Coronavirus: boon and bane for sea turtles

The global pause in the last months has seen an overall resurgence in water and air quality around the world.

It's also a breath of fresh air for marine life.

This has been evident in major ecosystems like River Ganges, where, in some places, the waters have become drinkable again for the first time in two decades [1].

Horseshoe crabs have seen stabilization in its population in Delaware Bay. A precarious respite, it's important though that there's no resurgence in fishing of this dinosaur age relic since its blue blood is crucial to meeting the growing demand for the production of safe coronavirus vaccine [1].

Quieter oceans have also led to the resurgence of 2000 dolphins off the coast of Fujairah in the UAE [2], superpod of 350 sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) off Sri Lanka [3], and more sightings of endangered dugongs (Dugong dugon) off the coast of Thailand [4].

Despite all these good news, giving wildlife time and space to recover can be a double-edged sword for some animals. 

This is the case for sea turtles [5].

Photo of a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchling, Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica,  from Forbes

The logic is that beach closures would be a good thing for these creatures since this would mean less disturbance to them [5]. True enough. This has been the case in one beach in Thailand where 11 leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) nests have been found since November, the highest record in the past two decades. No such nests had been recorded in the last five years. A real boon. [6,7].

On the other side, the pandemic also meant hampering important research and conservation projects [5,8].

In the case of Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN), 300 volunteers are typically enlisted to monitor hundreds of kilometers of beaches in Texas. With the onset of COVID-19, however, only two full-time staff are left to patrol the stretches of beach once a week [5].

This poses a huge threat to the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) since the transfer of their eggs to the hatchling facility is curtailed. Poachers are also likely to steal eggs for income. Beach closures also mean slow response to the threats they are facing [5].

Many turtle conservation groups are also hard hit financially [5,9]. Budgets are usually obtained from volunteer programs which have come to a complete halt due to travel bans [5,10]. Along with this is loss of donations from larger institutions, drying up funding reserves for conservation [5]. This is most critical for projects that have taken decades of work for sea turtle populations to recover [9].

You may click here to know more about sea turtles.

__________

[1] Degnarain, N. (2020, May 16). Six places where oceans, rivers and marine life have rebounded during the coronavirus pandemic.  Forbes. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y8hdjm8p

[2] Haza, R. (2020, April 14). Watch: rare albino Risso's dolphin spotted off Fujairah coast. The National. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/ya6vvkb3

[3] Rodrigo, M. (2020, May 6). Researchers miss out on sperm whale superpod in Sri Lanka amid pandemic. Mongabay. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y8ed449s

[4] The Star. (2020, April 27). Thai oceans see more fish and dugongs amid coronavirus closures. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y73zjl39

[5] Owens, B. (2020, May 6). COVID-19 is not all good for wildlife. Hakai Magazine. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/ycap8owy

[6] Geggel, L. (2020, April 21). Baby leatherback sea turtles thriving due to COVID-19 beach restrictions. Live Science. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y9jwte9d

[7] The Guardian (2020, April 20). Coronavirus lockdown boosts numbers of Thailand's rare sea turtles. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y9z4bdcd

[8] Daffurn, E. (2020, April 27). COVID-19: Good or bad for the ocean? Scuba Diver Life. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/ya2ljun7

[9] Sea Turtle Conservancy (2020, June 1). Sea turtle conservation work in Tortuguero threatened due to COVID-19. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/yamjeg6p

[10] Sunkara, L. (2020, April 29). COVID-19 travel restrictions are further endangering sea turtles. How to help. Forbes. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y9xk2tyj

Celebrating the ocean

Two events to celebrate the ocean and promote awareness.

Photo from event page.

To cap off the Month of the Ocean, celebrated in the Philippines every May, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) and the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) in partnership with Bonifacio High Street and the PaNaGAt Network along with a number of NGOs, partnered to launch the first ever Ocean Festival. Held last 28th of May in Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City, it featured conservation and sustainability talks, exhibits, arts and live music. The activity aimed to raise awareness on issues confronting our ocean today, foster a healthier and more mindful appreciation of the ocean and highlight the connectivity of people and the ocean.

 

Participating agencies and organizations had booths where they had various gimmicks to introduce their advocacy and campaigns to participants. It was also a venue to distribute information and education materials regarding the state of our oceans and fisheries. FishBase Information and Research Group (FIN) participated and distributed species fact sheets and postcards highlighting popular Philippine marine species.

