The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: marine wildlife

  • Students dive into oceanic research

    Students dive into oceanic research

    by Nina Hufman

    At Cal Poly Humboldt’s marine lab, graduate students run between the workspaces and laboratories, students stir beakers of brine shrimp instead of cups of coffee, and Percy the giant pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) tugs on the fingers of the lab tech feeding him.

    Photo by Morgan Hancock | Percy the giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini)

    Percy’s isn’t the only interesting face one can see at the lab. Other notable critters include Gaia the red octopus (Octopus rubescens), Eleanor the Wolf Eel (​​Anarrhichthys ocellatus), and Butters the Albino Dungeness Crab (Cancer magister). Sea stars, baby jellyfish, sea urchins, clingfish, nudibranch, sea cucumbers, and anemones are among the lab’s other aquatic residents. There are also rockfish older than most of the people working at the lab.

    “There’s so much potential at this place for doing even more than we are now,” said Lab Director Rick Zechman.

    Although it’s currently closed to the public due to COVID-19, the students and staff of the Telonicher Marine Lab are offering guided virtual tours and virtual educational programs. Cal Poly Humboldt students also have the option to visit and explore the lab in person.

    If they want more experience than a visit will offer, students can sign up for courses in oceanography, fisheries biology, and marine biology, which all include instruction at the marine lab.

    Marine naturalist Jordyn Neal is in charge of tours.

    “Most of my job is public outreach,” Neal said. “I try to inform the public on the fish here, and conservation.”

    Neal gives guided tours of the lab and is in charge of the summer school program. She says that one of her main goals is to bridge the gap of scientific literacy.

    Neal is a fifth year marine biology major who is currently doing shark research outside of her degree. She takes CT scans of shark species living at different depths in the water column and looks at the morphology of their ears. Neal’s focus is on how the depth of the water in which a species lives impacts the structure of its ears.

    Photo by Morgan Hancock | Eleanor the Wolf Eel (​​Anarrhichthys ocellatus)

    The marine lab also hosts a number of grad students doing research projects, including Rose Harman. Harman is currently working on her master’s thesis and grant applications to fund her research. This summer, Harman will be studying habitat usage and predation of leopard sharks in Humboldt Bay.

    “Our new plan is to do field work combined with lab experiments,” Harman said. “One of my goals is to publish my research.”

    Graduate students Marzia Fattori and Kalani Ortiz are doing their research on growing bull kelp in Humboldt Bay. Ortiz’s project is focused on kelp as an agricultural product. She is currently growing the seaweed on string, and will be outplanting it to kelp farms in the bay until it reaches a harvestable size.

    Fattori’s project is focused on conservation. She is growing bull kelp on gravel and on ceramic tiles to see which substrate is more effective. In the second stage of her research, Fattori will grow the bull kelp in warmer water to examine the impact that rising ocean temperatures will have on kelp populations.

    The marine lab has two classrooms, a running seawater system, and access to the Coral Sea, a 90ft research vessel. Lab director Zechman says the lab is situated on an important part of the Pacific coastline, where students can expect a learning experience that is unique to Cal Poly Humboldt.

    “Our intention is to be a different kind of polytechnic,” Zechman said. “How many CSUs have a marine lab and a research vessel?”

  • HSU takes a dive underwater

    HSU takes a dive underwater

    When the coast is right at the fingertips of Humboldt State University Students, some are finding interest in the scientific diving program. This underwater scuba program gives students opportunities to learn about what is in the water around us and take a peaceful and informative dive.

    “The HSU dive program has a phenomenal reputation around the world, so one of the benefits is simply having HSU diver or HSU scientific diver on your resume. It really means something,” said Scientific Diving Instructor Hanna Johnston.

    As one of the very few schools that has scientific diving as a minor, students are given unique opportunities. Johnston calls it the “greatest gift of all” to work with the program again after she had gone through it as an HSU student.

    “The scientific diving program at HSU is a very rare and unique program that I feel very honored for being in, being part of that because it’s like a little family you create,” said alumna Jessica Ramirez who minored in the program and was on the 2020 HSU brochure cover.

    Some of the fan favorite finds are nudibranchs, octopuses, crabs, bioluminescent plankton and bull kelp.

