforms along the eastern shore of Fernandina Island in December 2000 and March 2001. The Aiptasia sp. carpets have replaced diverse...
Ocean diseases are spreading, and scientists aren't sure if these are simply isolated occurrences or a sign of a larger problem. Disease is increasing among most kinds of marine organisms, according to a long term study by Cornell University and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (Ward and Lafferty. 2004). The study implicates a host of factors,...
The primary threat to the world’s biodiversity is habitat destruction, sometimes referred to habitat loss. Habitat loss alters or eliminates the conditions needed for plants and animals to survive. Deforestation is of particular concern. Canada’s old growth forests, for example, are now under threat from logging activities. Tropical forests are among the most biologically rich areas on Earth. The UN...
The primary objectives of the Alaska Shark Assessment Program is to understand the increase of sharks in the northeast Pacific, and what the increased shark population means for Alaska marine ecosystems. The reasons for these increases may be:
An ocean climate regime shift characterized by warmer ocean temperatures beginning in the late 1970's
The ocean climate regime shift triggered...
Invasive species have been recognized globally as a major threat to biodiversity as well as to agriculture and other human interests. It is very difficult to choose the top 100 invasive species that really are "worse" than any others. Species and their interactions with ecosystems are very complex. Some species may have invaded only a restricted region, but have...
What is it about bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that catches the eye of people? Is it simply their size or striking appearance? Is it the power they display or the majesty they symbolize? Ever since man first entered the kingdom of the bald eagle more than 10,000 years ago, eagles have attracted the attention of humans. Bald eagles continue...
Expansion of global trade, and increases in human mobility have resulted in unprecedented invasion by nonnative species. These invasive species can produce severe, often irreversible impacts on agriculture, recreation, and our natural resources. Invasive species threaten biodiversity, habitat quality, and ecosystem function. They are the second-most important threat to native species, behind habitat destruction, having contributed to the decline...
Alaska Shark Assessment Program
In 1999 Bruce Wright created the Alaska Shark Assessment Program in response to many reports, mostly from fishermen, that sharks abundances in the north Pacific Ocean are at the highest levels ever observed. Of the ten shark species known to occur in Alaskan waters, the salmon shark (Lamna ditropis), the Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus), and...
White-tailed kites, Elanus leucurus, once ranged from Georgia to Florida, across the southern United States and northern Mexico, to California and Oregon. The population was decimated during the 1800s and early 1900s. The medium sized raptor was shot as an another "chicken hawk" and for sport. In the 1920s only a remnant population of approximately 70 pairs remained, and...