Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Dr. Dan Thornhill takes a plunge into Gulf waters via the Johnson Sea Link II submarine

When Defender’s marine scientist, Dr. Dan Thornhill, and his colleagues at Auburn University began a three-year study on deep-sea animals in the Gulf of Mexico, they had no idea their research would focus on the impacts from the largest oil spill in U.S. history. It was a rare stroke of luck that in the year before disaster struck, the team had collected data from some of the places that would be most affected by oil. Now, he and his team of researchers are working to process data gathered a mile below the surface before, during and after the spill to see how the exposure to massive amounts of oil and chemical dispersants has impacted animals and ecosystems far below the water’s surface.

The Project

Dan and his colleagues were in pursuit of siboglinid annelids – animals as bizarre as their name would suggest. A group of tube worms found throughout the deep sea, siboglinids do not have a mouth or gut to digest food – in fact they don’t eat at all. Instead, these worms house dense colonies of bacteria within their bodies. The bacteria convert energy from toxic sulfides into sugar, feeding their worm hosts in the process.

Siboglinids (tubeworms) pre-oil disaster

Siboglinids are found in some truly unique and extreme ecosystems, oftentimes a mile or more below the ocean surface. These animals are found at hydrothermal vents, where the heat of the earth reaches the sea floor, and on the skeletons of dead whales scattered throughout the world. In the Gulf of Mexico, siboglinids live at methane seeps – areas where fossil fuels slowly and naturally bubble up through the sediments. As the fossil fuels move through the sediment, microbes change the chemicals into forms useable by these tube worms. The worms and their bacteria actually live off of the by-products of fossil fuels!

The goal of the research was to understand the relationship between siboglinids and their bacteria as well as how deep-sea animals flourish under such extreme conditions. In October of 2009, they surveyed the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico using the submarine the Johnson Sea Link II. Using molecular genetic tools, the team collected samples and examined the unique species. Unseen to most, the deep-sea ecosystems at the bottom of the Gulf are beautiful and fascinating places, rich in biodiversity. In addition to the tube worms, the team found sea fans, crabs, lobsters, dense banks of hard corals, mollusks, brittle starfish and more.

Before the oil spill, deep-sea life was rich and vibrant

After the Spill

When the BP oil disaster began in April 2010, what had started as a basic research project rapidly morphed into a damage assessment. Many of the same locations that Dan and his colleagues visited the previous year were hit by the underwater plume of oil and dispersants from the spill. Although siboglinids live off of the byproducts of fossil fuels, they do not directly interact with oil under normal conditions. It was unknown how methane seep animals might fare in the face of this unprecedented catastrophe.

The team returned to the Gulf during and after the spill to take stock of the impacts of the spill. What they found was devastating – dead, dying, or injured animals covered in an oily brown substance. It was clear these animals were not equipped for such toxic exposure.

Oil-coated deep-sea animals post-disaster. Photo courtesy of Charles Fisher, PSU

Today, the team is trying to determine the extent of what’s been lost and how the surviving animals have responded to the disaster. This work will give us an idea of how these important, but little-known deep-sea ecosystems have coped with the largest oil spill in U.S. history. The outlook is bleak, but only by knowing more can we truly understand how oil disasters impact life far below the waves – and the risks we take when we drill in our waters.

Learn more:

Defenders is committed to helping the Gulf recover from this unprecedented disaster. See what we’re doing, and how you can help.

Read more about Dr. Thornhill and his team from Auburn University and Bowdoin College.

Across the country, wildlife is already feeling the effects of a changing climate. In the Arctic, warming temperatures are melting the sea ice and snow pack that polar bears, arctic foxes and snowshoe hares depend on to find food and raise their young. Off our coasts, ocean acidification threatens coral reefs and the incredible diversity of marine life they support. In the west, increased droughts are drying up the streams and rivers favored by salmon and trout and setting the scene for forest fires in the very places lynx and wolverine call home. In every state, the story is the same: the thermometer is rising, and wildlife is paying the price.

But just because lawmakers in Washington aren’t taking steps to stop climate change doesn’t mean YOU can’t make a difference in your life! In fact, many people are ALREADY making changes to their lifestyles to decrease their carbon footprint.  Are you one of them? Let us know! Make a short video and tell us, in 30 seconds or less, what steps you’re taking to protect wildlife across the country from the harmful impacts of a warming world. And tell us what animal you are doing it for! We’ll feature the videos every Red Hot and Green Friday from Earth Day until the 4^th of July, so you can see how people around the country are taking charge and taking action.

It’s a call to action—this is your country, how are you working to protect it from the threat of climate change?

Whether it’s recycling for red wolves or taking the train for tortoise—every little bit helps. We want to hear from YOU!

