Sea Notes

The Weird and the Wonderful from the ORCA Eye-in-the-Sea

Imagine if you could eavesdrop on creatures at the depths of the Monterey Canyon without using any light or making your presence known. That’s exactly what the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) is doing, in concert with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), with the ORCA Eye-in-the-Sea, the world’s first deep-sea web cam. The results are astounding and maybe even a little creepy. The most recent deployment, on August 14, involved placing a harbor seal carcass on the seafloor, where it is being enthusiastically consumed by hagfish and the occasional crab and deep-sea sole. (No seal was harmed for the experiment.) You can view this undersea drama day or night on their live feed.

This amazing camera system, developed by ORCA’s Dr. Edith Widder with support from the National Science Foundation, uses stray photons of biological light, aided by an image intensifier, to create video we can see.  Extra illumination is provided by powerful red lights that are invisible to most sea creatures. The goal, according to Dr. Widder, is to “find out what’s happening when no one is looking. We’re being silent witnesses.”

The result is a remarkable flurry of activity. Hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii), also known as slime eels, are known for slithering into dead or dying fishes and eating them from the inside out, using their rasping tongues. In the current live video feed, a seal carcass provides a similarly tempting meal.

Power consumption is a challenge for remote cameras like the ORCA Eye-in-the-Sea, and that’s where MBARI comes in. It developed an undersea cable system, known as the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS), which uses 57 kilometers of cable to power the system at a depth of 900 meters, 24 hours a day. The system can also provide data access to scientists all over the world.

Since the system runs 24 hours a day, an additional challenge has been to cull through the vast footage. To help with this, scientists developed an automated event detection system that identifies and highlights activity each time it occurs, greatly simplifying the editing and viewing process.

But at the moment, it’s not hard to see activity from the ORCA Eye-in-the-Sea—thanks to some very busy hagfish.

White Shark Cafe

Contrary to popular belief, great white sharks, or any shark for that matter, do not spend their entire lives looking for their next meal. A visitor asked me on Friday, why there were still other fish in the exhibit with the ocean's top predator. In other words, why hadn't she eaten everyone?!

Unlike humans, who order dessert even when we're full, wild animals don't snack. They eat when they're hungry, and otherwise do not waste vital energy in chasing down prey. Even a jellyfish can control it's stinging cells to avoid using them when not hunting, and thus not requiring additional energy to generate a replacement.

So, as of today, Monday August 31, our juvenile great white has not yet taken the bait. But yesterday she showed a keen interest on two occasions; coming right over at white shark speed to check it out. In biologist parlance, she "hit it", but didn't eat. But all good signs that she's interested and today's offering may just be what's she's looking for.

Meanwhile, scientists are puzzling over a place in the middle of the Pacific where great whites show up to hang out. Dubbed "the white shark cafe" it turned the "what we know" about white sharks on its head. We had previously considered them to be nearshore beasties. So what are they doing congregating in this open ocean habitat?

Now there's a documentary that looks at the work of this research, and the scientists of the TOPP program - Tagging of Pacific Predators - of which are own white shark research is a part. You can watch the trailer to learn more.

Meanwhile, we'll let you know when our own white shark cafe is open for business! Keep watching the web cam!

Film Friday: From Malibu to Monterey

The new white shark is doing well on exhibit, and the bubble curtain that you'll see in this video is now switched off during our public open hours.

Our husbandry staff are happy with her progress - and she is settling in well. She wasn't tempted by yesterday's food offering, but as she fed often in the net pen, we are not concerned. A fresh, tasty morsel will be dangled in her direction today! We'll let you know how that goes!

For now, here's a video of her arriving on Wednesday in our custom "finnebago"; a 3,000 gallon life-support system, attached to a semi - that transported her from Malibu.

Our husbandry staff, having done this 4 times already, work like a well-oiled machine to get her safely into her temporary home. The dedication of this team to this work, and the field research that this project is part of, is truly admirable. Her safety and well-being is paramount; putting a healthy female shark back in the wild is the goal at all times. This shark must contribute to the future of her kind, while we and our colleagues figure out what their needs are and how we can help protect them and their ocean home.