    “The amount of time we get to spend training our divers allows for really honing people skills and making them really highly qualified and comfortable and competent in our pretty dynamic and challenging ocean conditions which means that when they travel the world they can tend to adapt very quickly to whatever environment they are moving to,” said Diving Safety Officer Richard Alvarez.

    The students conduct research through many different programs, including Reef Check California and Marine Protected Area Monitoring Program to see what’s changing, the health of reefs, and what is out there.

    The divers go all over, from Humboldt County to Mendocino and even Catalina Island.

    When COVID-19 hit, the divers had a new challenge. Everything changed according to Johnston, and the instructors spent a whole summer redesigning the program to work with the students.

    “I always feel really really lucky and fortunate to have been able to do face to face in the fall and looking forward to the face to face in the spring because I know every instructor at HSU kind of craves that interpersonal relationship with their students and being able to do that makes all of the COVID precautions well worth it,” said Alvarez.

    Students who have just joined the program know no other, but others see huge changes.

    “It’s so great to see them smiling under their masks every day, or when we see them in person,” Johnston said.

    Ramirez, Johnston, and Alvarez each find their own joy in the program and the community it brings.

    “There’s just little moments of every dive where you find just amazing beauty and interest that it’s hard to catalogue it all but there’s moments of wonder every time,” Alvarez said.

    Ramirez said the program is unlike other classes and schoolwork. It provides a breakaway from stress for students.

    “You are no longer having to do math problems or anything like that,” Ramirez said. “You kinda just forget about that whole part of school and deadlines, like you’re just kinda in the present moment of doing what you’re told to do underwater and it’s very peaceful.”

    Ramirez and Johnston see it as more than classwork, but as a learning community.

    “Whether I’m seeing them doing masked off buddy breathing [pre pandemic] or doing new skills for the first time and seeing that light in their eyes when they complete something, usually with no problem that they didn’t even think they’d attempt, it’s just the most magical feeling,” said Johnston.

    Alvarez says it’s a learning experience for himself and the students.

    “Working with students is just so refreshing and something that there are a lot of things in my brain that I’ve experienced for many many years and you just never know when a student is going to have that same experience but have a different way of affecting them or having a different way of describing it that just unlocks it in a new way for me too,” Alvarez said.

    Students have gone all over the world after being in the program, one even working for NASA.

    “Being adjacent to that and being a part of that journey is really part of the reward for me,” Alvarez said.

    Students have to pass a diving physical and take the prerequisite course, then the courses are available.

    “Every dive is its own unique thing which is what brings me back is that I’m never going to have the same dive even in locations where I’ve done tons of diving,” Alvarez said.

    You can find more information about the program @hsu_diving on Instagram.

  • A Guide to Exploring Humboldt’s Tide Pools

    A Guide to Exploring Humboldt’s Tide Pools

    As the tides of Humboldt County creep up and down our beaches, the ocean takes turns covering and uncovering a small area of coast. This region is called the intertidal zone. It spends some of its time underwater, but it’s exposed to us land-dwellers for exploration when the tides recede far enough. Pools trapped in between rocks stay put as the rest of the ocean leaves them behind. These pools offer a small look at what we’re usually missing beneath the waves.

    There’s some fascinating sea life to find if you know where to look. Classics of ocean exploration like anemones, barnacles, mussels, and sea stars cover the rocks. Sea slugs, scientifically termed ‘Nudibranches,’ are the graceful and colorful pop stars of the tide pools. They slowly dance through fronds of kelp. It can be difficult to suppress the urge to punt the odd football-like gumboot chiton across the tide pools. There are fish so well matched to the bottom of the pools that it often takes movement to spot one.

    • Three Six Armed Stars cling to a rock at Palmer’s Point.
    • A Kelp Crab blends in to a tide pool at Palmer’s Point.
    • An orange sponge hold on to a rock in a tide pool at Palmer’s Point.
    • An Octopus, likely a Red Octopus, peeking out from between rocks at Palmer’s Point.
    • A Nanaimo Horned Dorid creeps across a rock in a tide pool at Palmer’s Point.
    • A Thick-Horned Nudibranch climbs a rock in a tide pool at Palmer’s Point.
    • A While-Lined Dirona slowly makes its way though a tide pool at Palmer’s Point.
    • A Decorator Crab resting on a Giant Green Sea Anemone in a tide pool at Palmer’s Point.

