Endangered Elephants: scientists unlock mysteries while numbers decline in Indonesia

Often in this blog, I cite some of the new and unusual things we are learning about life in the ocean. Much of it is literally uncharted territory with new species and biological processes cropping up all the time.

But let's not forget terra firma, too. Take for example an iconic land animal, one that we have observed and studied for many years: the elephant. Even today, the elephant has mysteries that we are still trying to unfold.

A recent study by scientists from Canada's University of Guelph of Asian elephants that reside at Busch Gardens zoological park in Florida, revealed some new information about the pachyderm's ability to retain and dissipate heat. With an animal of this size, many of the biological processes that allow other animals, including man, to function - circulation, breathing, bone structure - often go through some adaptations. To help regulate its body temperature, it is thought that African elephants radiate excess heat through their large ears. However, the Asian elephant has noticeably smaller ears. So, as it builds up heat throughout the course of the day, how can it release that stored heat at day's end? Why through its trunk, of course.

Thermal images taken of the elephants (click here to see them online at BBC Nature) throughout the day and into the evening reveal that the Asian elephant compensates for its smaller ears by concentrating heat in its trunk. In fact, the ears are some of the coolest spots on the elephant's body.

According to study leader Dr Esther Finegan, "As the Asian elephant ears are so much smaller in surface area, they [are] very much less effective [at heat loss] than the larger African elephants' ears. But, why African elephants do not use their trunks - as Asian elephants appear to do - is a wonderful question to which we do not yet know the answer."

So, a new study of an familiar old animal reveals heretofore unknown biological processes. And it also raises questions about pre-existing beliefs scientists held about African elephants. Once again, we continue to learn, we continue to question, we continue to re-learn.

Unfortunately, studying Asian elephants within the confines of zoos like Busch Gardens may someday prove to be the only way we can learn anything about these huge beasts. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the number of Sumatran elephants in the wilds of Indonesia have reached critically low levels and face a greater risk of extinction than ever before.

Pressured by a growing loss of jungle habitat to deforestation, it is estimated that there are only 2,400 to 2,800 Sumatran elephants in the wild - a reduction by 50% from a count taken in 1985. That's a population cut in half in just 25 years.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has now raised the Sumatran elephant's listing from "endangered" to "critically endangered" which puts it on the IUCN's Red List. The Indonesian government has been trying to limit forest development - deforestation has been replacing forest in favor of palm oil plantations - but the government has seen limited success. It is now considering a new approach using financial incentives.

"The government has recently allowed companies to have restoration areas instead of logging concessions for some remaining forest area, so those kind of initiatives can be done by companies where they can also still make profit and at the same time also have the recovery of the endangered species," said a representative of the World Wildlife Fund told Voice of America.

How unfortunate it is that, on the one hand, we are still learning about an animal that has roamed the earth for thousands of years, long before the dawn of man, while at the same time we may be witnessing its extinction in the wild - and that passing will be of our making. Whales, sharks, and other ocean creatures are not the only species at risk.

And we called the elephant Dumbo?

Source: BBC Nature
Source: Voice of America

Whale Sharks: Nat Geo documents unusual feeding behavior

Whale sharks - the largest fish on the planet. For many of us who dip below the surface of the sea, either with snorkels or scuba, catching a glimpse of any large marine animal is always a powerful and memorable experience. It almost seems surreal; something so large gliding past you like a zeppelin in a liquid sky.

That feeling is heightened when the leviathan in question is a whale shark. Not that you are concerned about becoming prey to the whale shark - these animals are filter feeders like baleen whales - but it's a shark all the same. Throughout the world there are several "hot spots" for finding small congregations of whale sharks, but it's not always guaranteed. Many divers can tell you of their experiences being skunked, and then learning about the sharks that appeared the day after they departed.

For underwater photographer Michael Aw, luck was on his side while taking pictures for National Geographic. Not only did he find whale sharks off the northern shores of Papua, Indonesia, but he was able to document an unusual behavior. The whale sharks had come across a reliable food source, that of the baitfish caught by local fishermen. With hundreds of small fish corralled into fishing nets, the sharks would grab at the nets, trying to make off with an easy meal. It would appear that it runs in the family - whale sharks are opportunistic feeders, like their smaller shark cousins.

Accompanying Aw's photos in Sharing with Sharks for the October issue, on sale September 27th, and online edition of National Geographic, Jennifer Holland wrote, "The giant fish is hard to study because it is hard to find and track. By tagging individual specimens, scientists have learned that whale sharks can log thousands of miles in years-long trips. But they sometimes disappear for weeks, diving more than a mile down and resting in the chilly deep for a spell. No one has ever found mating or birthing grounds.

