PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study maps human impacts on top ocean predators along US west coast

Animal tracking data combined with mapping of human activities reveals high impact areas where efforts to reduce impacts would be most effective

2013-10-28
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Tim Stephens
stephens@ucsc.edu
831-459-2495
University of California - Santa Cruz
Study maps human impacts on top ocean predators along US west coast Animal tracking data combined with mapping of human activities reveals high impact areas where efforts to reduce impacts would be most effective

The California Current System along the U.S. west coast is among the richest ecosystems in the world, driven by nutrient input from coastal upwelling and supporting a great diversity of marine life. Like coastal regions in general, it is also heavily impacted by human activities. A new study led by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, reveals areas along the west coast where human impacts are highest on marine predators such as whales, seals, seabirds, and turtles.

The study, published October 28 in Nature Communications, found that many of the high impact areas are within the boundaries of National Marine Sanctuaries. This means there are good opportunities for improving management strategies, according to first author Sara Maxwell, who led the study as a graduate student in ocean sciences at UC Santa Cruz and is now a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station.

"The sanctuaries are located close to the coast in areas where there are a lot of human activities and a lot of marine life, so it's not surprising that we see a lot of impacts there," Maxwell said, noting that oil spills were a big concern when the sanctuaries were established, and many do not limit activities such as fishing, although they are actively engaged in managing industries such as shipping.

"With the sanctuaries already in place, we have an opportunity to increase protections. The results of this study allow us to be more specific in where we focus management efforts so that we can minimize the economic impact on people," she said.

There are five National Marine Sanctuaries along the west coast, covering nearly 15,000 square miles. A proposed expansion of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries would extend protections north to Point Arena, a key area identified in the study.

Marine mammals and other predators are critical to the health of marine ecosystems. The study used tracking data for eight species of marine predators: blue whales, humpback whales, northern elephant seals, California sea lions, black-footed and Laysan albatrosses, sooty shearwaters, and leatherback sea turtles. These are among the 23 species whose movements have been tracked since 2000 as part of the Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) program. The eight species included in the new study are ecologically important but are not commercially exploited, Maxwell said.

The TOPP studies showed that many marine predators travel thousands of miles every year, yet often concentrate within small-scale "hotspots" to breed or feed on fish and other prey. Many such hotspots are found within the California Current System.

Maxwell and her coauthors combined the TOPP tracking data with a database of human impacts in the California Current System that was developed by a group led by coauthor Benjamin Halpern at UC Santa Barbara. The relative impact on each species was determined for each of 24 stressors associated with human activities, such as fishing, shipping, climate change, and pollution. The analysis yielded maps showing where the greatest impacts on each species are likely to be.

"Areas where key habitats and human impacts overlap represent important areas for conservation efforts," Maxwell said. "In other cases, areas of high human activities are not key habitats for predators. As a result, we can maximize both conservation of marine predators and human uses that our coastal communities depend on."

The study suggests that protecting key habitat without considering human uses may result in missed opportunities for sustainable resource use. "Having this detailed spatial information will help us move toward a more sustainable management approach," said coauthor Elliott Hazen, a research biologist at UCSC and the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

Providing information to support management and policy decisions was one of the goals of the TOPP program, which was conceived by coauthors Dan Costa at UC Santa Cruz, Steven Bograd at NOAA, and Barbara Block at Stanford. TOPP researchers used sophisticated tags with satellite- or light-based geolocation capabilities to track the movements of top predators throughout the Pacific Ocean.

"A major component of the TOPP program was to identify important conservation areas of the North Pacific Ocean. This paper is a significant step forward in increasing our awareness of the 'blue Serengeti' that lies just off the west coast of the U.S.," Costa said.



INFORMATION:

The new study involved a team of 23 researchers at 19 institutions. Coauthors affiliated with UC Santa Cruz include Elliott Hazen, Barry Nickel, Nicole Teutschel, Michelle Kappes, Jason Hassrick, Robert Henry, Patrick Robinson, and Daniel Costa. Funding for this work was provided by the Sloan Foundation's Census of Marine Life program and Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station and Center for Ocean Solutions. TOPP research was funded by the Sloan, Packard, and Moore Foundations.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Keeping emotions in check may not always benefit psychological health

2013-10-28
Keeping emotions in check may not always benefit psychological health Being able to regulate your emotions is important for well-being, but new research suggests that a common emotion regulation strategy called "cognitive reappraisal" ...

DOE rooftop challenge winners offer energy, cost savings

2013-10-28
DOE rooftop challenge winners offer energy, cost savings If widely adopted, the energy savings would be like taking 700,000 cars off the road every year RICHLAND, Wash. – New super-efficient rooftop units that heat and cool commercial buildings offer ...