Photo from event page.

The international community celebrate Oceans month every June, and this year a small event: "Be Ocean Wise", was sponsored by Buku-Buku Kafe to promote ocean awareness for people in different walks of life and give them a chance to get involved and take part in various conservation efforts. This event was held last Saturday, 1st of July at Buku-Buku Kafe, SM Southmall. FIN along with Oceana Philippines, Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines, Balyena.org, and Sip PH were invited.

Aside from booths by participating organizations, short talks were also given on ocean awareness: Making the right seafood choice, a step towards healthier oceans (by FIN), Single-use plastic and our oceans (by SIP-PH) and Philippine Rise (by OCEANA Philippines).

A holistic global strategic plan to include Antarctica's biodiversity

The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, developed under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), provides the framework for curbing biodiversity loss by 2020. It consists of five strategic goals interspersed with 20 targets known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets—acting as a flexible framework for addressing national needs, priorities, and progress. 

Biodiversity and conservation state of the Antarctica and Southern Ocean (which cover 10% of the planet's surface), however, has not been evaluated against the Strategic Plan—a clear gap if a holistic global biodiversity assessment is aimed by 2020. Providing an analysis of the region will generate a true representative of the state of global biodiversity; it will also allow the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) to compare conservation progress in the region with that being made globally. 

Scientists led by Steven Chown, together with Sea Around Us Senior Scientist and SeaLifeBase Project Coordinator Maria Lourdes Palomares and others, filled in the gap using empirical evidence, expert knowledge, and general guidelines for conducting biodiversity assessments. 

Fig 1. Progress for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean against the Aichi target elements compared with the Global Biodiversity Outlook 4 (Accessed from Chown_etal2017, PLOS Biology).  

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean biodiversity prospects for 2020 (and beyond to 2050), surprisingly, are at par or similar to those for the rest of the planet.  Still, a lot can be done to improve the state in the region through support from the government, industry, and public, creation of new tools, and an integrated biodiversity strategy and action plan.

Access the full article published in PLOS Biology: http://bit.ly/2t7ns2A

Benham Rise: A Call For Connectivity and Action

Beyond The Journey

Benham Rise, an undersea territory, is located east of Luzon where its shallowest part, Benham Bank, is at least 50 meters deep. Its name originated from the surveyor Andrew Benham who first mapped the region in 1933 [2].

April 12, 2012 marks the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) validating the additional 13-million hectare extended continental shelf (ECS) of Benham Rise as part of the Philippines' continental shelf. Now, our maritime rights on the region stretched from the original 11.4 million hectares (within the 200 nm Exclusive Economic Zone) to 24.4 million hectares, nearly equal to our land expanse - currently at 30 million hectares [1, 2].

What is clear here is that Benham Rise is not considered a part of the Philippine national territory but the country is bestowed "sovereign rights" (less than "sovereignty") over the region, allowing it exclusive and superior authority to explore, develop and utilize its living and non-living resources [4]. 

Map of Benham Rise showing the acquired extended continental shelf (ECS).

It could have been a viewed as swift success. The claim, however, was pursued tenaciously, thanks to over a decade worth of work by a team of public servants, scientists and legal experts. What was once a workshop in 2001 forged the first major successful claim under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) [1].

Recent Glimpse

Last May 2016, Oceana, Earth's NGO solely for marine conservation, joined government scientists from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), University of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy on an expedition in Benham Bank. They did oceanographic, benthic (study of the seabed) and microbiological surveys, and documented large marine life [1].

They were thrilled to discover 100% coral cover in the surveyed area, which, if highly unlikely, is rare in the Philippines. According to Oceana’s Marine Scientist, Marianne Pan Saniano, the bank had crystal clear waters (personal communication, March 23, 2017). Rightfully so, the team reported the bank to hold a diverse, multitude of marine organisms [2].

The Twilight's Promise

The team documented at 50 m depth a huge ‘mesophotic’ or deep-sea reef ecosystem laden with impressive coral cover and associated fauna.

A colony of foliose corals at a minimum depth of 50 meters in Benham Bank. (Oceana / UPLB)

As shallow water reefs continue to degrade, scientists turn their hopes to the mesophotic zone. It’s also called the “twilight zone” as it signifies the transition between brightly lit surface waters and dark, deeper depths. The mesophotic zone (30-150 m) is often deemed as extensions of shallow-water reef ecosystems, dominated by light-dependent corals, sponges and algae [6].