Whale sharks are ordinarily loners. But not in one corner of Indonesia. [Michael Aw's] photographs, shot some eight miles off the province of Papua, reveal a group of sharks that call on fishermen each day, zipping by one another, looking for handouts near the surface, and nosing the nets - a rare instance when the generally docile fish act, well, like the rest of the sharks."

One might question whether these sharks are becoming habituated or "trained" to look to the fishermen for their food. This has been a concern leveled at others in the eco-tourism trade who are accused of attracting animals, in particular sharks, to the extant that it potentially interferes with the animals normal hunting instincts. But research has shown that what is offered as an attractant is usually insignificant compared to the animal's normal nutritional requirements and with whatever behavior modification that might take place, its effects are transitory.

But it can provide for some amazing moments, as Michael Aw's photos can attest. You can read the entire photo-article in the October issue of National Geographic or visit the National Geographic website.

Nature's Resiliency: inspiration helps keep our hopes up

As a nature writer and reporter, I have to constantly be mindful that the issues I bring up in my work will best serve my readers if they can inspire or provoke a response or action. It may be a serious problem but there are solutions if we act now, if we let the decision makers know we are watching them.

But it can get overwhelming. And so, every once in a while, some good news can go a long way. In that vein, here is an uplifting story written by Scott Poyton of The Forest Trust, in the Huffpost Green. Good work, Scott.

Resilient Nature -- The Hope in the Gibbon's Call
Posted: 05/ 2/11 02:50 PM ET

There is no shortage of deeply concerning news around the environment these days. It isn't hard to get a strong sense that we're on a fast track towards a nasty precipice. Yet, news continues to pop up that gives a sense that all isn't lost; that there is some hope that nature might be more resilient against our travesties than we had imagined. Just last week there was news that the almost extinct Red Kite was making a dramatic comeback in the UK. Back in January there was the incredible story of a polar bear spending nine days swimming in search of sea ice. Whilst that story shows us just how seriously we've changed the planet, we can only marvel at the spirit and resilience of that bear.

It is important to tell positive stories if only to offer something of a counter to the constant stream of bad news that greets us each day. We do tend to dwell on the negative but the human spirit needs to be nourished and uplifted by hope and good news from time to time as well.

I had my own recent experience of how resilient nature can be in January when visiting a palm oil plantation in Indonesia. I was in a seriously degraded forest in the middle of a palm oil plantation in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The plantation company had set this remnant forest aside many years ago when it developed the area. We'd wandered in off the road to get a look at the forest from within, to feel its heartbeat, if it still had one. Loggers had hammered the forest in advance of the plantation company taking over. There was no proper canopy, only a few scattered emergent trees left behind after the bulldozers had hacked their way through. My sense wandering in had been that it was a desolate place, devoid of richness and that the company's effort to protect it was an admirable though fruitless gesture.

Standing by a riverbank in the morning stillness, I wondered if the silence was because the house was empty. Then I heard it. At first it didn't register; no gibbons here surely? You don't hear something your mind tells you cannot exist but then, again. "What's that?" I asked my Indonesian colleagues.

"Gibbons" they responded.

"There are gibbons here?" I asked.

"Yes, and orang-utans too" they replied.

"Here, in this forest?"

"Yes, here are our records." The two forest guards produced their observation notebooks. Over the previous two years, they had recorded all the animals they'd sighted during their daily patrols. I was stunned. How did these animals survive here? The forest covered around 1,400 hectares, a long and thin snake of seriously damaged habitat running either side of the river yet it still supported a rich biodiversity of primates, birds and other creatures.

We stayed a good hour in there listening to the gibbons. I heard at least three or four; far less than what you hear in a virgin forest but what hope it stirred in me! What resilience! If these animals could survive here, what else might we achieve?

I subsequently went back to Indonesia in early February to launch the palm oil company's forest conservation policy. If implemented, the policy will see more forest, just like the gibbon's in Kalimantan, set aside, protected and given a chance to re-grow. It's long-term stuff. There are many mountains to climb before we'll get to where we need to be but the hope inherent in that gibbon's call is driving me, and others, forward.

That gibbon's call is a real symbol of nature's resilience and of what just might be possible. Many news items reflect how low we go with our disrespect of nature. Yet we owe it to nature, struggling to hang in there just like that gibbon, to hold on to the idea that there could be a better future if only we all work harder.

We each can do something every day to reduce our environmental impact. When everything is gloomy and you can't imagine things ever getting better, the human spirit takes flight and determines to find a better way. A sense that something is possible, that yes, we can do what was thought impossible has recent history of bringing about dramatic change. Let's take hope from that gibbon's call and redouble our efforts to bring change to how we treat nature. Go on, let yourself go.

