Posted on 28 November
2010
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia: An international
team of marine biologists has started a
20-day expedition to assess the health of
the marine environment in
part of the Coral Triangle, the world’s
centre of marine biodiversity.
Experts from Malaysia,
the Netherlands and the United States will
participate in the Semporna Marine Ecological
Expedition (SMEE) from 29 November to 19
December 2010 within the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine
Ecoregion in the waters off Semporna, Malaysia,
a global priority conservation area.
The expedition can be
followed on the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity
(NCB) website, www.ncbnaturalis.nl. Real
time updates on new findings as well as
images and short videos will be posted until
preliminary expedition results are announced
at a press conference in Kota Kinabalu on
20 December.
According to WWF, there
is an immediate need to document the amount
of coral and fish diversity in all of Malaysia’s
reefs to clarify how they function within
the Coral Triangle region, which extends
across the tropical marine waters of Indonesia,
Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.
Similar studies have
been conducted across the territorial waters
of many of the nations located in the Coral
Triangle region, yet few have looked at
Malaysia’s 10000km2 Semporna Priority Conservation
Area.
Semporna is unusual
because of its rich mix of reefs, representing
5 major reef types. This unique blend of
habitat types and ecosystems means that
many rare species are found in the area,
some of which also inhabit Indonesia’s nearby
Berau region.
The expedition will
assess the health of Semporna’s marine environment
by examining its fish, coral and invertebrate
populations with a modified version of the
internationally standardized Reef Check
methodology. This includes profiling at
two different depths to take a “snapshot”
of overall reef health and looking for the
best ways to enhance conservation and outreach
efforts to better protect Semporna’s rich
marine resources.
WWF-Malaysia, Universiti
Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Malaya
(UM) and the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity
(NCB) Naturalis have organized the event
Jointly leading the
expedition are Dr. Bert Hoeksema of NCB
Naturalis, Leader of the Biodiversity Team,
and Affendi Yang Amri of UM, Leader of the
Coral Reef Status Team. Other participants
include US-based marine scientists from
Old Dominion University, UMS, as well as
other researchers from the Netherlands,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti
Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Sabah Parks.
The Semporna Marine
Ecological Expedition is made possible in
part by funding from Adessium Foundation.
+ More
WWF applauds new Alaskan
polar bear habitat
Posted on 30 November
2010
The US government has announced that 484,000
square kilometres of sea ice, islands, and
coastline considered important to polar
bears is now designated critical habitat
in Alaska.
The designation does
not create parks or refuges, but it does
mean that federally regulated activities
on designated land get an extra level of
review.
"This will not
do all that is necessary to protect the
bears, but it is part of the solution” says
WWF polar bear specialist Geoff York. “It
would be good to see other polar bear range
states take similar action."
A US government release
lays out what the designation means to in
terms of oil and gas exploration:
"Section 7 of the
ESA [Endangered Species Act] requires federal
agencies to ensure that the activities they
authorize, fund or carry out are not likely
to jeopardize the continued existence of
the species or to destroy or adversely modify
its critical habitat. If a federal action
may affect the polar bear or its critical
habitat, the permitting or action agency
must enter into consultation with the Service.
"Consultation is
a process through which Federal agencies
and the Service jointly work to identify
potential impacts on listed species and
their habitats, and identify ways to implement
these actions consistent with species conservation.
This applies to oil and gas development
activities, as well as any other activity
within the range of the polar bear that
may have an adverse affect on the species."
"As some of the
habitat now designated is in areas of interest
to oil and gas companies, it will be interesting
to see how well this consultation process
works," says York.
"We know that a
chance of a blowout will always exist, and
we know that current management processes,
technology, and response capacity fall short
of being able to effectively contain a spill
in Arctic waters."
The designation of the
habitat also does not address the largest
threat to the species – climate change.
"We urge the US
and all polar bear Range States to incorporate
climate change scenarios into their long
term planning," says York.
"The Arctic is
changing fast and we need to look ahead
and make sure polar bears and other sea
ice dependent species have a place of refuge
as the sea ice, their most important habitat,
melts away."
+ More
Polar bears 'spotted
swimming with cubs on back'
Posted on 30 November
2010
Polar bears have been spotted carrying their
cubs on their backs while they swim through
icy waters, according to an article in UK
online newspaper the Telegraph.
According to the article,
the practice is thought to be the result
of the bears having to swim longer distances
in the sea because of recent reductions
in the arctic summer sea ice.
This claim supports
research conducted by the Norwegian Polar
Institute, which says that travelling on
the mother's back could be vital for the
survival of polar bear cubs during swims
in waters surrounding scattered sea ice,
which is prime seal-hunting territory for
the animals.
Geoff York, WWF's polar
bear conservation coordinator, says this
behaviour by polar bears and their cubs
is likely not new, it has just not been
documented before.
"Cubs travelling
on their mothers' backs in the water is
not a new behaviour related to global climate
change, and will [unfortunately] not likely
help cubs over longer distance swims or
multi day trips, which are linked to global
climate change and have become more common
for polar bears," York explained.
On short trips through
icy seawater, this behaviour, however could
benefit the young polar bears, who have
not built up a sufficient layer of fat to
stop them getting cold if they are swimming
in the sea for a prolonged period of time.