Future Generations

This image sums up why we do what we do when we bring a white shark to the Aquarium. It is essential to us that visitors have an opportunity to see this magnificent animal, up close and personal, and shift any paradigm they might hold about sharks, and in particular the great white shark.

In 2004, when our first white shark captivated so many, she was also visited by an awestruck Peter Benchley, author of Jaws; the book that became the movie that had some people afraid to take a bath. Benchley later regretted the sensationalism caused. He dedicated the last years of his life to sharing the wonders, and not the fictional horrors of sharks, and to try to ensure that his legacy was shark conservation and not shark vilification.

Today, many shark species stand at a crossroads. Each year, we are losing millions of sharks, many to shark finning. You can take action on our website today to support the Shark Conservation Act of 2009, and bring an end to this practice.

It's a Girl and She's Doing Well!

Our newest arrival is settling in well to her new, temporary home. Our staff are carefully watching her every hour; assessing her swim pattern, speed and how much of the one million gallon space she uses. So far so good!

Once they are happy that she is fully acclimated and relaxed they will turn off the bubble curtain - that for now gives her a visual cue as to where the large public viewing window is.

Meanwhile, you might get a glimpse of the newest great white shark at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on our Outer Bay webcam. Or better yet, if you're in the area, come and say hello! Her pretty toothy smile is waiting to greet you!

Our next big step is feeding. This young girl fed many times in our ocean holding pen. Shortly she will be offered a nice juicy wild Alaska salmon steak. Only the best for our animals - and of course a Seafood Watch "Best Choice" item. Our first female took the first meal offered; others have waited a day or two.

In the wild, sharks feed irregularly. An adult great white shark may have a large meal - say an elephant seal or sea lion - and not need to eat for at least another week. Some speculate for as long as three weeks.

A younger shark, like this one born earlier this year would feed on small fish, and most likely feed on a much more regular basis than their grown-up selves. Later their sharp pointy teeth - suited to small fish meals - will be replaced by larger triangular ones - all the better for chowing down on a blubbery entree!

We'll let you know how she likes her first salmon dinner. Keep tuning in for more!

Our Newest Great White Shark!

Yes, we did it again! For the fifth time since 2004, our Husbandry team has successfully brought a juvenile great white shark from the wild to temporarily reside in the million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She was collected by our team in a purse seine net in waters near Malibu.

As with the white sharks who came before her, we hope she'll be an ambassador for her species in the time she's in our care. We want to encourage more people to learn about the plight of sharks, and be moved to take action to protect them in the wild.

While she's here, she'll also add to our growing understanding about juvenile white sharks' feeding and dietary requirements. With so little known about how young white sharks make a living, and what we need to do to protect them in their natural habitat, all the data we can collect are invaluable.

As part of our Juvenile White Shark Project, we and our research colleagues also tag and track young sharks in the wild -- animals that will never be candidates for exhibit. What we're learning about their migration patterns is adding to the body of scientific knowledge about the life history of white sharks during their early years.

How long will she be with us? We don't know. Three of the earlier sharks were on exhibit for four to six months, the fourth just 11 days. All were successfully returned to the wild. Our number one concern is her health and well-being (and, of course, that of the other animals with whom she will share the water during her stay).

We'll keep you updated through the blog, so you can find out how she's doing. You can also check on her yourself, via our Outer Bay webcam -- or when you visit the Aquarium.

For now, here's what we do know:

Age: She's considered a "young of the year" -- meaning she was born sometime in 2009. It was a live birth, followed shortly by the mother's departure to colder waters and richer feeding grounds! Where? We don't know, but many young white sharks are seen in southern California waters. (Scientists are still trying to figure out where white sharks mate, and where their pups are born.) I don't believe a white shark birth -- or mating for that matter -- has ever been seen by anyone!

