Understanding Seamounts: More study of an oceanic oasis is needed

Seamounts are fascinating oceanic structures - mountains really, rising up from the sea floor, pushed up by volcanic forces. While a seamount that reaches the surface, thereby producing some sort of island formation, is still technically a seamount, scientists generally describe seamounts as submerged, typically rising 1,000 meters above the seafloor, thousands of meters from the surface.

I was reviewing several scientific papers about seamounts and how these unique structures carry significant ecological, commercial and conservation implications.

Ecological
Each seamount serves as an oceanic oasis, often harboring tremendous biodiversity including localized animals and pelagic species. Tuna, billfish, sharks, and other pelagic fish have been known to frequent seamounts. Studies are ongoing to determine whether such species are attracted due to food sources or whether the seamounts act as breeding grounds - or both. Studies have shown that pelagic biodiversity appears to be higher at locations further away from coastal habitats.

The somewhat isolated nature of seamounts makes them of special interest regarding genetic diversity and evolution. While challenging to study, one report called for more scientific research so as to better understand the interconnectivity within and between these unique ecosystems, particularly in the face of negative impacts from commercial fishing and mining.

"In fact, the large variety of interconnected mechanisms that promote or impede the genetic connectivity of seamount communities via dispersal (and the long-term maintenance of species or the subsequent divergence of populations leading to speciation) are key unknowns to understanding the fundamental evolutionary processes that structure both the diversity and biogeography of deep-sea fauna" from Seamounts: Deep-ocean laboratories of faunal connectivity, evolution, and endemism/Oceanography.

Commercial
Because of increasing demand for seafood and with stocks declining in other open water or coastal areas, seamounts have become targets for industrial fishing, and subject to bottom trawling and longlining.

Reported in Seamount fisheries: Do they have a future?/Oceanography, "Today, seamount fish populations are in trouble following a 30-year history of overexploitation, depletion, and collapse, with untold consequences for global biodiversity and the complex, delicate, but poorly understood, open-ocean food webs. We estimate present global seamount catches to be about 3 million tonnes per annum and increasing – vastly in excess of estimated sustainable levels."

In addition, because of the geological/volcanic nature of seamounts, they have an untapped potential for metals and minerals in the eyes of commercial mining companies. While the technology to obtain these ocean resources is still quite formidable, as terrestrial resources decline, commercial mining interests will ultimately make the effort to expand beyond current levels of mining activity.

Conservation
With commercial interests having an impact and the potential for even greater exploitation lying ahead, the need for proper management of seamounts is critical. But much still needs to be learned regarding these unique ocean formations. Current mapping techniques have only scratched the surface as to location and true number of seamounts. And while there have been many studies made of individual locations, according to one report, there is a lack of study to better understand the links between these formations, how they interact with each other, and what would be the consequences on the total marine ecology from negative impacts on individual locations. Seamounts may be relatively isolated but they do not exist within a vacuum.

"Extractive processes such as fishing and mining are degrading seamount ecosystems considerably, raising serious concerns about the impacts of these practices on global ocean biodiversity and key fluxes. Despite the data collected to date, we remain ignorant of the quantitative details of many of these issues," reports Can we protect seamounts for research? A call for conservation./Oceanography.

More understanding of seamounts is needed - individually and holistically - so as to develop proper management policies. Across the ocean floor, seamounts may serve as vital connected waystations that feed, foster, and perpetuate the entire oceanic web of life.

Order special issue on Seamounts from Oceanography. Click here.

It's a bird . . . it's a plane . . . it's ? ? ?

Mike Conway, of England, goes airborne before crashing into the fencing after colliding with Ryan Hunter-Reay (37) during Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 30, 2010.

(AP Photo/Mark Miller/ May 30, 2010)

"the gentlemanly Hall of Famer"

You might say that actor Eddie Frierson is infatuated with Christy Mathewson, the dominating pitcher who was part of Cooperstown's inaugural class of inductees.

For nearly half his 50 years, Frierson has brought the gentlemanly Hall of Fame right-hander to life on stage in the one-man play "Matty: An Evening with Christy Mathewson."

Written and performed by the actor, it's a labor of love that drew glowing reviews during an off-Broadway run in the 1990s. These days, with Frierson dressed in dead-ball era New York Giants flannels and cap, it is reprised up to 20 times a year by the actor, a former Santa Monica High baseball coach and UCLA walk-on.

"I figure I can do it for at least another five years," says Frierson, who already has outlived his subject, who was 45 when he died in 1925. "I was going to retire it a few years ago, but it's too much fun and people keep asking me to do it."

"Muggle Quidditch" ???

Bronx High School of Science lost 50 to 30 to Lenox High School of Lenox, Mass., as Central Park played host to an exhibition of Quidditch, the soccer-like game invented by "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling.

In the books, Quidditch is played by wizards and witches on flying broomsticks. The real-life version with Muggles — non-magical folk — started in 2005 at Middlebury College in Vermont and is now played at more than 150 colleges and 100 high schools.

In Muggle Quidditch, chasers try to throw the quaffle — a volleyball — through a hoop. For defense, beaters hit opposing players with a bludger — a dodgeball. The team's seeker runs after the snitch, a fast runner holding a tennis ball in a sock, which the seeker has to grab like the flag in flag football. In the fictional game, the snitch is a winged ball.

The players race around after quaffles and snitches while holding their brooms between their legs.

"This version of the game is the best it could possibly work in real life, short of flying brooms," said Alex Benepe, 23, commissioner of the International Quidditch Assn.

Benepe said Sunday's exhibition was intended to announce the incorporation of the Quidditch association as a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Quidditch and literacy education.

