Tag Archives: ecology

Hiding Beneath our Noses: A New Subspecies of Goshawk

Could there be a new subspecies of bird hiding beneath our noses?

Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have recently discovered a new subspecies of Northern Goshawks  living on Haida Gwaii.  They looked at DNA of Northern Goshawks and found the birds on Haida Gwaii were different from those found anywhere else. This stunning discovery will help improve current policy and conservation efforts for these endangered birds.

Courtesy: Flickr | Photo Credit: Aleksander Cocek | A Northern Goshawk.

Northern Goshawks are native to British Columbia. These medium sized birds have sharp beaks, large talons, and live in British Columbia’s (BC) mature forests.  They are birds of prey and feed on other birds, small mammals, and even insects.  To learn more about these amazing birds, check out this interesting Scie 300 Podcast.

For decades, the birds along the coast have been seen as one species.  However, recent evidence suggests the birds on Haida Gwaii, an island archipelago off the coast of central BC, may be a subspecies of their own.  Kenneth Askelson is one of the researchers behind this study.  Kenneth explained the 433 samples they had was one of the largest collections of its kind and relied on contributions from museums and collectors.  “To collect all these samples by hand would have taken 30 years,” he explained.  Kenneth and his team analyzed the genetic samples and found differences not found in samples from other locations.

Goshawks numbers have been falling around the province, and the species along the coast is officially listed as endangered. There may only be about 1200 of these birds left in BC.  The population on Haida Gwaii is even smaller and estimated to have only 50 individuals. This small population is also at risk of inbreeding. Inbreeding is when closely related birds mate with each other. This can produce children that are more susceptible to changes in the environment or have genetic defects. It is not known for sure why these birds have remained isolated for so long.

Courtesy: Flickr | Photo Credit: Nick Goodrum | A Northern Goshawk spreads its wings.

This begs the question, are we doing enough? Human population growth has caused many species around the globe to disappear, and many more are at the verge of disappearing.  The Goshawk is seen as an important indicator of forest health. If the Goshawk species is struggling, the forest may also be struggling.  Current efforts to prevent further loss of this species include the creation of Wildlife Habitat Areas. The government of BC hopes to have 90 such areas set up by 2020, with many of these being created on Haida Gwaii.

However, effective conservation depends on knowing where species live and the  issues they face.  Mr. Askelson prides himself on, “being someone who can provide the most information to make the best management decisions possible.”  This study will help policy makers make informed decisions that could save the Haida Gwaii Goshawks from disappearing.

Goshawks are pretty cool, aren’t they? Check out this short video for more information.

 

 

-Sukhman Bhuller, Farhan Muhib, Janet Lee

The Greater Impacts of Fisheries and Environmental Change than Seal Predation in the Baltic Sea

With the declining fish population, many commercial fisheries and artisanal fishers are worried. They see the recovering seal population as competitors for the dwindling fish stocks and this economic toll has led some fishers to take out their anger and frustration for on the seals, which truthfully is wrong! Researchers are working hard to scientifically prove that seals are not responsible for the decline in fish biomass in the Baltic Sea but rather the anthropogenic and environmental factors that are prevalent in the region.

“Freshly Caught Cod Fish” by Emad Basiri at Granville Island Vancouver BC, 2019

Dr. David Costalago by Emad Basiri at the Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory, 2019

Dr. David Costalago, a postdoctoral fellow from University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries is helping shed some light on this controversial topic. Research done by Dr. Costalago and his team has helped to serve as a guide for a more comprehensive approach to management and conservation of seals. His research concludes that the recovering seal population is not to blame for the plummeting number of fish, instead, environmental changes, and overfishing cause more significant decreases in the fish population.

 

Source: SCIE 300 SO Project 213-6 Song “Kiss from a Rose” by Seal

By modelling future environmental scenarios, the researchers investigated how grey seal predation affected the fish stocks in the Baltic Sea. The data modeling software, Ecosim with Ecopath,  allowed researchers to study and model the feeding interactions between different marine mammals from 1974 – 2012. In addition, the models allowed the researchers to look into the consumption rates of fish by grey seals and compare that to the amount of fish caught by Baltic fishermen. 

