Latest news with #AquariumofthePacific
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Long Beach aquarium spotlights 'real animals, real birds, real fish' with new report card
Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific has launched a new project aimed at putting the conservation spotlight on the stars of the marine ecosystem — the plants and animals — in an effort to forge a stronger connection with the public. 'People don't really care about biodiversity," said Peter Kareiva, president and chief executive of the Aquarium of the Pacific. "They care about the species that they know. They care about real animals, real birds, real fish." To that end, the aquarium on Thursday released an inaugural Marine Species Report Card, a collaborative effort that assesses the population status of 30 species found on the California coast. The report card spans marine mammals, fish, birds, kelp and invertebrates — including ocean celebrities like gray whales and lesser-known cast members such as owl limpets, sea snails that "often get mistaken for rocks," according to the National Park Service. Scientists and researchers from more than two dozen institutions and organizations contributed to the report card, which is available to view online. The plan is to update it every three to four years. No letter grade is assigned to the species, but each is labeled with an arrow to signify whether its ranks are increasing, decreasing or staying the same. An accompanying narrative provides a more in-depth overview of how they're doing. Kareiva believes the conservation movement has shifted its focus to what he described as more abstract concepts, such as biodiversity. But he said it was a mistake to underestimate how much people care about species. Spotlighting species helps foster a connection to the public and reveals a nuanced picture of the ecosystem in the throes climate change, in which some plants and animals are thriving while others are barely hanging on, he and other aquarium staffers said. 'When we get up to the biodiversity questions or the ecosystem questions, it's harder to say, 'Here's where our successes are' or to drive people to want to invest,' said Brett Long, vice president of animal care at the aquarium. He added that establishing a connection through digestible information can serve as a pathway for broader conversations. The report card encompasses several distressing tales, including that of white abalone, which were perilously overfished in the 1970s and '80s. The endangered marine snail with a coveted iridescent shell remains threatened by a disease called withering syndrome, which it may be more susceptible to due to the stress of ocean warming and acidification, according to the report card. But there also are more heartening stories. Giant sea bass also were overexploited to the brink of extinction, but they've started to rebound in recent decades as a result of a ban on commercial gill nets, according to Jeremy Claisse, a professor in the biological sciences department at Cal Poly Pomona who worked on the report card. Then there are conservation narratives that are harder to sum up as good or bad. Once thought to be extinct, southern sea otters rebounded but have plateaued at about 3,000 animals in their existing range — which is nowhere near their historic range. "By telling these individual stories, we can learn a lot about how different management efforts are working, or how climate change is going to impact one species versus another," Claisse said. More than a dozen of the species on the report card can be found at the Long Beach aquarium. Sleek sea otters dive and twirl in a tank before awed visitors. Captive-bred white abalone are the under-the-radar stars of another exhibit showcasing their habitat to raise awareness of their plight. Kareiva described the project as a response to what he said was an evolution in the main concerns of large conservation nonprofits. He said these groups used to be focused on the "organismal" aspect of conservation but for good reason concentrated their attention on broader ecological and policy-focused concepts, leaving zoos and aquariums to essentially be the spokespeople for plants and animals. "They're so concerned with succeeding at scale," policy-wise, he said of the organizations, citing the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Kareiva previously served as vice president of science for the Nature Conservancy. "Politically and strategically, it was probably the savvy move if you're operating at the national level," he said of the conservation movement. He said the result is that when data are collected, not enough attention is paid to species. The goal of the report card "is to reinvigorate the species and the organismal part of conservation," he said. Joe Walston, executive vice president of Wildlife Conservation Society Global, said in a statement that the nonprofit hasn't changed its 'ultimate focus from wildlife and wild places' but explained the rationale behind championing ecosystems. He said dealing with threats such as over-hunting, illegal fishing and deforestation are no longer sufficient to protect wildlife. "With the extraordinary pressures from climate change, we need to extend our influence and ensure that we are focusing on 'the health of the whole'; the ability to maintain the resilience of these ecosystems that not only protects the wildlife from the local threats, but also ensures their ecosystem remain[s] robust and resilient in the face of the larger pressures," he said. Sophie Parker, the interim science director for the Nature Conservancy's California chapter, said the nonprofit has a long history of working with zoos and aquariums — including a current collaboration involving the Aquarium of the Pacific — to recover imperiled species. 