Documentary Honors All Fighting Men Who Served Their Country

When Chew-Een Lee was growing up in western Sacramento during World War II, he was eager to enlist in the military to fight for his country. He joined the ROTC in high school and enlisted in the Marine Corps as soon as he graduated.

"I wanted to dispel the notion about the Chinese being meek and obsequious," said Lee, whose father was a farmer and prominent figure in the Chinese community in Northern California.

But to Lee's disappointment, he was given a job in a language school rather than a combat billet. He stayed in the Marine Corps after the war and in 1950, as an infantry platoon leader, he got his long-awaited chance for combat as Marines from Camp Pendleton were deployed to Korea. His bravery at the battle of the Chosin Reservoir — a Chinese American officer battling Chinese army troops who had surrounded the American forces — is part of Marine Corps lore.

And now it is the subject of a documentary, "Uncommon Courage: Breakout at Chosin," set for broadcast on Memorial Day on the Smithsonian Channel.

"His fighting style was ferocious and his leadership was inspirational," Joe Owen, who fought beside Lee and is now 85 and retired in upstate New York, said in a telephone interview. He said Lee "was always up with the assault squad."

The weather was frigid; the mountainous terrain was rugged; weaponry was often unreliable at subzero temperatures. The Marines were mostly untested in battle, but Lee had driven them hard during training to make them sharp.

The Chinese regulars, disciplined and numerous, assaulted in waves. Fighting was close in and fierce, including with bayonets. Lee, a lieutenant, was assigned to lead several hundred troops to reinforce a Marine company holding a position that was key to allowing thousands of Marines to move southward and escape the Chinese encirclement.

"I would have kicked ass and done whatever was necessary," said Lee, 84, retired and living in Washington, D.C. "To me, it didn't matter whether those were Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, whatever — they were the enemy."

Wounded, he refused to be evacuated and, after getting medical attention, stole a jeep to get back to the front. While other officers shed all insignia to avoid being targets for snipers, Lee donned an orange vest so that his men could see him in the blinding white of the snow.

David Royle, Smithsonian Channel executive vice president for programming and producing, said he was drawn to Lee's story as emblematic of the courage and loyalty that is central to Marine Corps culture. The documentary makers rounded up former Marines who served with Lee and whose memories of the battle remain sharp.

Tom Bradley terminal at LAX -- into the 21st century

Travelers arrive at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, where they are greeted by high-tech lighting and a video screen that projects a time-lapse photograph of vehicular traffic at LAX.

Los Angeles as seen from the Goodyear Blimp

An aerial view of downtown Los Angeles from the Goodyear Blimp, shot with a fisheye lens. May 27, 2010. Click on the heading above for more spectacular aerial views on the Los Angeles Times website.

You'll find it at Geno's

Geno's Steaks is a Philadelphia restaurant specializing in cheesesteaks, founded in 1966 by Joe Vento. Geno's is located in the South Philadelphia neighborhood at the intersection of 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue, directly across the street from rival Pat's King of Steaks, which claims to have invented the steak sandwich in 1933. The cheesesteak has become a signature dish for the city of Philadelphia

"puzzling your way around Florence"

Feel like puzzling your way around Florence, Rome or Venice this summer? And we mean in a fun way. Select Italy, a Chicago-based tour operator, has started "Made Easy" tours that give a sampling of each city for those with little time but lots of curiosity. Each tour features an interactive, high-tech scavenger hunt that provides clues through cellphone texts to help travelers solve a puzzle. Activities and prices vary. The Florence tour, for instance, includes a reserved ticket to see Michelangelo's statue of David, plus a two-hour guided bicycle tour past all the must-see buildings and monuments. For a weekend date in June, it cost $88.34 a person for two or $80.36 a person for four. Info: Select Italy, (800) 877-1755,

—Mary Forgione

Gardens and Vistas

A self-guided tour lets visitors to Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Calif., discover architect Julia Morgan's floral and aquatic outdoor contributions at their own pace, without a guide.

(Jan Fietsbel, Los Angeles Times)

"Chez Colette"

Colette was a woman whose life arced across one of the most fascinating periods in French history, from the ebullient belle époque to the German Occupation and slightly beyond. For half a century, she scandalized Paris, lopping off her long schoolgirl braid and varnishing her toenails, gallivanting around town in an apparent ménage à trois with her husband and his girlfriend, cross-dressing for her lesbian lover, baring her breast onstage, divorcing, remarrying and seducing her teenage stepson.

Whenever she hit rock bottom, Colette remade herself, resulting in a resumé that reads like the Yellow Pages: journalist, critic, pornographer, music hall performer, lecturer, screenwriter, advice columnist, beautician (though her aging looks were no advertisement for her skills).

A naturally liberated woman, Colette despised feminists. She ate gluttonously and got fat; loved animals but monstrously ignored her only daughter; saved her third husband, who was Jewish, from World War II concentration camps while earning a living writing for the Nazi-controlled press.

Seemingly every insult you can throw at Colette sticks. In spite — or maybe because — of that, she earned plaques that mark her passage all over France.

"Older than old"

This statue at Los Angeles National Cemetery was thought to have been erected in 1942, but it actually dates to 1896. About 10,000 Civil War soldiers are buried here.

Cheryl Wilkinson, a student of Waugh's, researched the cemetery for her honors thesis and found that the statue dates to at least 1896, when a Times article mentioned its arrival.

Wilkinson also disputed a book about military cemeteries that says it is the likeness of a Revolutionary War soldier.

She pointed to the figure's kepi (hat) and the "US" stamped on its haversack to show that it was a Civil War soldier.

Though the name of the sculptor is unknown, it's questionable whether he saw combat since the figure is shown doing something a soldier would never do: draping his hand over the muzzle of his rifle.