Filming your Red Hot and Green video is easy! Just follow the instructions below:

Record the Video

• Fancy equipment not required… If you don’t have a video camera, the video setting on your digital camera or even your cell phone will do. Since you’ll need to post the video to YouTube, check out the file formats it supports before recording.
• Keep it brief—30 seconds or less.
• Show us what you’re doing to help fight climate change.

• Tell us who you are, what you’re doing, and what animal you’re supporting. For example, if you’re drying your laundry on a clothesline instead of using a dryer, you could say:“I’m hanging my clothes on the line for lobsters!”Check out the sample video at right to see what we mean.
• Save the video to your computer hard drive.

Share the Video

• You’ll need a YouTube account to post your video online. If you don’t already have one, sign up here.
• Click the Upload button at the top of the page and then click the Yellow Upload button.
• On the upload page, give your video a title and a description that explains how what you’re doing is helping fight climate change.In the Tags box, make sure you put “Red Hot and Green” so we’ll know how to find your video to add to our playlist. You can add other tags as well to help people find your video through search engines. Use commas to separate terms and put quotation marks around phrases that should be kept together.Select a category from the dropdown box and check the button that says Public in the Privacy section.

  

• Click Save Changes.

That’s it!

Once we’ve reviewed your video*, we’ll add it to our Red Hot and Green playlist and it may even be featured right here on the blog!

If you have any questions, please send an email to redhotandgreen@defenders.org.

* Defenders of Wildlife reserves the right to accept or refuse submissions at our own discretion.

It’s a case of “Free Willy” gone wrong: the escape or – more likely – intentional release of a home aquarium animal into the tropical waters off of Florida has resulted in a potentially devastating explosion of invasive species populations along the U.S. Atlantic coast. The runaway? Lionfish.

Lionfish have become a dangerous invasive species in U.S. waters along the Atlantic

Scientists suspect this slow-moving and venomous fish, native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean and the Red Sea, was first unleashed into Atlantic waters in the 1990′s. Although genetic evidence suggests the original invaders were limited to just a few fish, the remarkable reproductive rate of lionfish (a single female can produce up to two million eggs!) and practical lack of predators have led to an abundance of the species from the Caribbean to Bermuda, even as far north as Long Island, NY!

They may be beautiful, but lionfish are bad for business in Atlantic coral reefs. Invading ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs, lionfish are voracious predators, eating several fish per hour. And they aren’t picky eaters. With a wide variety of fish and crustaceans on their menu, lionfish have the potential to decimate native fish populations. Not to mention they’ve got a mean sting. While not fatal to humans, the venomous fin rays and spines of the lionfish can cause serious injury, including edema, intense pain and necrosis at the site of sting and at least one case of paralysis. (Suffice to say, you wouldn’t want to step on one).

What can we do?

Scientists and wildlife experts are still trying to figure out how to eliminate the lionfish from its unnatural habitat. Ideas include targeting young lionfish or increasing potential predator populations (like tiger and Nassau groupers) to provide natural control. Some people propose eating our way out of the problem, hosting targeted fishing derbies, offering prizes for the most lionfish caught. However, therein lies danger: increased traffic in and around the reefs where lionfish are found increases the risk of damage to the reef and other species.

One sure-fire way to prevent other invasive outbreaks like this is to be a responsible aquarium or pet owner. ALWAYS ask your vendor for assurances that creatures were collected and imported using sustainable and humane practices, and NEVER release animals into the wild. You never know where they may end up!

Learn more:

See other ways the wildlife trade threatens the health of coral reefs.

The invasion is coming! Learn more about invasive species and what they mean for native wildlife.

Coral reefs and their wildlife, like bright orange clownfish, sea anemones and colorful sponges, face threats like climate change and overfishing every day. But there’s a lesser known threat lurking among the waves: international trade in coral reef animals for “ornamental” uses like home and business aquariums, jewelry and household decorations.

Although some coral importers demand responsible stewardship, most do not. As a result, coral reef wildlife sold in the U.S. are typically collected and imported using practices that cause significant environmental harm.

In many cases, people collecting coral wildlife will crush corals, or dump poisons like cyanide, bleach or gasoline into the water to stun fish and other wildlife, making them easier to gather. These practices damage or even destroy corals and other important species that build the reef habitat. Collection also removes ecologically important species, like parasite cleaners and algae grazers, thereby reducing biodiversity.

To make matters worse, up to 40% of animals taken for importation die shortly after they are collected. That means collectors must take even more animals from the reefs, which further increases the damage to the entire ecosystem.

The fate of the Banggai Cardinalfish, a striking yellow and black striped fish with delicate, arching fins, is an example of the tragic consequences of irresponsible harvesting practices. After just six years of collection for ornamental use, the Banggai Cardinalfish population dropped by more than 50%.

Finding a solution:

Defenders is working with other conservation and humane advocates to find solutions to this problem. But YOU can help too! If you plan to buy fish or other wildlife for a home or business aquarium, ask the vendor for assurances that the creatures were collected and imported using sustainable and humane practices.