'We also need to ensure that broader habitats and systems are healthy and connected, so that when we reintroduce species, they can thrive,' she said in a statement. Many, including Kareiva, don't see conservation approaches centered on the ecosystem or the organism as mutually exclusive but complementary. Brendan Cummings, conservation director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said there's an extinction crisis imperiling thousands of species, a dire phenomenon worthy of priority. And the same time, the loss isn't just percentages — it's actual living things. Cummings said that's a separate matter from what resonates with the public — and how to achieve conservation goals. For several years now, he has worked to protect the western Joshua tree, and he said its iconic, beloved status helped get a state law passed to protect it. But those protections also extend to the wider ecosystem — such as the yucca moth. "If we had waged a campaign on behalf of the yucca moth, I doubt there would have been as much public attention to it as the Joshua tree. But protecting one, protects the other, and acts as an umbrella to protect entire desert ecosystems," he said. "So there's many pathways to the shared goal of protecting biodiversity, preventing extinction and, more broad-brushed, protecting nature on a landscape scale." Beyond prioritizing plants and animals, the report card also is intended to be a practical resource for the public and policymakers. Kareiva said he envisioned students tapping it for papers as well as using the data to underpin a still-conceptual effort to create biodiversity credits. Others involved with the project said it highlighted the power of long-term monitoring efforts — and the need to keep funding them. The list of species under consideration for the report card was roughly double the current 30, and one way it was narrowed down was whether there were data available, said Jennie Dean, vice president of education and conservation at the Aquarium of the Pacific. One species they were interested in but dropped for this reason was leopard sharks, a striking fish adorned with spots and dark ovals stretched in neat rows across its back. She said "it would be wonderful" if sustained monitoring of the slender sharks happened in the future to shed light on how they're doing. Not doing the monitoring can have consequences. Data points stretched 10 years apart, for example, can leave a gaping knowledge gap. "There's a substantial chance that something significant could happen that you have been too late to the party to address," she said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
06-02-2025
- Science
- Los Angeles Times
Long Beach aquarium spotlights ‘real animals, real birds, real fish' with new report card
Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific has launched a new project aimed at putting the conservation spotlight on the stars of the marine ecosystem — the plants and animals — in an effort to forge a stronger connection with the public. 'People don't really care about biodiversity,' said Peter Kareiva, president and chief executive of the Aquarium of the Pacific. 'They care about the species that they know. They care about real animals, real birds, real fish.' To that end, the aquarium on Thursday released an inaugural Marine Species Report Card, a collaborative effort that assesses the population status of 30 species found on the California coast. The report card spans marine mammals, fish, birds, kelp and invertebrates — including ocean celebrities like gray whales and lesser-known cast members such as owl limpets, sea snails that 'often get mistaken for rocks,' according to the National Park Service. Scientists and researchers from more than two dozen institutions and organizations contributed to the report card, which is available to view online. The plan is to update it every three to four years. No letter grade is assigned to the species, but each is labeled with an arrow to signify whether its ranks are increasing, decreasing or staying the same. An accompanying narrative provides a more in-depth overview of how they're doing. Kareiva believes the conservation movement has shifted its focus to what he described as more abstract concepts, such as biodiversity. But he said it was a mistake to underestimate how much people care about species. Spotlighting species helps foster a connection to the public and reveals a nuanced picture of the ecosystem in the throes climate change, in which some plants and animals are thriving while others are barely hanging on, he and other aquarium staffers said. 