Welcome to Sea Otter Awareness Week! Started 11 years ago to increase the public’s awareness about sea otters, the event “is an annual recognition of the vital role that sea otters play in the nearshore ecosystem,” according to seaotterweek.org.

Tomorrow we will explore that vital role a little more; for today’s article, we checked in with Moe Flannery, from the Academy’s Ornithology and Mammalogy department, to better understand the health of local sea otters.

The US Geological Survey’s Western Ecological Research Center conducts annual population surveys of the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis), a federally listed threatened species found in California. Flannery says the southern sea otter’s range extends from Pigeon Point near Half Moon Bay down to Point Conception in Santa Barbara County.

This year’s USGS survey was released earlier this month and the news is cautiously optimistic: sea otter numbers are up, due largely to an increase in the number of pups.

In its 2013 report, the USGS estimates the population to be 2,941. For southern sea otters to be considered for removal from threatened species listing, the population estimate would have to exceed 3,090 for three consecutive years, according to the threshold established under the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The USGS has been conducting the population surveys since the 1980s.

“Population growth in central California has faltered recently, so the fact that we’re seeing a slightly positive trend is a basis for cautious optimism,” says Tim Tinker, a USGS biologist who supervises the annual survey. “Certainly, sea otters have made an impressive recovery in California since their rediscovery here in the 1930s.”

“We counted a record number of pups this year, which led to the uptick in the 3-year average,” says USGS biologist Brian Hatfield, coordinator of the annual survey. “A high pup count is always encouraging, although the number of adult otters counted along the mainland was almost identical to last year’s count, so we’ll have to wait and see if the positive trend continues.”

USGS scientists also annually update a database of sea otter strandings—the number of dead, sick or injured sea otters recovered along California’s coast each year. Flannery leads the Academy as one of the organizations that responds to these strandings as part of the national Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

This year’s stranding number was 368. Flannery says that a remarkable number of sea otters wash up with shark bites. “The shark populations have been increasing because elephant seal populations are increasing,” she says. “The sharks appear to take a bite of the sea otters, but don’t consume them. As bony, skinny and furry as sea otters are (with up to one million hairs per square inch!), they’re probably less desirable than fat, blubbery elephant seals.”

Sharks aren’t the only threat to sea otters. Mainland diseases, such as toxoplasmosis from cat fecal matter, also plague the animals.

Because of their threatened status, all sea otter necropsies (animal autopsies) are performed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. However, many of the specimens end up here, in the Academy’s collections. The result is that we have the largest collection of southern sea otter specimens in the world. The number was up to 1,300 specimens last year, but several hundred have yet to be cataloged and processed, according to Flannery.

Researchers come from all over the world to study the specimens—last year scientists from UC Davis came to study dental pathologies in 1200 sea otter skulls!  They found that 93% of our southern sea otter specimens had problems with their teeth.

Luckily, most of us don’t have to study 1200 sea otter skulls to learn more about these engaging animals. For events around Sea Otter Awareness Week, including this week’s Nightlife at the Academy, click here. Celebrate!

Image: Mike Baird/Wikipedia

The closest I’ve ever come to a whooping crane, perhaps like many folks, is reading Even Cowgirls Get the Blues:

The whooper enters one’s spirit the instant it enters one’s senses. It is perfect radiant sky monster and I cannot describe it.

(Come on, it was written in trippy 1976…)

And it’s likely a good thing that we keep our distance, remarked Greg Smith, of the USGS, on NPR last week:

The more fear they have of humans, the better off we think their survival chances are.

But the potential benefits of staying away from humans makes it difficult to understand the migration patterns of the rebounding bird.

The whooping crane (Grus americana) is North America’s largest bird, standing five feet tall, and survives 30 years or more in the wild. The species neared extinction in the 1940s, as unregulated hunting and habitat loss pushed its population to fewer than 25 individuals. Today there are about 600 whoopers, with more than 150 in captivity.