Size: She's five-foot, three-inches long and weighs 79.8 pounds. Our first female white shark, who arrived in 2004, gained 100 pounds and one foot in length during her six-month stay. We expect this little girl to have a similar growth rate.

Name: Carcharodon carcharias -- the genus and species name for the great white shark. We don't name any animals that will be returned to the wild.

Keep checking back; we'll share more as we learn it!

Finally, here's a look at what's involved in bringing a white shark to the Aquarium, featuring the animal we brought to Monterey in 2006.

Julie Packard, Ocean Hero

Monterey Bay Aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard has been named one of nine 2009 California Coastal Heroes by Sunset magazine and the California Coastal Commission. She and her fellow honorees are profiled in the September issue of Sunsetand will be honored at the California Coastal Commission's 25th anniversary celebration in San Francisco on September 17.

Here’s what Sunset editor Katie Tamony had to say about her:

“From the day it opened in 1984, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has been the standard by which all other aquariums are measured. Much of its success is due to its extraordinary executive director, Julie Packard, who has steered the organization since its opening.”

Under her leadership, the aquarium has pioneered innovative exhibits and education initiatives, and has evolved into one of the nation’s leading ocean conservation organizations through its Seafood Watch program, its activities on behalf of ocean policy reform, and field research that is throwing new light on the challenges facing sea otters, white sharks and bluefin tuna in the wild.

A graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz with bachelors and masters degrees in biology, she brings a lifelong passion for the natural world to her service with many organizations dedicated to conservation activities. She is a trustee of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and chairs the board of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, a leader in development of new technologies for understanding the deep sea and global ocean. She has also served on the boards of the California Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund.

A member of the Pew Oceans Commission, she serves on the Joint Oceans Commission Initiative that works to implement comprehensive reform of U.S. ocean policy.

Packard was the 1998 recipient of the Audubon Medal for Conservation and the 2004 Ted Danson Ocean Hero Award from Oceana.  Earlier this year, she was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences –- one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies.

She will be honored as a California Coastal Hero along with John Hanke of Google Earth, Linda Sheehan of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, State Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), Serge Dedina of Wildcoast, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, marine scientist Dr. Gary Griggs, and Pierce and Keely Brosnan.

A great honor for Julie, and a nice way for the aquarium to celebrate its 25th anniversary year!

Fishy Physics

Our oceans are not all created equal, though to us they all look the same! Different temperatures, salinity and the amount of nutrients in the water varies widely. Some places teem with life, and others are vast biological deserts.

In the 1950's, the grandson of Charles Darwin proposed that fish and other swimming ocean animals could be responsible for transporting nutrients from deeper waters to shallow; a process scientists refer to as ocean mixing. His idea was not taken forward at the time, but now, in the year we celebrate his grandfather's legacy, two California researchers have found merit in his theory, and have carried out experiments to show it in action.

It all seems rather complicated, but it involved some cooperative jellyfish, a laser and maybe some green dye. But their results indicate that the upward pulsing of a jelly, did indeed transport water upwards- and likely with it, nutrients from colder, deeper water.

This research is now being considered by climate scientists. Nutrients brought from deep water create blooms of phytoplankton in shallow waters - the tiny plants at the base of the ocean food web. These algal blooms can take up excess CO2 in our atmosphere (like the forests of the land) and as the algae is passed through the food web, it takes a parcel of CO2 with it, and returns it to the ocean depths. A process known as carbon sinking. This process is helping the oceans store up to 30% of all the carbon pollution we emit. Without this, our planet would already be much warmer. Once again, thank you oceans!

Fishing for (Climate) Change

With our growing demand for seafood, there's barely a region on earth that we haven't explored and exploited. Except perhaps, for one of the last remaining frontiers, the polar ice-cap of the Arctic. With rising global temperatures, sea ice is thinning and and some species are already moving northward. In the not-too-distant future, some of our favorite dinner plate items may be living in the ice-free waters of the Arctic, and not Alaska or California. Should we go seek them there?