Follow Scott Poyton on Twitter.

Oceanic Cooperation: research groups join forces for more informative results

Scientific research groups are known for their detailed and focused work. Communication or educational groups are known for getting the word out. For ocean conservation, it's usually a good idea when the two can come together. You end up with fresh new data that is presented to others in a way that increases public awareness or stimulates further research.

While this type of cooperation was a bit rare in the past, more and more often organizations are working towards a collective good, a more broadly shared base of information. Here are two examples recently announced.

The Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute is developing a partnership with the Georgia Aquarium's Research Center, the goal of which is to conduct studies that will be communicated to a variety of audiences, from the general public to academic/educational groups. Initial joint studies by the two groups on a health assessment of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins along the eastern Florida coast proved successful and the door is now open for future studies of whale sharks in Mexico, beluga whales in Alaska, spotted eagle rays in Florida, and penguins in South Africa.

“We are so pleased to formalize our relationship with the Georgia Aquarium,” said FAU President Mary Jane Saunders. “FAU and the Georgia Aquarium already have a number of existing marine science research, education and conservation collaborations that reflect our shared interests, and joining forces will enable us to expand our research enterprises.”

On the other side of the globe, in Indonesia's Sulawesi Sea, scientists from the Indonesia Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research are working with their counterparts in NOAA to study the deeper waters of this biodiversity-rich area. The coral reefs of the Sulawesi Sea are well known to both serious and vacationing scuba divers and are a constant source of study for researchers due to the currently relative good health of the reefs. But not much is known about the deeper waters where volcanic activity and hydrothermal vents produce harsh environments that support unusual forms of life able to withstand these extreme conditions.

Assisted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NOAA's research vessel, Okeanos Explorer, and the Indonesian research vessel, Baruna Jaya IV, utilized remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and the latest in high definition video and satellite transmission to deliver real-time images and discoveries to waiting scientists and academics from Jakarta to Seattle to Silver Spring, Maryland.

“We observed and imaged perhaps 40 potential new coral species and 50 potential new species of other animals, including those inhabiting an actively venting volcano. Documenting the abundance, biodiversity and distribution of deep-ocean animals will allow us to better understand the functioning of the ecosystems in the area and infer how resilient they are to human activities,” said Woods Hole grad student Santiago Herrera.

Dr. Sugiarta Wirasantosa, Indonesia's chief scientist on the expedition, commented, “It’s especially important for Indonesians to better understand our ocean,” said Sugiarta. “Indonesia is a nation of 17,000 islands with a population that depends largely on the ocean for safety and on ocean resources for food, trade and economic well-being. Measurements of the flow of deep water masses through the deep Sulawesi Sea will help us better understand the ‘Indonesian Throughflow,’ which is important to all because it plays a major role in the global distribution of heat transported by ocean currents.”

Cooperation between nation's scientific organizations, combining research with broader communication entities, and a more open sharing of knowledge are critical steps in making science-based observations and solutions of ecological or environmental conditions indisputable. The public and the policy makers benefit from greater awareness and, in turn, so will the oceans themselves.

Read more about the FAU/Georgia Aquarium partnership.
Read More about the Indonesia/United States joint research.

Pacific Island Conservation: 3 steps in the right direction

Three interesting and related news tidbits from Seaweb.org, all having to do with recognizing and acting on conservation issues in Pacific Island regions:

Indonesia will host a World Ocean Conference next month that will include delegates from several Asia Pacific regions, from the Philippines to Papua New Guinea. It is expected that there will be joint agreements on addressing the issues of climate change on the oceans in addition to actions to preserve fisheries (particularly for some of the smaller islands) and to protect coral reef environments (which support both fisheries and tourism, not to mention being a physical buffer to adverse ocean weather/wave conditions).

To the tune of $20 million USD, Australia will fund the Pacific Climate Change Science Program, designed to work with Pacific Island nations to track and analyze the effects of climate change including temperature increases, acidification, and rises sea-level. "Climate change has the potential to affect some of the poorest and most vulnerable nations with challenges including sea level rise, more intense storms and floods, water shortages, and the resulting impacts on water and food security," said AU Senator Penny Wong.

As part of a Japan-Pacific Islands Forum Summit Meeting scheduled for May, Japan and 16 other Pacific Island countries and territories plan to join forces to combat issues such as climate change, poor sanitation, pollution and declining biodiversity. Japan will provide environmental technology assistance to countries and territories to support agriculture and fisheries, address the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and develop tsunami warning systems.

It's great to see countries of all sizes and economic persuasions come together to take proactive steps that will help the long-term preservation of their ocean environments and their tourism and fishing-dependent economies. Some of the other industrialized nations should take note.