'When we get up to the biodiversity questions or the ecosystem questions, it's harder to say, 'Here's where our successes are' or to drive people to want to invest,' said Brett Long, vice president of animal care at the aquarium. He added that establishing a connection through digestible information can serve as a pathway for broader conversations. The report card encompasses several distressing tales, including that of white abalone, which were perilously overfished in the 1970s and '80s. The endangered marine snail with a coveted iridescent shell remains threatened by a disease called withering syndrome, which it may be more susceptible to due to the stress of ocean warming and acidification, according to the report card. But there also are more heartening stories. Giant sea bass also were overexploited to the brink of extinction, but they've started to rebound in recent decades as a result of a ban on commercial gill nets, according to Jeremy Claisse, a professor in the biological sciences department at Cal Poly Pomona who worked on the report card. Then there are conservation narratives that are harder to sum up as good or bad. Once thought to be extinct, southern sea otters rebounded but have plateaued at about 3,000 animals in their existing range — which is nowhere near their historic range. 'By telling these individual stories, we can learn a lot about how different management efforts are working, or how climate change is going to impact one species versus another,' Claisse said. More than a dozen of the species on the report card can be found at the Long Beach aquarium. Sleek sea otters dive and twirl in a tank before awed visitors. Captive-bred white abalone are the under-the-radar stars of another exhibit showcasing their habitat to raise awareness of their plight. Kareiva described the project as a response to what he said was an evolution in the main concerns of large conservation nonprofits. He said these groups used to be focused on the 'organismal' aspect of conservation but for good reason concentrated their attention on broader ecological and policy-focused concepts, leaving zoos and aquariums to essentially be the spokespeople for plants and animals. 'They're so concerned with succeeding at scale,' policy-wise, he said of the organizations, citing the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Kareiva previously served as vice president of science for the Nature Conservancy. 'Politically and strategically, it was probably the savvy move if you're operating at the national level,' he said of the conservation movement. He said the result is that when data are collected, not enough attention is paid to species. The goal of the report card 'is to reinvigorate the species and the organismal part of conservation,' he said. Joe Walston, executive vice president of Wildlife Conservation Society Global, said in a statement that the nonprofit hasn't changed its 'ultimate focus from wildlife and wild places' but explained the rationale behind championing ecosystems. He said dealing with threats such as over-hunting, illegal fishing and deforestation are no longer sufficient to protect wildlife. 'With the extraordinary pressures from climate change, we need to extend our influence and ensure that we are focusing on 'the health of the whole'; the ability to maintain the resilience of these ecosystems that not only protects the wildlife from the local threats, but also ensures their ecosystem remain[s] robust and resilient in the face of the larger pressures,' he said. Sophie Parker, the interim science director for the Nature Conservancy's California chapter, said the nonprofit has a long history of working with zoos and aquariums — including a current collaboration involving the Aquarium of the Pacific — to recover imperiled species. 'We also need to ensure that broader habitats and systems are healthy and connected, so that when we reintroduce species, they can thrive,' she said in a statement. Many, including Kareiva, don't see conservation approaches centered on the ecosystem or the organism as mutually exclusive but complementary. Brendan Cummings, conservation director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said there's an extinction crisis imperiling thousands of species, a dire phenomenon worthy of priority. And the same time, the loss isn't just percentages — it's actual living things. Cummings said that's a separate matter from what resonates with the public — and how to achieve conservation goals. For several years now, he has worked to protect the western Joshua tree, and he said its iconic, beloved status helped get a state law passed to protect it. But those protections also extend to the wider ecosystem — such as the yucca moth. 'If we had waged a campaign on behalf of the yucca moth, I doubt there would have been as much public attention to it as the Joshua tree. But protecting one, protects the other, and acts as an umbrella to protect entire desert ecosystems,' he said. 