El Niño is becoming more active

2013-10-28
El Niño is becoming more active A new approach to analyzing paleo-climate reconstructions of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon resolves disagreements and reveals that ENSO activity during the 20th century has been unusually ...

Breaking news: GSA session to address flooding in Colorado's front range region

2013-10-28
Breaking news: GSA session to address flooding in Colorado's front range region The 2013 Colorado flood event -- a perfect storm hits a dynamic landscape -- causes, processes, and effects Boulder, CO, USA – In response to devastation caused by unprecedented heavy ...

Regular cocaine and cannabis use may trigger addictive behaviors

2013-10-28
Regular cocaine and cannabis use may trigger addictive behaviors New cocaine and cannabis research reveals that regular cannabis users have increased levels of impulsive behaviour. It had previously been argued that this increased impulsivity after cannabis administration was only experienced ...

Your pain, my gain: Feeling pleasure over the misfortune of those you envy is biological

2013-10-28
Your pain, my gain: Feeling pleasure over the misfortune of those you envy is biological PRINCETON, NJ—Mina Cikara found her thesis when she wore a Boston Red Sox hat to a New York Yankees baseball game. ...

Virtually numbed: Immersive video gaming alters real-life experience

2013-10-28
Virtually numbed: Immersive video gaming alters real-life experience Role-playing video games can alter our experience of reality and numb us to important real-life experiences, study finds Spending time immersed as a virtual character or avatar in a role-playing ...

No running for the well-heeled

2013-10-28
No running for the well-heeled Being down at heel could save your knees If you often find yourself running after a bus, escaping a burning building or taking part in competitive athletics in high-heeled footwear, you may be storing up knee problems for later in life, according ...

Pain processes in tennis elbow illuminated by PET scanning

2013-10-28
Pain processes in tennis elbow illuminated by PET scanning Physiological processes in soft tissue pain such as chronic tennis elbow can be explored using diagnostic imaging methods. This is demonstrated by researchers from Uppsala University and the ...

Urban underground holds sustainable energy

2013-10-28
Urban underground holds sustainable energy Vast energy sources are slumbering below big cities. Sustaina-ble energies for heating in winter and cooling in summer may be extracted from heated groundwater aquifers. Researchers from KIT and ETH Zurich developed ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Transnational electoral participation of undocumented Mexican immigrants in the US

A new method to build more energy-efficient memory devices for a sustainable data future

Freely levitating rotor spins out ultraprecise sensors for classical and quantum physics

‘Chinese lantern’ structure shifts into more than a dozen shapes for various applications

Towards light-controlled electronic components

Tiny architects, titanic climate impact: scientists call for October 10 to become International Coccolithophore Day

Stress sensitivity makes suicidal thoughts more extreme and persistent among the university population

Lessons from Ascension’s shark troubles could help boost conservation

Fire provides long-lasting benefits to bird populations in Sierra Nevada National Parks

Menstrual cycle affects women’s reaction time but not as much as being active

Housing associations more effective than government in supporting unemployed in deprived areas

Biochar helps composting go greener by cutting greenhouse gas emissions

Ulrich named president-elect of the AACI

Multitasking makes you more likely to fall for phishing emails

Researchers solve model that can improve sustainable design, groundwater management, nuclear waste storage, and more

Parched soils can spark hot drought a nation away

Uncovering new physics in metals manufacturing

Sped-up evolution may help bacteria take hold in gut microbiome, UCLA-led research team finds

The dose-dependent effects of dissolved biochar on C. elegans: Insights into the physiological and transcriptomic responses

New research reveals genetic link to most common pediatric bone cancer

Research conducted during 2024 eclipse reveals importance of light on bird behavior

Why does female fertility decline so fast? The key is the ovary

Total solar eclipse triggers dawn behavior in birds

Europe’s largest bats hunt and eat migrating birds on the wing, high in the sky

China’s emerging AI regulation could foster an open and safe future for AI

The secret to naked mole-rat’s longevity: Enhanced DNA repair

Acidic tumor environment promotes survival and growth of cancer cells

New biosensor tracks plants’ immune hormone in real time

New study finds gaps in REDD+ forest carbon offsets with most overstating climate impacts

Mystery solved: How Europe’s largest bat catches and eats passerines mid-air

[Press-News.org] Study maps human impacts on top ocean predators along US west coast
Animal tracking data combined with mapping of human activities reveals high impact areas where efforts to reduce impacts would be most effective