Humans played and continue to play a huge role in helping the species rebound, despite Smith’s quote above. At captive breeding sites, adult whooping cranes produce chicks which are then hand-raised by biologists using special methods designed to prepare the chicks for life in the wild. Each summer in a Wisconsin marsh, experts train a group of captive-raised chicks to follow an ultralight aircraft, leading them on a 1,300-mile journey to their Florida wintering grounds.

Only this first migration is human-assisted; from then on, the young birds travel on their own, usually in the company of other whooping cranes. Their movements are monitored daily via satellite transmitters, radio telemetry, and on-the-ground observers. All this human activity results in a record of the movements of individual birds over several years, all with known parentage and the same upbringing.

Researchers at the University of Maryland studied these data from whooping crane migrations from 2002 to 2009 to understand whether their migration route is encoded in their genes or is instead a learned behavior.

Publishing their findings in the recent issue of Science, the team determined that the whoopers learn their migration route from older cranes, and get better at it with age.

Whooping crane groups that included a seven-year-old adult deviated 38% less from a migratory straight-line path between their Wisconsin breeding grounds and Florida wintering grounds, the researchers found. One-year-old birds that did not follow older birds veered, on average, 60 miles (97 kilometers) from a straight flight path.

Individual whoopers’ ability to stick to the route increased steadily each year up to about age five, and remained roughly constant from that point on, the researchers found. The scientists hypothesize that older birds are better at recognizing landmarks and coping with bad weather.

“This is a globally unique data set in which we can control for genetics and test for the effect of experience,” says co-author William F. Fagan, of the University of Maryland. “It gives us an indication of just how important this kind of socially learned behavior is.”

So, whatever the role humans play in whoopers’ survival, they clearly need one another to survive and flourish. Here’s to those radiant sky monsters!

Image: US Department of Agriculture

Don Swanson of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory calmly told us to be afraid—be very afraid—of the gentle-appearing Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawaii. Well, he may not have sounded so dire. But he did want us to know that Kilauea had very long-term explosive periods in the past and will likely again, threatening the local population and the 5,000 daily visitors to Hawaii National Park.

The Big Island’s volcanoes are known for their beautiful lava flows, and Kilauea is no exception. But looking at the past using carbon-dating techniques, Swanson and his team have found that for the last 2,500 years, Kilauea had been more explosive (60%) than gentle lava flowing.

The first explosive period lasted for about 1,200 years—from 200 BCE to 1000 CE. The second, more recent period, for the 300 years from 1500 to 1800, exhibited “scores” of explosive events, according to Swanson.

Pele, the ancient Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, displayed her temper by throwing rocks—perhaps causing these explosions, Swanson mused.

The most lethal eruption known from an American volcano occurred at Kilauea in 1790. Most likely, several hundred people died, but contemporary accounts vary. A battle at the time, between the warriors of Keoua and Kamehameha, put several men near the summit at the time of the eruption. According to Swanson’s presentation, “the conditions of the bodies suggests that a pyroclastic density (known as a “PDC,” but often just called a surge) engulfed the victims.” PDCs are a mixture of hot gas and volcanic ash that travel at hurricane velocities.

Footprints were found in the muddy volcanic ash, and in Swanson’s dramatic fashion, his presentation reported, “They could record someone’s last footsteps.”

Swanson wants us to be aware that it could happen again and without much warning. And not just as little blips: Kilauea could be explosive for very long periods of time, as the historic record shows. While Swanson and other scientists are unable to predict the occurrence of damaging eruptions well in advance, small earthquakes and rock-fall are likely to precede the events, allowing time for evacuation.

Moral of the story: Don’t be fooled by the gentle beauty of Hawaii’s lava-flowing volcanoes. Pele still has some rocks up her sleeve!

But what about the opposite? The US Geological Survey had a conference and issued a press release this month about preparing for severe flooding in our state. Flooding that could cause more damage and be even deadlier than a large earthquake.

What the what? How is this possible?

Atmospheric rivers, my friend, atmospheric rivers.