'So there's many pathways to the shared goal of protecting biodiversity, preventing extinction and, more broad-brushed, protecting nature on a landscape scale.' Beyond prioritizing plants and animals, the report card also is intended to be a practical resource for the public and policymakers. Kareiva said he envisioned students tapping it for papers as well as using the data to underpin a still-conceptual effort to create biodiversity credits. Others involved with the project said it highlighted the power of long-term monitoring efforts — and the need to keep funding them. The list of species under consideration for the report card was roughly double the current 30, and one way it was narrowed down was whether there were data available, said Jennie Dean, vice president of education and conservation at the Aquarium of the Pacific. One species they were interested in but dropped for this reason was leopard sharks, a striking fish adorned with spots and dark ovals stretched in neat rows across its back. She said 'it would be wonderful' if sustained monitoring of the slender sharks happened in the future to shed light on how they're doing. Not doing the monitoring can have consequences. Data points stretched 10 years apart, for example, can leave a gaping knowledge gap. 'There's a substantial chance that something significant could happen that you have been too late to the party to address,' she said.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Mystery' shark pup born at Louisiana aquarium where no males were present
Officials with the Shreveport Aquarium recently announced the unusual birth of a swell shark pup in a tank where only two female sharks were present. Named "Yoko" from the Chumash word "onyoko," meaning "shark," the pup was born on Jan. 3. It hatched out of an egg that was discovered by the aquarium's husbandry team about eight months ago. Aquarium officials noted that the two females that were in the tank with Yoko had not had contact with a male swell shark in more than 3 years. Given that the gestation period of swell sharks is 9-12 months, according to the Aquarium of the Pacific, the math doesn't add up for the newborn swell shark pup. Rather, it means that one of two phenomena occurred, officials said. One involves parthenogenesis, a rare form of reproduction without the need for a male, and the other is delayed fertilization, in which fertilization happens well after sharks have mated. "This situation is incredible and shows the resilience of this species," said Greg Barrick, the curator of Live Animals at Shreveport Aquarium. "We are very excited in the coming months to confirm whether this was indeed a case of parthenogenesis or if it was delayed fertilization. It really proves that life... uh... finds a way." The aquarium will determine what happened when Yoko is large enough for a blood draw, allowing the husbandry team to conduct a DNA analysis on the pup. They noted that sharks born through either parthenogenesis or delayed fertilization tend to "face significant challenges" and live shorter lives. Because of this, Yoko is being closely monitored and kept away from public eyes until it is old enough to move to a larger tank. How To Watch Fox Weather Unlike other sharks that give birth to live young, swell sharks usually release fertilized eggs into the water. Sometimes referred to as "mermaid's purses", the egg cases then attach to features such as rocks or algae, allowing the shark embryo inside to grow and later hatch from the article source: 'Mystery' shark pup born at Louisiana aquarium where no males were present
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hundreds of endangered fish rescued from bodies of water damaged by L.A. fires
Hundreds of endangered fish were removed last week from bodies of water left damaged by the Palisades Fire. A removal of more than 250 endangered southern steelhead trout took place last Thursday at Topanga Creek in a rescue operation led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Fish and Wildlife, with assistance from other agencies including the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, traveled with nets in hand to corral the endangered fish and remove them from Topanga Creek. Officials said the creek's watershed was severely degraded by the Palisades Fire, and it may remain uninhabitable for the species for years. 'Rescuing this genetically unique population of trout needs to happen now,' said Rosi Dagit, principal conservation biologist with the RCDSMM, adding that recent rainfall likely caused even further damaged to the creek's water quality. The trout were transported to the CDFW Fillmore Hatchery in Santa Paula for safekeeping while efforts are made to identify a new habitat. Plans are underway to relocate the trout to a suitable watershed in collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service. Wildlife rescuers and researchers also rescued more than 750 tidewater gobies from the Topanga Lagoon, located downstream from Topanga Creek in an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. The hundreds of freshwater fish have since been transferred to a Heal the Bay holding facility in Santa Monica and the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach for safekeeping. That rescue operation included RCDSMM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and CSU Channel Islands. The gobies will remain in human care for the foreseeable future until significant rain events are able to 'flush out debris left over from the Palisades Fire, and they can be safely returned to the wild,' the Aquarium of the Pacific said. The Palisades and Eaton fires have devastated both human and ecological communities. The fires have destroyed over 12,000 structures and displaced thousands of residents, with extreme weather conditions linked to climate change worsening their impact. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