Source: SCIE 300 SO Project 213-6 Song “Kiss from a Rose” by Seal

Dr. Costalago’s research brings awareness to the seal population in the Baltic Sea, but further research is needed to accurately determine the economic impact the seals are having in the Baltic. For instance, more data over a longer time period needs to be collected, especially along coastal regions because it’s where most Artisanal fishers are. 

“I know for a fact that some of the fishers are struggling nowadays and I know that seals might be playing a role in their struggles so that needs to be addressed,” said Dr. Costalgo. After talking to a local BC fisherman, he mentioned that the damages the seals would cause would lead to several hours of untangling lines and additional money spent to replace damaged equipment.

“We know that the seal population are not affecting the fish biomass but the economic problems that some fishers have to face also need to be addressed by the government” – Dr. David Costalago

 

Dr. Costalago’s study is helping other ecologists and government officials to find ways to manage the seals and fix their own relationships with the fishermen with regards to fishing policy. This has brought attention to the unjust treatment of seals and the significant impact that the environment and fisheries have on the fish biomass.

By Group 213-6: Emad Basiri, Tenanye Haglund, Katherine Lam, Arrthy Thayaparan

Predicting Marine Populations with Phytoplankton

View of Earth from space. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Did you know that the ocean is predicted to warm over 4°C  the next 100 years? There’s certainly more than meets the eye when it comes to understanding the effects of global warming, and knowing how ecosystems change in response to changes in temperature can help make our efforts more focused and accurate.

As a recent PhD graduate from the University of British Columbia, Dr. Joey Bernhardt is already making waves in the science community. Her most recent paper describes the use of phytoplankton to analyze growth rates among species under different temperature conditions. Most of the study’s work actually occurred just last September, and we were lucky enough to be able to meet Dr. Bernhardt to explore the bigger picture issues she’s addressing.

What’s so special about phytoplankton?

Green swirls of phytoplankton in the Baltic Sea. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

To debunk a common misconception: not all of the oxygen we breathe comes from trees. In reality, nearly 50% of the world’s oxygen supply is produced by phytoplankton. What’s more, phytoplankton serve as the basis of marine food webs, so it’s no surprise that they were the main subjects used in Dr. Bernhardt’s study. These remarkable organisms can actually help us make predictions about species populations in the context of global warming.

What issues are being addressed?

2070-2100 global warming predictions map. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

One of the most pressing issues in our global warming narrative surrounds how temperature changes affect species population. While it’s easy to measure population growth rates in the controlled conditions of a lab, Dr. Bernhardt explores whether we can apply these results to the unpredictable, fluctuating temperatures of the outdoor environment.

If we were to disregard the fact that in nature temperatures fluctuate, we will ultimately make inaccurate population predictions. To generate a more realistic sample, Dr. Bernhardt collected phytoplankton off the coast of Vancouver Island and placed them in lab incubators that mimic a natural environment using a variety of temperature settings.

To gain a better understanding of the methodology behind Dr. Bernhardt’s study, check out our video:

Why should I care?

When a species find themselves in an environment outside of their normal temperature range, they will either die off or relocate to more habitable areas. This now presents an entirely new problem since it’s not always easy for the communities that rely on these populations to pack up and move as well. From an economic standpoint, there are whole industries built upon the reliance that these populations will return, year after year.

The Future of Global Economic and Climate Change Issues

These experiments allow us to see the range of temperatures at which a species can persist. We can then pair this with the knowledge of how temperatures around the globe will shift over time in order to build more sustainable communities.

We take a deeper look into the applications of this technology in our podcast:

Group 213-5: Danny Israel, Christy Lau, Christina Rayos

The Fall of Sea Stars

1986-014-01: Sunflower seastar

1986-014-01: Sunflower seastar” by August Rode is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Once an abundant species of sea star, the sunflower sea stars have become harder to find on the West Coast of North America. A recent study co-led by the University of California, Davis, and Cornell University claims that the combination of ocean-warming and an infectious wasting disease has led to the declined population of these large sea stars.

The sunflower sea star is one of the largest sea star species, they can grow as big as manhole covers. Commonly found in the northwest Pacific, they were once regularly found from Southern California to Alaska and some of the largest sunflower sea stars could be found in Puget Sound, British Columbia and Alaska.