Though widespread and diverse, mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) remain largely unexplored. The good news, though, is that new technologies allow deeper exploration of our oceans.

One hypothesis that incited the interest of studying the mesophotic zone is the ‘deep reef refugia’ hypothesis which underscores its potential for replenishing  or “re-seeding” damaged reef ecosystems [6]. In one study, MCEs, seagrass beds and mangroves are found to likely to provide brood stocks - replenishing and sustaining damaged, heavily exploited nearshore reefs. Such was the case in the spawning aggregations of the red hind grouper (Epinephelus guttatus) which re-seeded shallow waters when it produced larvae in deep waters off US Virgin Islands [10].

Studies in the Indo-Pacific MCEs have also shown the region to hold diverse benthic communities. They also serve as refuge to shallow-water coral reef species experiencing environmental stress like light-enhanced warm water bleaching [9].

Using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), scientists surveyed, at depths of 50 to 65 m, anemonefishes at Viper Reef and Hydrographers Passage in the Great Barrier Reef. The findings show that at least some species of host sea anemones and anemonefishes occur across a wider bathymetric range, stretching from reef flats and slopes into the mesophotic zone. This supports the hypothesis that mesophotic reefs contain many species only thought to be common to shallow-water reef habitats [8].

Over the years, the idea of the zone’s emerging importance has taken momentum. Take Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii where divers used mixed-gas dives. The study revealed that its mesophotic reefs host an unprecedented rate of endemism. At depths of 30 to 90 m, about 46% of reef fishes are endemic, significantly higher than previous shallow water surveys in the area, and almost two-fold higher than in any other tropical region [7].

It is possible to unearth high endemism rates as well in other protected, uncharted mesophotic regions such as that of Benham Rise, suggesting the importance of spreading awareness of its existence. 

MCE research is slowly gathering speed and with its rise, comes the critical need to better understand biodiversity patterns across depths, the connectivity of oceanic regions, and consequently create an  informed, holistic future reef policies and management practices [8, 10].

Bold is Now

Recently, the Philippine Department of National Defense disclosed that Chinese vessels' were spotted in the area, whose unusual movement pattern suggests survey activities rather than merely passing through the region [5].

Aside from this pressing concern, the region is also vulnerable to climate change, urging the Philippine government to assert its rights over the region through biodiversity research, creating a management framework, and consequently declaring Benham Rise as a ‘no-take’ zone [2]. 

We don’t know yet but it might be the last pristine waters we’ll ever lay eyes on. 

Oceana has an online petition urging everyone to declare their support for the protection of Benham Rise. If you are for it, then make your voices heard and put your thoughts into action!

A lone Philippine flag sits in front of a Sarcophyton soft coral at a deepwater reef in Benham Bank. (Oceana / UPLB)

Written by:












_____________________

[1] Batongbacal, J. L. & Carandang, E. P. (2012). Benham Rise: How the Shelf Was Won.  National Mapping and Information Authority (NAMRIA).

[2] OCEANA (2016). Now is the Time to Protect Benham Rise [Press Release]. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2o8NDX9 

[3] Perez, A. (2016). Exploring Philippines' Benham Rise Region for Fisheries Development and Management [PowerPoint slides].

[4] Francisco, K. (2017, March 18). Rappler IQ: Fast facts: What you should know about Benham Rise. Rappler. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2o8Dzxf

[5] Batongbacal, J. (2017, March 14). Opinion: Understanding the issue about Chinese survey vessels in Benham Rise. GMA News Online. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2nfaoU8

[6] Baker, E. K., Puglise, K. A., & Harris, P. T. (Eds.). (2016). Mesophotic coral ecosystems – A lifeboat for coral reefs? The United Nations Environment Programme and GRID-Arendal, Nairobi and Arendal, 98 p. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2oemgrf

[7] Kane, C., Kosaki, R. K., & Wagner, D. (2014). High levels of mesophotic reef fish endemism in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Bulletin of Marine Science, 90(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.5343/bms.2013.1053

[8] Bridge, T., Scott, A., & Steinberg, D. (2011). Abundance and diversity of anemonefishes and their host sea anemones at two mesophotic sites on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Coral Reefs, 31, 1057-1062. doi: 10.1007/s00338-012-0916-x

