Conservation Institute

American Crocodile Written by: Mary Sweeters Crocodiles (crocodylus acutus) generally fall under the specific reptile group called crocodilians. The crocodilians have 23 species that are found in different parts of the world and two of those are native to the US. These two species are the American crocodile and the American alligator. The American crocodile can also be found in Venezuela, Jamaica, Cuba,...

Sharks off the east coast of North America have declined precipitously in the last 15 years. The number of hammerhead sharks has dropped by 89%, threshers by 80%, great whites by 79%, oceanic whitetips by 70%, tigers by 65%, blues by 60% and makos by 40% (Baum et al. 2002). Canadian scientists estimate the population of oceanic whitetip sharks...

Information suggests that Pacific sleeper shark abundance is increasing. Pacific sleeper shark data was analyzed from fishery independent longline surveys in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea to determine the trend in abundance and whether any change was statistically significant. Relative population numbers of Pacific sleeper sharks captured in the NOAA Fisheries domestic sablefish longline surveys increased...

Predators can impact ecosystems through the process of 'top-down' control, at times resulting in changes in species composition, changes in species diversity, and regime shifts. Top predators can also help stabilize ecosystems by keeping under control the effects of more abundant smaller predators. Accordingly, understanding predators is essential to understanding how ecosystems function. The Conservation Science Institute's Ocean Initiative's...

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...

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...

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...

As their name suggests, spiny dogfish sharks (Squalus acanthias) have sharp spines in front of each dorsal fin. Their bodies are dark gray above and white below, often with white spotting on the sides. They are marketed as "rock shark", "rock cod" or "rock salmon" and are often eaten in Europe and used for English fish and chips. This...

Salmon sharks (Lamna ditropis) are large, powerful, warm-bodied (endothermic), and streamlined predators adapted for high-speed swimming. Reports from the U.S. Navy have clocked salmon sharks exceeding 50 knots. This would make the salmon shark one of the fastest fish in the ocean. They are reported to reach 11.9 feet (3.6 m) in total length (Eschmeyer et al. 1983, Compagno...