By improving the way we trade in coral reef wildlife, we can protect the health and unique beauty of coral reef wildlife and ecosystems and make sure they’re here for generations to come.

Learn more:

This week, Defenders’ coral scientist Dr. Dan Thornhill talked with host June Stoyer from The Organic View about how both climate change and the wildlife trade can impact the health of coral reefs.  Click here to download the interview!

Feeling the Heat: Hear Defenders’ board member Jeff Corwin talk about the world’s coral reefs – and how climate change is slowly killing these magnificent hotspots of biodiversity.

Photo courtesy of NOAA

“The ecosystem is our wealth.  If our ecosystem collapses, we have no economy… Ecosystem-
based adaptation is not a choice in Seychelles.”

Those are the words of Ronny Juneau, U.N. and U.S. Ambassador from the Seychelles, the archipelago island country in the Indian Ocean.  Seychelles’ economy is dominated by tourism dependent on pristine beaches and coral reefs, as well as fisheries.  Coral reefs are one of the most threatened ecosystems of the planet facing double threats from CO2 emissions – warming events that bleach corals, and ocean acidification that dissolves corals and prevent the formation of their exoskeleton. Ambassador Juneau was speaking to us in Cancun on ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation to climate change.

Say what? Well, ecosystem-based adaptation is two things really – protecting ecosystems from the impacts of climate change, and restoring and creating more naturally managed systems to protect our communities, infrastructure, health, water and food supply. Ecosystem-based adaptation is also about preventing harm to ecosystems from the actions we take to cope with the impacts of climate change.

One example of this approach is protecting and restoring mangroves in tropical coastal wetlands  - this prevents coastal erosion, helps trap sediment to build up coasts in response to sea level rise and provides a nursery ground for important fishery species. Another is protecting and restoring floodplain wetlands to provide water storage and flood protection instead of building more or higher dikes and dams.

Preventing harm to ecosystems is equally important to prevent the unintended consequences and loss of the services the ecosystems provide to people. For example, converting wetlands to agriculture may seem like  a good idea to expand agricultural production to increase food security.  However, such a move could increase society’s vulnerability to other threats, including loss of flood protection, loss of water quality and loss of wildlife habitat.

Ecosystems are also an incredibly important component to the carbon cycle and to controlling the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.  The world’s land and marine ecosystems absorb a tremendous amount of CO2 that we emit into the atmosphere.  It’s estimated that U.S. forests suck up 10% of our emissions – that’s as much as our cars spew out!  On the flip side, the destruction of forests world-wide, particularly in the tropics, is responsible for up to a fifth of global carbon emissions.  So, we can’t solve climate change without also solving the biodiversity crisis and protecting ecosystems.

Developing ways to facilitate adaptation to the impacts of climate change, particularly for developing countries, is one of the chief issues being negotiated in Cancun during this conference – how much funding needs to be provided to developing countries to assist in adaptation, how that money should be governed and prioritized and how to hold developed countries accountable to their funding commitments.  Very often these are the places that will be hit the hardest by the impacts of climate change, and will be the least equipped to deal with them.

Ensuring that ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation are considered in the development of adaptation plans and programs is vital if we are going to solve the climate crisis and protect lives and livelihoods, and the biodiversity and ecosystems we all ultimately depend on.

Learn more:

Read more from Noah in Cancun this week!

See how climate change is already impacting wildlife across the United States with our interactive map.

Dead and dying corals near the site of the BP oil disaster, courtesy of NOAA

How are coral reefs near ground zero of BP’s oil disaster faring only four months after the capping of the tragic spill? According to a report released by a team of federal researchers, not good. Biologist Charles Fisher said that the team had “discovered a community of coral that has been impacted fairly recently by something very toxic,” according to UPI News. USA Today released photos taken by the researchers’ discovery showing the extent of the damage.

The Wall Street Journal reported that “other researchers said they found sediment on the sea floor several miles from the BP well that was covered in a substance that appeared to be oil.” While it’s not still certain that the BP oil spill caused the damage to the reef, AOL News reports Fisher said “the compelling evidence that [was] collected constitutes a smoking gun.”

A remotely operated vehicle collects samples of damaged coral, courtesy of NOAA

Coral reefs are made up of thousands of tiny animals called invertebrates – animals without a backbone like snails and ants. New corals build their “skeletons” on those of dead corals from earlier generations. This process – the generations and generations of coral colonies – creates the limestone skeletons that form the framework of the beautiful reef. But many stresses can impact reef health: waste water runoff, hazardous material spills, boat strikes, and bleaching due to rising water temperature and climate change are all deadly to coral reefs.

What you can do:

Help protect coral reefs, endangered sea turtles and other marine wildlife from harmful offshore drilling. Urge your senators today to support the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Accountability Act (S. 3663)

Learn more about the threats facing coral reefs from Defenders’ board member Jeff Corwin in our special video “Feeling the Heat.”