In 2013 and 2014, a disease called sea star wasting syndrome affected around 40 different species of sea stars, including the sunflower sea star, to die off along the North American Pacific coast. Symptoms of the disease would be lesions and tissue decay, which the body structure of the sea star would start to breakdown. For example, their arms may twist and fall off and the sea stars would become limp. Eventually, the sea star would disintegrate and melt away into a white, mushy blob and no longer be a sea star. It is unclear where this disease originated from but researchers believe ocean-warming might be the reason why this disease continues to affect the sea stars and why the sea star population is not recovering fast enough.

Dying sea star

Dying sea star” by Oregon State University is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Ocean-warming is an effect of global warming. The ocean absorbs excess heat from the atmosphere which contains greenhouse gas emissions, which leads to rising ocean temperatures. Increasing ocean temperature can affect many marine species and ecosystems. Warming of the oceans have been linked to the increase and spread of diseases of marine species.

The sunflower sea star species has been detrimentally affected by sea star wasting syndrome. The study conducted by Dr. Harvell and her colleagues collected data over eleven years to show how the population of sea stars have diminished due to this disease. In addition, scientists also found that the ocean water has warmed almost 4 oC within a four-year span in some areas. Results of the study showed the population crash of sunflower sea stars from Southern California to Alaska whilst tracking patterns of unusual warming in the Pacific Ocean. The sunflower sea star is shown to be highly susceptible to this wasting disease because they do not have a complex immune system. As a result, the data showed an 80 to 100% decline over the period of the study.

Sunflower Star Imperiled by Sea Star Wasting Epidemic” by Hakai Institute

If the sunflower sea star dies off, this should be an important indicator of the effects of ocean-warming and its impact on marine ecosystems. Sunflower sea stars are voracious predators in the deep and shallow waters of the northwest Pacific, and if these sea stars were to go away we could see an unbalanced ecosystem in our waters.

– Katherine Lam

Global Warming and Mountain living species Extinction. No place to live!

Scientists believe that the global temperature will continue to rise for future decades due to climate change and global warming, which will impact the whole ecosystem severely. One big issue that scientists found in recent years is called “Elevational Range Shift”. Each species that lives in a different range and altitude of mountains, together form a balance in mountain ecosystem. As the temperature continuously increase, many species, especially those living in the mid and high elevation of mountains, seek to escape from the warming original habitats and move towards higher ground. However, the living space in mountaintops is limited. What will happen to those creatures that have already lived at the highest levels and cannot go any higher? The only ending is the extension. In recent several years, more evidence have shown that species’ geographic range shift had arose and constituted an elevational extinction to species that live in mountains.

In November 2018, Dr Benjamin Freeman, from the University of British Columbia, published an article showing evidence about impacts of recent temperature warming on high-elevation birds species abundance declination and extinction in Peruvian Andes Mountains. Peruvian Andes is a tropical mountain located in the western edge of South America, with an average height of about 4,000m and host abundant types of species. Tropical species, especially birds, born and live within one particulate section of woods and don’t migrate.

A scarlet-breasted bird lives at high elevations on the Cerro de Pantiacolla in Peru. Source: BBC News

“It is only got a little bit warmer in the tropics and tropical animals seen to live a bit higher now than they used to,” told by Dr. Freeman to BBC News report.

The research team conducted a survey in 2017 of bird species that lived on a mountain peak by using same methods and at same time of year as a pervious survey carried out in 1985. They compared the results and found that the average living range had shifted upwards of the slope and most bird species that are found at the highest elevation had already declined in population and range significantly. Of the 16 species of tropical birds that had been recorded living at high elevation of the study area in previous survey, 8 had disappeared in the new survey in 2017.

Comparative species richness patterns for recent and historical. Source: PLOS

In contrast, scientists found that low elevation living bird species of the mountain get benefits from climate change by expanding their habitats range as they shift their upper living limits upslope. But current increasing in abundance still cannot guarantee that these birds will not face to the problem of run out of habitats.

What about the non-mobile species, like plants? Scientists believe that plants may be unable to shift according to the data showing that about 88% plant species show weak to no evidence of range shift. The main reason is due to plants’ dispersal limitation. Plant need other species, such as birds, or external force like wind to disperse seeds, which may not be quickly enough to keep peace with climate change.

In conclusion, the escalator to extinction will be even worse in the future if temperature continuously rising. “The way to deal with it is to maintain protected habitat corridors that stretch across large elevational gradients.” told by Dr. Freeman to BBC News.

– Jingyi Cheng