(Steve Harvey, For The Los Angeles Times / May 29, 2010)

"That was then and this is now"

Las Vegas —A prominent sandstone arch at Valley of Fire State Park in southern Nevada has collapsed.

Park rangers said it appeared Natural Arch was claimed by forces that would eventually destroy about 300 other arches in the park: gravity and erosion.

They said horseback riders notified them about the damage Wednesday, and no one has reported seeing it fall. It's unclear exactly why and when the arch collapsed, but there's no evidence of vandalism, rangers added.

The Beginning of the Gigantic Oil Leak

In this aerial photo taken in the Gulf of Mexico more than 50 miles southeast of Venice on Louisiana's tip, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burned on April 21.

Hawaii's Shark Fin Ban: signed, sealed and delivered!

And speaking one more time of sharks, today turned out to be a landmark day for Hawaii and all of the islands' proponents of shark conservation. As reported in Pete Thomas' blog, the state's proposed shark fin ban, SB 2169, was signed today by Governor Linda Lingle.

I have reported on the progress of this important legislation in past posts (click here and here) and now it is finally a done deal. While nation's bicker over whether to curtail the lucrative shark fin market, perhaps the future lies in regional efforts such as Hawaii's.

Whatever the future may hold, this is at least a moment of celebration for the sharks and the oceans of the world!

Read Pete Thomas' blog post.

"the longest supersonic combustion ramjet-powered hypersonic flight"

An X-51A Waverider flight-test vehicle successfully made the longest supersonic combustion ramjet-powered hypersonic flight May 26 off the southern California Pacific coast. The more than 200 second burn by the X-51's Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne-built air breathing scramjet engine accelerated the vehicle to Mach 6. The previous longest scramjet burn in a flight test was 12 seconds in a NASA X-43. Air Force officials called the test, the first of four planned, an unqualified success. The flight is considered the first use of a practical hydrocarbon fueled scramjet in flight.

Great White Sharks and Boats: do they stalk small boats?

Great white sharks are known for their ability to ambush and capture large prey, like seals, sea lions, or elephant seals - a common prey because of their high fat content that provides the shark with the energy it needs. But do they selectively hunt and attack boats?

This is the question that The Dorsal Fin blog was asking in response to a recent press release covering the upcoming trans-Atlantic voyage of Wave Vidmar as he prepares for a solo-rowboat expedition this summer. Apparently, previous solo boaters have reported being followed by white sharks for hours, even days, and have experienced shark bites on their vessels.

The press release stated, "Typically Atlantic Great White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) will follow the tiny ocean row boats for hours to days, then attack by biting the backs of the boats."

That's a pretty bold statement to make and one that The Dorsal Fin rightfully questioned. He received additional information from Wave Vidmar to clarify that four solo boaters had anecdotal experiences of white sharks following them, but that it was not necessarily "typical" behavior. Perhaps an over-ambitious public relations person felt that Vidmar's upcoming voyage needed a little extra sizzle, but let's put it in perspective based on what we do know about white shark predatory behavior.

First of all, great white sharks have two roles as predators: hunters and scavengers. As hunters, besides feeding on marine pinnipeds (seals) and large fish (like tuna), white sharks have been known to feed on cetaceans like dolphins, porpoises, and small whales on rare occasions. Studies have shown that their primary point of attack is on the caudal, or tail, area, as this will immobilize the cetacean.

As scavengers, white sharks have been shown to feed on a variety of cetacean carcasses including much larger whales. The sharks, attracted by the scent of the decomposing animal, will make a slow and careful investigation, and then commence feeding on the remains.

So, could either of these behaviors come into play involving a small boat? Perhaps. The shark may be first attracted to the vibrations given off by the rowing motion. Then the visual of a large dark body floating on the surface may further pique its curiosity - is this a floating carcass? The shark may very well follow the boat for some distance, making a determination as to whether this is viable prey. Bumping the boat or engaging in an investigative bite or nibble, often at the stern (the carcass' "tail"), is not uncommon. But a full-on rush from underneath, as when ambushing a seal, is highly unlikely.

From Great White Sharks: The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias, "While predation by sharks on cetaceans is relatively rare, many sharks scavenge dead cetaceans. White sharks are frequently observed feeding on carcasses of whales off Australia and the eastern United States."

I have had the personal experience of being bumped by a great white shark while sitting in a Zodiac inflatable, during filming. Of course, the "bump" from a 15-foot white shark is no little pat - the shark pushed the inflatable, and the two of us on board, a good foot out of the water. But the shark was merely checking out whether this black mass floating on the surface was a dead whale - it was in its scavenger mode and certainly was not trying to sink the inflatable to get after the two occupants aboard.

So, would a great white shark trail behind a boat and bump or bite it? It's possible. Would it track the boat for several hours? That's also possible; I have seen white sharks spend a considerable amount of time cautiously investigating a tuna head suspended in the water, used by shark divers as an attractant. Would a shark spend days tracking the boat? My gut feeling tells me that's a bit of a stretch. The boaters may be seeing more than one shark over a period of several days. Or it may be the same shark returning, its curiosity once again piqued. But the press release statement seems to imply that the shark is round-the-clock relentless in its pursuit. Sensational but unlikely.

Like the oceanic white tip shark I wrote about earlier, great white sharks are important ocean predators. But we must not think of them as only hunters, continually on the prowl. Their roles as scavengers is critically important and can be the source of their curiosity with surface objects like small boats.

Read the entire press release.
To get some detailed information on white shark hunting and scavenging behavior, read Great White Shark: The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias, edited by Drs. Peter Klimley and David Ainley. Of particular interest is Chapter 27: White Shark Predation and Scavenging on Cetaceans in the East North Pacific Ocean.