According to NOAA:

Atmospheric Rivers are narrow corridors of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere and are a key process linking weather and climate. When atmospheric rivers strike land, they produce flooding rains that can disrupt travel, induce mud slides, and cause catastrophic damage to life and property.

The USGS goes on to say that atmospheric rivers are:

a hurricane-like phenomenon that occurs on the west coast.

And the Sacramento Bee defines the phenomenon this way:

a focusing of high-powered winds that drag a fire hose of tropical moisture across the Pacific Ocean, pointed directly at California for days on end.

The big, wet storms we had in northern and southern California in December were due to a series of atmospheric rivers, but apparently only a tame series.

It can get much worse, says USGS,

Beginning on Christmas Eve, 1861, and continuing into early 1862, an extreme series of storms lasting 45 days struck California. The storms caused severe flooding, turning the Sacramento Valley into an inland sea. A storm comparable to that of 1861-1862 could occur again.

“We think this event happens once every 100 or 200 years or so, which puts it in the same category as our big San Andreas earthquakes,” stated Lucy Jones, chief scientist of the USGS Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project, in the recent press release.

To prepare for a storm of this magnitude and greater, USGS has created a model scenario called ARkStorm. The scenario estimates that California’s flood protection system would be overwhelmed and more than $300 billion in damage would result. That could be worse than a large earthquake.

Being prepared is the key.

“The time to begin taking action is now, before a devastating natural hazard event occurs,” said USGS Director, Marcia McNutt. “This scenario demonstrates firsthand how science can be the foundation to help build safer communities. The ARkStorm scenario is a scientifically vetted tool that emergency responders, elected officials and the general public can use to plan for a major catastrophic event to help prevent a hazard from becoming a disaster.”

Image of Sacramento in early 1862 courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History

Despite being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, we were able to catch incredible glimpses of the solar eclipse this week through photos throughout the web.

DNA sequencing started the year off right. Popular Science reported that “For the First Time, DNA Sequencing Technology Saves A Child’s Life.” Doctors, desperate to find the cause of a boy’s severe illness, sequenced his genes, discovered a mutation and were able to prescribe a treatment that appears to be working. A new machine could make this practice more common. An article in the New York Times this week described a more affordable sequencing machine. At $50,000, the Personal Genome Machine is significantly less than standard machines and “could expand the use of DNA sequencing from specialized centers to smaller university and industrial labs, and into hospitals and doctors’ offices.”

What is causing birds to fall out of the sky and fish to die from Arkansas to Maryland and Brazil to Sweden? Cold weather? Hail storms? Fireworks? The end of the world? There’s been much hype and speculation, but scientists don’t appear to be worried. The Academy’s own Jack Dumbacher is getting samples from the southern occurrences—he’s planning on testing the corpses for viruses. You can track these deaths yourself through Google maps or the US Geological Survey.

Finally, after topping the science news headlines last year, oil in the Gulf reappeared this week, at least on news sites. Have bacteria consumed nearly all of the methane from the spill? A study published in Science this week suggests that’s the case. Ed Yong finds a lot of support for the paper in his blog on Discover; Samantha Joye tells Science News, “Just because you can’t find methane in the spot where you lowered your [instruments] doesn’t mean there’s no methane out there somewhere.”

Also, the president’s oil spill commission released the first chapter of its report this week. (The entire report will be available next week.) An excerpt from the chapter in Science Insider reports that the blame for the disaster can be shared among the companies responsible for the well.

Most of the mistakes and oversights at Macondo can be traced back to a single overarching failure—a failure of management.

And sadly, this may not be an unusual event, according to the New York Times:

The commission warned that without major changes, another such accident was likely.

If you want a front seat on a Gulf of Mexico recovery expedition, follow Sylvia Earle and others on National Geographic News Watch this month.

What science news did you dive into this week? Share with us!