    The best part is that none of the wide variety of animals you’re likely to come across in the tide pools are capable of hurting you. A crab might give you a bit of a pinch if you pick it up. Sharp barnacles on rocks could scrape you up if you fall. The purple urchins that dot the lower intertidal are often blunt-spined and harmless to a shoed explorer. Watch your step, but more for their sake than for yours. Marine mammals like seals and otters sometimes hang out on rocks near tide pools. Approaching marine mammals or interacting with them is illegal, but more for their protection than yours. So long as you don’t eat any of the brightly colored nudibranchs, you’re safe from everything except poor decision making.

    Keeping three points of contact when climbing over slippery rocks will lessen the chance of dramatic falls into cold pools of water. Avoid rock climbing in favor of staying as low as possible to the ground. This prevents falls from being worse than they could be. Stepping on kelp is a one-way-ticket to slipping face-first onto a rock covered in sharp barnacles. Waterproof boots, warm clothing, and a camera that won’t be ruined if you drop it in a tide pool are all good equipment.

    So, with all that in mind, when and where can you go? Luffenholtz Beach and Palmer’s Point are two of the best locations near HSU. Both require climbing up and down stairs set into a cliff. Conditions should be just right for the ideal trip. Small waves, an early low tide, and a low chance of rain are your best bet.

    • Palmer’s Point at low tide.
    • Palmer’s Point at high tide.

    There are usually two low tides and two high tides in one day. You should go early enough for the tide pools to still be cold. The first low tide of the day is the best for seeing cool critters. The closer to dawn, the better. Low tides of 0.3 feet or lower are good bets. Any morning tides into the negatives are worth planning for. Plan your trip to center around the low tide. If you arrive 30 minutes before the low tide and leave 30 minutes after, you’ll get to appreciate all the lowest parts of the tide. You can download a local annual prediction tide table from the NOAA tides and currents website.

    But an early low tide with good weather does not necessarily guarantee a safe outing. Wave size and frequency are important too. The smaller the better, and waves above more than a few feet are enough of a reason to call the trip off. Exposed sites like Luffenholtz require greater caution with wave height. Ideal conditions being somewhere under three feet. Palmer’s point is a bit more sheltered, but waves over five feet are still dangerous. While you’re picking up the tide charts, NOAA also has marine weather forecasts so you can check conditions before you go.

    Now that you’re prepared for the tide pools, make sure the tide pools are ready for you. Each pool is like a little community of critters. Don’t be a Godzilla to the intertidal Tokyo. Never turn over rocks and try to keep your boots from treading too much into the ocean’s domain. Critters in the tide pools have evolved the best disguises to fool predators for eons. You never know what you’re stepping on.

    Instead of stepping in a tide pool, just sit down by one and stare at it. Keep an eye on the ocean and be mindful that the tides will move in eventually. What looks like an empty pool will soon reveal itself to be two nudibranchs, three juvenile rockfish, a kelp crab, and a gumboot chiton you’ll have to resist the urge to pick up and hail mary into the ocean.

    All photos taken at Palmer’s Point and courtesy of Julie and Mike Kelly.

  • The dangers behind marine debris

    The dangers behind marine debris

    Along the coast, you can free your feet in the sand and enjoy the beautiful sounds of the ocean. But enter the water and you, like many marine creatures, may find yourself entangled in fishing gear or waste plastic.

    As many may remember, a whale near Crescent City was found tangled in fishing equipment on shore. Two of HSU’s very own Marine Mammal Program went down to help. Despite efforts, the whale was unable to make it.

    This experience is like many others globally.

    According to NOAA Fisheries’ website, “Entangled animals may drown or starve because they are restricted by fishing gear, or they may suffer physical trauma and infections from the gear cutting into their flesh.”

    The reason this is such a killer? Fishing gear counts for the largest percentage of plastic in the oceans.

    Sea Shepherd Global wrote on their website, “Approximately 46% of the 79 thousand tons of ocean plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of fishing nets, some as large as football fields, according to the study published in March 2018 in Scientific Reports, which shocked the researchers themselves who expected the percentage to be closer to 20%.”

    Ghost nets are nets that have stranded from their boats and continue catching marine life, tangling them and often creating mass bundles of nets.