Dealing With Plastics: California legislation proposed

While oil pollution is, understandably, capturing a lot of our attention of late, there are other forms of ocean pollution that need our continued attention. Plastics, in its multitude of forms, constitutes a major ongoing threat not only to marine animals but the entire marine ecosystem.

Much has been written about the North Pacific Gyre, a congregation of floating plastics coming together due to the various movements of Pacific Ocean currents. While it contains pieces of plastics that pose immediate threats to fish, marine mammals, and birds due to entanglement or ingestion, there is the additional problem of what becomes of the plastics over time. Sunlight combined with water/wave action breaks the plastic down into smaller and smaller particles which can be ingested by smaller and smaller creatures - down to the plaktonic level - which means that the plastic can permeate its way through the entire oceanic web of life.

Plastics seemingly last forever. Their so-called biodegradability involves breaking down into base components, which means the separation of the various chemicals used in the production of plastics - chemicals which can prove to be toxic and, again, enter the food chain at base levels, impacting plankton, and more. So first you have large plastics pieces - discarded bags, bottles, soda can container rings, rope, netting, etc. - that can ensare, entangle, or if ingested, block the digestive tracts of a variety of sea creatures. Then as the plastic breaks down, there are the micro-particles that can be consumed by smaller creatures. And finally, there are all the chemicals being given off: low-level poisons that can have a cumulative effect.

Plastics: the "gift" that keeps on giving.

To address the issue requires industrial science to generate improved or alternative products - a new generation of plastics or plastic-like products that break down safely, as opposed to the current specific and unrealistic set of precise circumstances (light, temperature, moisture) needed for "successful" biodegradation. And there must be a more responsible use of plastics on the part of the consumer to reuse and/or recycle.

And there is also the need for legislation to nudge both industry and the consumer in the right direction. The Sea Turtle Restoration Project recently alerted its California members of upcoming state legislation to restrict the use of plastic bags, bottle caps, and more (plastics endanger leatherback turtles that feed on the plastic or became entangled). Within California, several cities have already banned the use of plastic shopping bags or instituted stiffer fines for plastic littering. Here are the three bills:

AB 2138 (Chesbro) - Plastic Ocean Pollution Reduction, Recycling and Composting Act

AB 2138 would prohibit food providers from distributing single-use food packaging and bags unless they are accepted for either recycling or composting in at least 75% of households in a jurisdiction and are recovered at rate of at least 25%. This policy will make the fast food sector financially responsible to:

• Switch to packaging that is compatible with the recycling and/or composting services available in the communities they serve.
• Work with local governments and recyclers to increase processing and market capacity for recyclable and compostable packaging alternatives.
• Work with consumers to ensure that their packaging is recycled or composted.
• Single-use food packaging litter kills endangered sea turtles that become entangled or mistake it for food. Single-use packaging is a primary source of urban litter and oceanic litter pollution, according to storm drain and beach cleanup studies. Polystyrene, plastic bags and other non-recyclable packaging have a high propensity to be littered because they are light and aerodynamic and are consumed away from home. Up to 80% of ocean pollution is litter from urban runoff, and non-recyclable single-use food packaging is a primary component of urban litter.

AB 1998 (Brownley) - Carryout Bags
AB 1998 will reduce dangerous plastic bag litter pollution by banning plastic bags at large retail outlets. Plastic bags are a primary component of urban litter pollution. And urban litter pollution is the primary component of marine litter pollution. Plastic already outweighs plankton in the North Pacific Gyre. Plastic pollution costs California families hundreds of dollars annually in hidden litter clean-up costs. Current retailer practices result in the distribution of approximately 19 billion plastic carryout bags annually.

AB 925 (Saldaña) - Plastic Bottle Caps
Requires plastic bottle caps be attached to the plastic container and be recyclable. As more than half of all single use beverages in plastic containers being consumed outside of the home, these plastic bottle caps can easily become part of the litter and waste stream. Beach clean-up studies find that plastic bottle caps are among most littered items. AB 925 proposes to address this problem by requiring that the bottle caps remain connected to the bottle, more than 60% of which are currently recycled, thereby significantly reducing the waste, litter and threat to wildlife posed by discarded bottle caps.

Californians can and should voice their support for these bills (they can click on each assembly bill listed above to send an email). And for you non-Californians, check your own state's government web site to see if similar legislation is in the works to protect the quality of life where you live. It doesn't matter whether your state has an ocean coastline or is landlocked, we all have bodies of water - be they freshwater or saltwater - that can be adversely effected by the growing volume of plastics we have produced over decades.

I suspect that plastics, in one form or another, are here to stay. If that be the case, then it behooves us to produce, use, and recycle plastics more responsibly. Or it will bury us.

Learn more about plastic pollution at the Sea Turtle Restoration Project.

Galapagos Islands: WildAid focuses on conservation results

There are places throughout the world that can serve as both a unique oasis of ecological development and a microcosm of the world as a whole. The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands off the coast of Ecuador that fit that description to a tee. First brought to worldwide attention by Charles Darwin's studies during his 1835 expedition, the islands have been a source of fascination with scientists and, more recently, tourists.

The islands' uniqueness is a result of their isolation, producing endemic species and acting as a perfect laboratory for the study of natural development and the relationships that intertwine to produce healthy marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The islands are known for their marine iguanas, Galapagos tortoises, and several species of birds - including the only tropical penguin, the Galapagos penguin - just to name a few.

To preserve some of that uniqueness, the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) was established in in 1986, covering over 70,000 square miles of surrounding ocean, one of the largest marine reserves in the world.