No! Says NOAA - the U.S. governing body for our ocean waters. The new Arctic Fishery Management Plan closes about 150,000 square nautical miles, an area larger than California and five times larger than all our national parks combined. The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council already voted unanimously in favor of the plan, which prevents commercial fishing in U.S. waters north of the Bering Strait, including the Chukchi and Beaufort seas; a favorite feeding ground of the gray whales that pass through Monterey Bay each year.

This is an historic, extremely thoughtful and precautionary decision on the part of the Council and the Administration. The opening of the arctic creates all kind of possibilities for extraction - oils, minerals and fish. Not to mention trade routes for shipping. Some of our last remaining wildnerness will suddenly become accessible. Let's hope that similar decision-making processes will lead to an equally promising outcome.

A Big Day for Otter 451: Part Two

(This is the second in a series about a recently released sea otter pup. Read the first article.)

Karl Mayer of the Sea Otter Research and Conservation program (SORAC) is scanning the bay, looking for a recently released southern sea otter, known only as 451. The otter was abandoned on a Santa Cruz county beach in October 2008, then brought to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to be reared by an exhibit otter named Toola, serving as a surrogate mother.

Out here in the bay, work can be long stretches of boredom punctuated by moments of excitement each time the receiver goes off. Our Zodiac sports a crude, duct-taped pole with what looks like a television antenna on the top. Karl periodically scans the dial for otters with active transmitters. Otters are his life, and he doesn’t need notes to convey the life history of each one. “That’s 339,” he says of one of the beeps. “The first surrogate-reared pup to have offspring of her own.”

With the help of SORAC volunteers, Karl will spend up to 10 hours a day for the next two weeks monitoring his new charge out in the bay. To learn more about their habits, he uses GPS and a small handheld device to record activity every 10 minutes, detailing its location, dives and—hopefully—its feeding habits. 

It’s hard to know what a released otter will do. The best scenario is that he will begin foraging and eating immediately, and stay within the safe confines of the bay. At one point Karl excitedly reports that 451 has got something in his grip. But no luck. “It’s just a clam shell,” he says with a hint of disappointment. If 451 doesn’t summon the instinct to forage and start eating, he’ll need to be recaptured. A young otter has about three days to figure out how to find food “before he runs out of gas,” says Karl. This is why close monitoring is so crucial.

Perhaps the worst scenario is when an otter breaks for the open ocean, where food is scarce and recapture is difficult. “If he goes offshore within the first few days of release, we’ll attempt to recapture him,” says Karl. “For an otter that stranded as a young pup, the open ocean is unfamiliar, and the tendency is for newly released juveniles to swim too far offshore to be able to forage successfully.”

It’s also difficult to locate an otter in open water. When all else fails, Karl gets on his cell phone and summons a plane out of the local airport. The plane is equipped with an antenna and receiver and the pilot knows the frequencies of the various otters in the area. With the pilot’s help, Karl can locate the otter, recapture it and hope for more success next time. 

Fortunately, otter 451 elects to stay in the bay. However, he’s not feeding, and two days later, Karl decides its time to recapture him.

Recapturing a 45-pound sea otter—even one that is weak with hunger—is no easy task. Once, an otter went deep into the recesses of the estuary and got caught in a narrow channel. Karl dutifully headed off into the pickleweed, knee deep in mud, to recapture the otter. By the time he had him, the tide had grounded his small boat. So Karl and the wayward otter sat in the mud for hours, waiting for the seas to rise. All told, it was a 12-hour day. At these times, sea otter conservation—while eminently worthwhile—seems less than romantic.

The good news is that recaptured otters tend to do much better the second time they are released. With this in mind, Karl and the SORAC staff will spend a few weeks “adding fat reserves” to otter 451. He’s confident that the second time will be the charm. If so, it will be another success story in the long saga of rebuilding the threatened southern sea otter population.

Read the next installment...