[9] Bridge, T. C. L., Fabricius, K. E., Bongaerts, P., Wallace, C. C., Muir, P. R., Done, T. J., & Webster, J. M. (2012). Diversity of Scleractinia and Octocorallia in the mesophotic zone of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Coral Reefs, 31, 179-189. doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0828-1

[10] Bridge, T. C. L., Hughes, T. P., Guinotte, J. M., & Bongaerts, P. (2013). Call to protect all coral reefs. Nature Climate Change Volume, 3(6), 528-530. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2nflb0v

Cheaper, faster tool may be used to assess risks posed to dolphin populations by dolphin-watching tourism

Many studies have supported the threats imposed by boat-based tourism on whale and dolphins, especially amidst poorly-enforced or lacking regulations. Tourist boats highly impact cetacean behavior, both in short- and long term aspects. Thus, there is a need to understand the ecological effects of boat-based tourism on cetaceans along with economic sustainability of the industry. Since long-term study of ecological indicators may take 15 years or more to detect, it is impractical and costly. A group of researchers then proposes a cheaper and faster approach on this issue.

To complement ecological data, they used human dimension data (which is more readily available) with insights from Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework to rapidly assess the ecological impact of dolphin-watching tourism to dolphin populations across six developing Asian countries: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. Putting the framework within the context of dolphin-watching  tourism, they identified different indicators: the driver (development potential of dolphin-watching industry) that build pressure (number of tour boats, driving behavior, engine noise, etc.) on the environment, affecting the state (local IUCN status of species), leading to impact (change in population dynamics and habitat use) on ecosystems, hence the need for response (Code of Practice, cap on daily boat trips, alternative livelihoods, etc.).

Since impact can only be measured through large historical data, the indicators of the other four components and relationships among them where used to obtain a proxy, risk, i.e. the risk of a dolphin-watching industry harming, displacing or causing local extinction to a target dolphin population. A relative value of 0 to 5 was assigned for each D-P-S-R indicator: zero risk (0), very low risk (1), low risk (2), medium risk (3), high risk (4) and very high risk (5). Based on the values of pressure, state, and response, they obtained an overall risk indicator of local extinction.

They found high risk to dolphins in India and Indonesia, intermediate risk to Cambodia, and suspected low risk (pending more ecological data) to Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia populations.

Aside from alleviating the main contributing component to the overall risk factor, the study suggests “The introduction of and compliance to a Code of Practice would significantly reduce the pressure on the local dolphin populations.”

The international research team includes scientists from Indonesia (Putu Liza Mustika), Australia (Riccardo Welters, Gerard Edward Ryan - Cambodia, Coralie D’Lima - India), Philippines (Patricia Sorongon-Yap), Thailand (Suwat Jutapruet), and Malaysia (Cindy Peter). 

This paper is now published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

You can access the full paper here: A rapid assessment of wildlife tourism risk posed to cetaceans in Asia.

New publication in PLOS ONE

SeaLifeBase Project Principal Investigator Daniel Pauly and SeaLifeBase Project Coordinator Maria Lourdes Palomares are co-authors in a new publication entitled "Gaining Perspective on What We’ve Lost: The Reliability of Encoded Anecdotes in Historical Ecology", published in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Abstract:

Historical data are essential in fisheries management and conservation, especially for species that suffered significant population declines prior to ecological data collection. Within the field of historical marine ecology, studies have relied on anecdotal evidence, such as written accounts by explorers and interviews of different generations of resource users, to demonstrate the former abundance of certain species and the extent of their ranges. Yet, do we all agree on how these anecdotes are interpreted? This study examines the way that different people interpret anecdotes extracted from historical narratives. We outsource a survey to 50 randomly selected people using Amazon Mechanical Turk (www.mturk.com) and ask them to ‘code’ historical anecdotes based on their perceived abundance of species. We perform intercoder reliability tests to show that people's perceptions of historical anecdotes are generally consistent. The results speak to the reliability of using people's perceptions to acquire quantitative data, and provide novel insights into the use of anecdotal evidence to inform historical ecology.

Read and/or download the rest of the paper here.

Posted by:

Lealde Pacres-Urriquia

Research Assistant

The SeaLifeBase Project