However, the more troubling and challenging side for the Galapagos is the islands' role as a microcosm of the world: an ecosystem threatened with the imprint of man. From a growing island population and tourism industry to invasive plant and animal species to illegal fishing within the reserve (often for sharks or sea cucumbers to satisfy a demanding Asian market), the Galapagos Islands are besieged from all directions. Island agencies, struggling with limited resources, must turn to outside conservation organizations for support.

One such organization that has taken a special interest in the Galapagos Islands is WildAid, based in San Francisco. Often working in conjunction with other conservation groups, WildAid has been closely involved in the monitoring of fishing boat activity, finding illegal fishing for shark fins and sea cucumbers taking place under the guise of boats supposedly only passing through the GMR. Last year, the ability to monitor boat activity was improved with the installation of a satellite-based vessel monitoring system. WildAid was also instrumental in bringing sniffer dogs to the islands several years ago, trained to smell not only drugs but shark fins and sea cucumbers.

But while enforcement is an important part of conservation, it is equally important to tackle the root, or roots, of the problem. And in that regard, WildAid has worked with several agencies to help island locals with changing their personal economies away from poaching and abusing their natural resources, assisting them with building more sustainable activities. WildAid's efforts towards alternative incomes garnered the organization the UNDP Equator Prize in 2007.

Realizing the impact of the online world, WildAid has worked in conjunction with Good Egg Studios to develop Elf Island Virtual World, where kids of all ages can participate in interactive online game play to track and protect threatened sharks of the Galapagos Islands, thereby learning what is being done and what they can do to preserve these endangered species. The game company merged with Xeko.com recently, expanding their nature and conservation slate of online gaming.

There are other organizations like WildAid, ones that walk the talk, that provide tangible results and are truly making a difference. When you consider showing your support for any conservation organization, understand that they are all well-intentioned but in the final analysis there must something solid backing them up - good words supported by good deeds.

"overnight stays - $153 -- the view - priceless"

Yosemite's hike-in High Sierra Camps are so sought-after that the pickings can be slim for travelers who wait to book overnight stays during the short summer season. The good news: If you stay two consecutive nights at Merced Lake Camp (with dinner and breakfast daily), the park concessionaire will throw in the third night — a $153 (plus tax) savings. Merced Lake Camp boasts more cabins than the other High Sierra Camps. It has a good inventory in July and August; its two nearest neighbors, Sunrise and Vogelsang, are sold out for the season. The bad news: The Merced camp is a long walk. Count on 14.6 miles by the shortest route from Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Road. Check availability online:

http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations_HighSierraCamps_Availability.aspx or call (801) 559-4909.

Here's a spectacular shot of Multnomah Falls in Oregon"

While visiting Portland, OR on a short weekend trip in March, "llien" decided to make the drive out on an early Sunday morning in order to beat the crowd so that he and his wife could enjoy the falls all to themselves.

Submitted May 20, 2010 to Your Scene -- Los Angeles Times, by "llien"

"You can get back to the place but not the time"

America's iconic buffalo, some say, have made a comeback. But with more than 400,000 bison in mainly fenced, commercial herds in the U.S. and Canada, they are not the free-roaming breed of yore. But today, an attempt is underway to relaunch wild herds on public and tribal lands in Utah, Colorado and South Dakota.

Australian Marine Reserves: government review approves the science that supports their parks

One of the bright spots in ocean conservation has been the worldwide adoption of marine reserve areas. From Hawaii to Australia to the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, marine reserves or parks that prohibit or strictly limit recreational and commercial activities are being recognized as a positive step in preserving delicate marine ecosystems and allowing biodiversity to flourish. A lot more reserves are needed but what we have is a start.

But what defines a marine reserve? What is the method or methods by which the boundaries are determined? Well, this is where scientific research - past and ongoing studies - plays a crucial role. It requires research that examines a whole range of factors - biodiversity, population studies of specific species, water quality and movement patterns, topographical seabed mapping, and more. No one study can do it all, so research accumulates and from this wealth of knowledge, recommendations are made to determine the location and size of the protected area.

But not everyone agrees on the science. Lobbying forces that represent recreational or commercial fishing, and other business interests such as mining and mineral exploration, often question the validity and accuracy of the science. And so the battle rages for the attention and vote of the politicians and decision makers in charge.

Recently, Australia's Department of Environment, Climate Change, and Water commissioned an independent review of the scientific research used to determine its marine reserves, and the results heavily favored the available scientific research. Newly designated areas in New South Wales (NSW) had been heavily criticized, but it would appear by the review that the research that, both, had been done and was planned for the future was sufficient to support the marine reserves.

''The independent review panel found evidence of much ongoing or completed research and monitoring that has taken advantage of established marine parks within NSW,'' the authors of the review wrote, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

''These are resulting in presentations at conferences and scientific papers published in the international literature, and the reputation of the work being done is, on the whole, excellent.''

The Sydney Morning Herald also quoted Dr. Klaus Koop, the department's conservation and science director, who felt that marine parks not being supported by science was an idea that has been debunked. However, he did make one interesting observation.

''One of the things that we haven't done well enough, perhaps, is communicating exactly what we've done and … what we've found,'' Dr Koop said.

I am a proponent of good media communications for scientific research and that often means a lot more than just published articles in academic journals. Researchers need the assistance of those with media expertise, like myself, in communicating their work to a broader audience - one that includes policy makers, commercial interests, and the general public. The more the information is disseminated in easy-to-understand results and implications, the more challenging it becomes for opposing forces to dismiss or question its legitimacy.

Read the Sydney Morning Herald article.

Oceanic White Tip Sharks: curious pelagic predators with an unfair reputation

A sleek but muscular body gliding effortlessly through cobalt blue water, its rounded snow-capped dorsal fin slicing the water just below the surface, the Oceanic White Tip Shark is one of the premier pelagic (open ocean) predators.