Image by Brydzo/Wikimedia

That’s Andrew Revkin, in his Dot Earth blog in the New York Times, writing about avian keratin disorder—a disorder of unknown origin affecting bird species in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska at ten times the usual rate over the past decade.

USGS biologists published two papers (they can be found here and here) last week about this disorder that causes beak deformities across almost 30 different species of birds. Stunning news! The studies and Revkin’s comparison really got our attention.

We asked our own bird expert, Dr. Jack Dumbacher (Curator and Department Chair of Ornithology and Mammalogy), about this epizootic (an epidemic among wildlife).

There are a couple dozen species that appear to be affected, but the two most impacted appear to be Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), and Northwestern Crow (Corvus caurinus). Other corvids (jays, ravens, etc.) also appear to be more affected.  Although there were some reports in the early 1990s, the number of affected birds appears to have peaked in the 2000-2001 season, and again in the 2006-2007 season.  It seems to be more prevalent in adults, suggesting that it is an acquired condition.  It appears to most profoundly affect the keratin layers of the bill, causing the bill to overgrow and often cross, but it can also affect other keratinized layers of skin, legs, feet, and claws.

The deformed beaks hinder the birds’ ability to eat, clean themselves, and care for their young.

Jack expressed surprise about the findings:

I had known of strange growths caused by knemidocoptes mites, and these can sometimes cause bills to overgrow, scales to enlarge or slough off, and other deformities.  I’ve even seen these in the field (in South African Cape Robins).  But this was specifically examined, and these birds appear not to have knemidocoptes mites.  I’d certainly not heard of this in multiple species in one place.

Some diseases—like avian pox or the disease caused by West Nile Virus—have affected multiple species, and have had significant impacts across bird species. In parrots, a circovirus causes a disease called Psittacine beak and feather disease, and can sometimes cause overgrown beaks and crossed beaks.

The cause remains unknown, and it may prove challenging to discover.  Many factors require consideration, including environmental contamination, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infections, and dietary deficiencies.

Jack provided some insight and hope for response from the community.

It is hard to say.  The authors looked at the most likely causes—knemidocoptes mites, malnutrition, liver malfunction, other diseases, and nothing came up positive.  It is possible that this is caused by a new disease agent that is not yet known.  For example, when frogs first began declining, it was hard to pin down the cause, but now we have some evidence that a fungal pathogen—Chytrid fungus—may be part of the cause. There may be an unknown pathogen causing these deformities in birds.

One hopes that now that these excellent papers have been published, we will all keep an eye out for such issues.  The USGS has requested information on this phenomenon, and they have set up a website that discusses it and allows you to report an incidence.

Scientists and bird watchers alike can help researchers learn more. Jack, who has done virus research in avian populations around the world, hopes to lend a hand (and needle) to the project, too. Stay tuned.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory distributed a news release yesterday stating that Saturday’s shaking could have shortened the Earth day by 1.26 microseconds (in case you’re wondering, a microsecond is one millionth of a second).

“Could have shortened” because scientists can only measure Earth days with accuracy up to 20 microseconds. The estimate is based on a calculation “using a complex model,” according to the press release.

The findings seem plausible to local earthquake scientist Wayne Thatcher of the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park. He uses GPS and satellite data to measure the displacement around earthquake faults and volcanoes in the western US. “If a large enough earthquake occurs, there’s a redistribution of mass of the Earth around the fault. It can be enough to adjust the rate of rotation.”

The redistribution of mass—or movement of Earth’s figure axis—is about 3 inches according the JPL calculations.

Thatcher likens it to the spin of a figure skater—if the skater brings their arms or legs out, it will change the speed of their rotation.

Using the same calculations, JPL’s Richard Gross was also able to measure the effect of the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake. While that earthquake was larger than the Chilean earthquake by a factor of 3 or 4, the redistribution of mass was less. Due to the location, it was only 2.76 inches.

This information is fascinating, but will the newly shortened days cause people to over-sleep?

Don’t set those alarms any earlier, Thatcher says we’ll be fine. “No one except us scientists will notice the difference.”