Beqa Adventure Divers's blog picked up on a series of terrific photos of oceanic white tips, posted by LupoDiver on a recent South Atlantic trip with Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures.

Oceanic white tip sharks are important open ocean predators and scavengers. As with most other sharks, they play a critical role in keeping the oceanic backyard clean and the populations of their prey healthy by culling the weak, injured, and sick. They are intensely curious as they do not live in a world of wall-to-wall animals, so anything that catches their attention either visually or by scent is quickly investigated.

Unfortunately, these sharks also have a bad reputation carried down through history as a man-eater. Often attracted by the low frequency sounds given off by sinking ships (not your typical underwater background noise), particularly from sinking warships, these sharks were known to attack sailors in the water - their hunting/scavenging instincts piqued by blood from wounded sailors. Sadly, what began as natural curiosity and a reaction to food stimulus in a limited-prey environment turned into a fearsome oceanic killer reputation. Turn down the anxiety level a few notches and you get a lot closer to the truth, as LupoDiver and his fellow divers discovered on their trip.

Beqa Adventure Diver also comments on LupoDiver's picture of a blue shark, another pelagic predator whose numbers have dropped considerably over the years, a favorite target for the commercial shark fisheries.

My first unexpected encounter with a shark in open water was with a beautiful blue shark, over 20 years ago, off Santa Cruz Island which is part of California's Channel Island chain. Following that, my first cage diving experience was being surrounded by a group of blue sharks. Now, Southern California's blue shark diving operations have all but disappeared and, sadly, I suspect I may never come across another blue shark without a lot of chumming and patience.

LupoDiver, treasure your experience with the oceanic white tip and blue shark. Like the great white shark and others, these are very unique and important members of a healthy marine ecosystem. Without them, both the oceans and mankind are the lesser for it.

Endangered Species Day, May 21st: a day to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves

Tomorrow, May 21st, has been set aside by the U.S. government as Endangered Species Day. From the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) web site, it reads, "On May 21, 2010 the Fish and Wildlife Service will observe Endangered Species Day in order to recognize the national conservation effort to protect our nation’s endangered species and their habitats."

Recognition is certainly important, but action speaks louder than words. And according to some conservation organizations, the government - under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act - has been a little slow out of the starting blocks with several species that have been designated as "endangered."

When a plant or animal is listed as an endangered species, the government is required to take steps to protect it - definitive steps that include setting aside critical habitat areas and addressing the environmental issues that placed the species in such a degree of jeopardy. Organizations such as Earthjustice and The Center for Biological Diversity have often resorted to legal action against any government agency that can be shown to be negligent or disinterested in following the letter of the law as prescribed by the Endangered Species Act.

Sometimes government action has been lacking because of government bureaucracy; sometimes because of a perceived lack of resources to act; and sometimes its intransigence is more politically deliberate. When concern was growing for the polar bear living in an Arctic with less and less sea ice for it to rest or travel on, the prior administration acted against the advice of many leading conservation and research groups and gave the polar bear a threatened species classification, which freed the government from the obligation of having to take action to correct the environmental situation that would imperil an "endangered" polar bear species - in this case, to recognize and correct global warming.

However, there are many organizations that are going beyond just lip service in recognizing Endangered Species Day including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Check these out:

• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: lists educational information and USFWS/state-sanctioned events.
• Stop Extinction.org: web site includes event calendar, K-12 school info for teachers, podcasts, and Endangered Species Day Ambassadors.
• National Wildlife Federation: web site has ways to celebrate the day, endangered animals portraits for Facebook, and tweets that you can post on Twitter.

There's something for everybody, so celebrate Endangered Species Day by helping someone you know learn a little more about what needs to be done to preserve the planet's priceless animals and plants.

"It's never too late"

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — It's never too late to earn your college degree. Just ask 94-year-old Hazel Soares.

The San Leandro woman was one of about 500 students to pick up diplomas Saturday during a commencement ceremony at Mills College, an Oakland liberal arts college for women that also offers coed graduate programs.

"It's taken me quite a long time because I've had a busy life," said Soares. "I'm finally achieving it, and it makes me feel really good."

Soares, who has six children and 40 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, is believed to be the world's second oldest person to graduate from college.

Sierra Club Seeks Legislation for Mountain Preservation

Hikers follow a trail near the middle fork of Lytle Creek in the Cucamonga Wilderness. "Our aim with this legislative proposal is to protect the one-third of the Angeles National Forest that is still unspoiled open space," said John Monsen, regional representative of the Sierra Club. "The trick is to get it introduced in time for this Congress to vote on it. If it is delayed another year, there is no telling what will happen."


(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

"The Fork in the Road"

If there’s a place in Pasadena where two roads diverge and is easily accessible to the public, Bob Stane would like to stick a fork in it.

The 18-foot fork has stood at South St. John and Pasadena avenues since Halloween, when Stane’s friends erected it as a surprise for his 75th birthday. The unusual monument caused a stir with residents and city officials overwhelmingly in favor of the tongue-in-cheek art.

The fork is rooted in land owned by Caltrans and leased to Pasadena strictly for landscaping use, Caltrans spokeswoman Maria Raptis said. In November, Caltrans agreed to allow the fork to stay for six months. Although that deadline has passed, Raptis said Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard recently sent a letter to a Caltrans director asking that the fork be allowed to stay. A discussion on the fork’s location is forthcoming, she said.

But Stane, who co-owns an Altadena coffee gallery and showroom with the fork’s creator, Ken Marshall, said he spoke to a Caltrans official who gave him until the first week of June to find a new plot for the fork.

“They think it’s dangerous, that it might fall over, and they’re afraid people will run across the street to be photographed with the fork and be run over,” Stane said.

Stane has spent the last month scouting places where the fork could be relocated. He envisions a spot where it can serve as a landmark for large crowds. Although Stane and his friends once hosted a canned food drive at the fork, a planned Valentine's Day celebration was canceled by the city due to possible traffic issues.

Stane's ideal location? “Where Colorado Boulevard hits Orange Grove. It’s got a great big lawn, and that’s where the Rose Parade starts. It would be great if the parade came and turned right at the fork on the road.”

-- Corina Knoll (Photo: "The Fork in the Road," at South Pasadena and St. John avenues. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

iGorilla: fun and informative iPhone app that helps the mountain gorillas

Here's a recommendation for an iPhone app that is both entertaining and informative: iGorilla. With this app you can follow the day-to-day lives of several mountain gorilla families that reside in one of Africa's most important national parks. Information is regularly updated and you can see pictures and videos to learn about specific family individuals.

The Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been one of the vanguards in African wildlife protection and has put considerable effort into their mountain gorilla program by developing a network of trained rangers to reduce poaching. Of the 720 remaining mountain gorillas on this planet, 200 of them live within the park's boundaries.

While the Virunga National Park is a well established park (second oldest in the world, next to Yellowstone), it too struggles for funding. For the gorilla program, considerable funds go into ranger training, uniforms and salaries, and equipment - money well spent in establishing a strong conservation and protection presence within the park.

You can download the app through the Apple store or right on your iPhone for $3.99. It's well worth it as a portion of the proceeds goes to the park.

Please note: don't get confused - there's another app called iGorilla! (with an exclamation mark) that is a game.

Read more about the iGorilla app.
Read more about the Virunga National Park.

A Thresher's Tale (Tail): video footage solves a shark's mystery

One of the ocean's most unusual sharks, the thresher shark, has carried with it a great mystery: why the elongated upper caudal (or tail) fin? Suspicions were that it was used to strike and stun its prey. However, there wasn't any definitive documentation (ie: video or motion picture footage) to confirm it. Until now. . .

According to the BBC News, Dr. Chugey Sepulveda of the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research in Oceanside, California, captured some brief images of a thresher shark swatting several smaller fish and stunning or outright injuring them, making them easy prey.

The water visibility is a bit murky and it all happens in a blink of an eye, but the video slows it down to half speed and you can clearly see the shark's unique hunting ability. The BBC doesn't allow for embedding a video, so click on the image below to link to the BBC and view the footage.

Followers of great white sharks at Isla Guadalupe are very familiar with the Pfleger Institute as they were one of the first organizations to do an exhaustive picture cataloging of the island's population of white sharks that migrate there every fall.

Kudos to the Dr. Sepulveda. These are very special sharks - all three species of thresher sharks are listed as "vulnerable to extinction" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

What Next?: Gulf oil spill legacy signals need for new energy paradigm

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the unwanted gift that keeps on giving. I awoke this morning to televised news reports of tar balls being found in the Florida Keys. While not totally unique to this area, these tar balls will be sent to labs for analysis to determine whether they are from the current Gulf oil spill. If so, it represents evidence of the oil reaching the Loop Current that could ultimately deposit oil as far away as the Atlantic Ocean coastline off the Carolinas.

Several scientific and tracking organizations, like SkyTruth, have reported that the oil spill will enter the Loop Current - which runs from the mid-Gulf, around Florida and up the east coast - if not now, then eventually. This current not only adds another later of complexity to the catastrophe in the Gulf, but it also reminds us of the consequences of our age-old attitude regarding the oceans: that it is a vast open resource - a source of limitless bounty and capable of handling endless abuse. Such thinking is total folly.

To the media and much of the general public, the biggest concern is what we can see: oil splashing up on the shore, oozing into the marshlands, and coating shorebirds - these are the visible signs that something has invaded our backyard. Unfortunately, if these events do not occur, or at least not in great magnitude, then we have a tendency to think we dodged the bullet.

Initially, weather played a role in delaying or keeping the oil at bay, far offshore. And the interplay of the onshore/offshore winds even got some people to wonder where the oil was or whether the spill was as disastrous as claimed. But there is close to 6 million gallons of oil (a conservative figure; other estimates run into the hundreds of thousands) that has leaked into the Gulf and it has to be somewhere.

I have to admit, when I first heard about the Loop Current, I imagined a current hugging the coastline around the eastern Gulf of Mexico. As it turns out, the current starts in the middle of the Gulf - behind, or south, of the site of the spill - then proceeds towards the tip of Florida, where it whips around the tip then stays close to the east coast shoreline. So, if we breathe a sigh of relief that the oil has, to a large extant, stayed offshore, it's ironic that any movement away from shore means it is heading directly into the current to spread an even wider and unexpected path of pollution.

There have been some reports of a large swath of oil moving below the surface, relatively undetected. These reports have been questioned by some government agencies and so further investigation continues, but it would not surprise me if there is a political media person somewhere saying that the longer the oil goes missing, the better. Again, out of sight, out of mind.

But there's no escaping the fact that we are talking about millions of gallons of oil.

• Oil that has settled on the bottom? That would be disastrous for marine life as the oil would work its way into the fundamental base food chain that impacts a variety of shellfish and other bottom feeders.
• Oil that has dissipated or spread itself into a thin micro-globular layer? There it can be ingested by plankton, spread across sensitive coral, or enter the atmosphere through evaporation.
• Or how about broken down by hundreds of thousands of gallons of dispersant (a toxic brew unto itself) to be eaten by hungry microbes which, in turn, would consume oxygen in the process, thereby degrading water quality.

There is no getting around it - whether we can see it or not, oil and water (in this case, sea water) don't mix.

My growing concern and question is: What will the decision-makers learn from this? What will the oil companies? And perhaps most importantly, what will we learn from this?

If anything, the Gulf oil spill highlights the complexity and multi-disastrous impact such an event can have on marine ecosystems near and far. What will it take to finally make definitive steps away from fossil fuel - our national, in fact global, addiction? As a society we are definitely in the throes of an addiction. We know that it is bad for us, we know that it harms the environment, we know that it produces lopsided economic dependencies - but we do nothing of any lasting consequence. That's textbook addiction.

Hopefully, British Petroleum will contain and stop the oil leak soon. We will have to live with degraded marine environments throughout the Gulf and perhaps along the southeast coast. And seafood commercial fisheries will be cut off from the stocks that they have plundered for years to meet demand. Tourism will suffer and seafood prices will rise. Gasoline prices too, perhaps.

But what will we do next? It has been said that the drug addict, regardless of his or her past bad experiences, must decide that they have now hit rock bottom before they can change their lives. Are we there yet?

Losing the Lizards: study indicates climate change can lead to global extinctions

According to a new study published last week in Science Magazine, lizards are at a high risk of extinction due to climate change. With rising temperatures, they will spend more time seeking shade and less time feeding and breeding to perpetuate the species.

Researcher Barry Sinervo of the University of Santa Cruz and his colleagues compiled data that included local population extinctions to date, climate temperature changes, and the known temperature ranges or requirements of lizard species to construct predictive models.

The research study indicates that, since 1975, local population extinctions had reached 4% worldwide and that global extinction of entire species could reach 20% by 2080 based on current rates of temperature increase.

Ever seen a lizard sunning itself? It's not actually just sunbathing or taking a snooze. As a cold-blooded "ecotherm", it is, in essence, charging its battery so that it can engage in the important activities of foraging for food and breeding. But it does so within a particular range of temperature. And since it can not sweat or pant to cool off, when it becomes too hot it heads for shade or burrows to cool down.

But when lizards are spending more time seeking cooler conditions, they are not engaged in the activities that will guarantee their long-term survival.

"So they don't die directly but they can't reproduce. It only takes a couple of generations of that and the population is going to spiral downward until it goes extinct," says Jack Sites, one of the study's collaborators and a herpetologist from Brigham Young University.

Lizards play an important role in nature's food chain, feeding on insects and being a food source for larger animals like birds. Their loss would definitely have a severe impact on local ecosystems but just how devastating that would be is hard to determine. It is something that scientists, like Sinervo, would prefer not to have to find out.

"The numbers are actually pretty scary. We've got to try to limit climate change impacts right now or we are sending a whole bunch of species into oblivion," Sinervo said.

Read the Science Magazine abstract/article.
Read MNN article about the study.

Whale Sharks and Oil Dispersant: research scientists weigh-in on the hidden risks

Many organizations and blogs have been keeping the Gulf oil spill front and center - and for good reason. The Shark Divers blog has posted several items of interest including this one, which covered an interview that I sat in on with members of the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. While the mainstream news and general public watch for signs of oil on the shoreline, there are some serious impacts that can be occurring right now, out in the Gulf, below the waves.

Gulf Oil Spill - Prime Time for Whale Sharks at Ground Zero

Friday, May 14, 2010

We spent some time with Dr. Eric Hoffmayer, shark biologist at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and Dr. Joe Griffitt, aquatic toxicologist, to discuss the current oil situation in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. Hoffmayer has tracked close to 300 whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in the Gulf since 2002. He is the preeminent whale shark biologist of the region and has concerns for the seasonal migration of these animals, some of which have come from as far away as the Caribbean.

As many as one third of his tracked animals are estimated to be at "ground zero" the very place upwards to 70,000 barrels of oil are pouring into the Gulf and 500,000 gallons of Corexit, a toxic dispersant, is being sprayed.

This map is an overlay of where the Gulf whale sharks most likely are and where the oil slick and dispersant is now.

"Most people have no idea we have whale sharks in the Gulf. It has been a terrific success story; we have just realized there are more animals out there then we originally thought," said Dr. Hoffmayer. "Because the public is unaware of that, the issue of this oil spill and these animals is just not on the front burner. This is critical whale shark habitat."

"We're hoping that these whale sharks might sense the oil and move out of the area. We have seen other species of sharks closer to shore under a sheen of oil, but until we get out there and tag a few sharks we just do not know what's happening, or even if they are moving."

Dr. Hoffmayer confirmed, "This is the peak season for whale sharks in the Gulf: May through September."

Meanwhile, we asked Dr. Griffitt to comment on Corexit, a dispersant being widely used by BP, and it's effects. "This stuff is designed to break up the oil into micro droplets. The concern is where it goes from there through the water column. Smaller oil particles get taken up through the food chain very quickly. The fact is we're in uncharted territory, no one knows what these amounts of dispersed oil and Corexit will do to bio-accumulation."

"No one is talking about pelagic species right now in the media," said Dr. Hoffmayer. "Or what this shower of smaller oil particles and dispersant might be doing to the wildlife - it will have a tremendous impact."

Dr. Hoffmayer plans to have his team attempt to tag and track whale sharks this season. "We are linked with people doing aerial surveys right now and they report whale shark activity to us."

Dr. Griffitt pointed out, "These smaller globules of oil will spend a lot of time in the ocean and once it mixes with dispersant this combo can be more toxic than the original substances. More study is needed."

Dr. Hoffmayer is currently seeking funding from all sources to get an expanded tagging and tracking program in place for 2010. Those seeking to help can contact him directly at:

Dr. Eric Hoffmayer Ph.D.
University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
228.872.4257
Eric.Hoffmayer@usm.edu

His website will be updating whale shark activity as it comes in and as the 2010 migratory paths are known. We will keep you updated.