    On Humboldt State’s Marine Debris webpage, a study they mention called “A Comparison of Plastic and Plankton in the North Pacific Central Gyre” by C.J Moorea, S.L Moorea, M.K Leecaster, and S.B Weisberg, explains that “in the North Pacific Gyre the mass of plastic out-weighted the mass of plankton (small marine organisms) by six times, despite the fact that the number of individual organisms was five times higher than the number of plastic pieces.”

    But it gets worse.

    “The same study found that 98% of plastics found were polypropylene/monofilament line (fishing lines), thin films and unidentified plastic fragments,” The HSU Marine Biology website says.

    “Lost/broken fishing gear such as netting and fishing string can entangle and kill large marine life such as sea turtles, dolphins, sharks, etc.,” Anna Caro, a third-year marine biology major at HSU, said in an email. “Most get trapped and struggle to escape, which usually makes the entanglement worse killing the marine life.”

    This means that while there is a demand for seafood, there is a risk of fishing gear becoming lost and potentially causing harm.

    “Scientists have still struggled to figure out the extent of the microplastics problem. Microplastics are being eaten by marine life and poisoning them, but not only is it terrible for the fish it is terrible for anything eating the fish including humans,” Caro said.

    Caro was able to learn more regarding marine debris through education at HSU in biology seminars and classes.

    Humboldt State also works closely with NOAA Fisheries to keep the oceans healthy and research them. Students can work with the Office of Response and Restoration’s Marine Debris Program to reduce waste and learn how to keep the oceans clean.

    Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator Andrew Mason from NOAA expressed the issues of marine debris, especially fishing gear. Not only is this a marine loss, but an economic loss as well.

    350 species found entangled in marine debris, including all 7 species of sea turtle, 27.4% of seabird, and 39.8% of marine mammals, according to Mason.

    “It’s reaIly only these moments where we have our large sea life that are tangled up and it really brings awareness to the issue… it’s heartbreaking,” Mason said.

    Mason says that the problem itself stems from humans and extends beyond just lost fishing gear.

    “The scope of the issue is global, and for people to understand not just what they do on a boat, but it’s all of the waste we generate,” he said.

    But the issue can be worked on, and hopefully fixed. People can participate in cleaning events, as well as picking up debris if it is safe for them to do so.

    If debris is too large, like a ghost net, you can call the Department of Fish and Wildlife and inform them of the debris so it can be professionally handled. As well, if you find an entangled animal, call for help instead of handling it alone, as you or the animal may get hurt.

    But just picking up trash isn’t enough.

    “Stop use of single-use plastics and find ways to reuse our waste, recycling should not be the first choice since many plastics do not get recycled,” Caro said. It starts with striving for a zero-waste lifestyle and being aware of your waste and trying to find uses for it before trashing it.”

    NOAA also funds grants to clean up the marine debris.

    “Removal is treating a symptom, prevention is treating the root cause,” Mason said.

    For Mason, education is the key, providing people the sources to understand how to properly use fishing equipment as well as giving the general public information about how to discard their waste correctly.

    “The number one best way to address this problem and to help is to prevent these items from ending up in our marine environment,” Mason said.

    Education can teach people who may not live directly in contact with the ocean how they are affecting the ocean.

    “The ocean is key to our way of life and messing with the ecosystem can have unexpected impacts we are not yet fully aware of,” said Caro.

    “Everything is connected,” Mason said. “Everything we do has an impact.”

  • Beached Whale on Samoa Peninsula

    Beached Whale on Samoa Peninsula

    Despite help from wildlife responders, the whale has died

    A humpback whale was found washed ashore on the south end of the Samoa Peninsula early Wednesday morning.

    Eureka resident Berkeley Kijsriopas was on her morning beach walk with her mother and found the whale. It appeared to be wrapped up in a large fish net.

    The pair made a quick call to animal rescuers from HSU’s Marine Wildlife Care Center. Animal rescuers, including HSU’s Dawn Goley, were the first to arrive on the scene, followed by Samoa Peninsula Fire District and the National Oceanic and Aeronautic Administration.

    Humboldt Wildlife Care Center staff rehabilitation Lucinda Adamson was at the scene to help keep people away from the whale as marine biologists worked through an effective plan to cut ties from the whale without harming it.

    • Wildlife responders help the whale keep hydrated while police make sure beachgoers keep their distance. | Photo by Thomas Lal
    • Wildlife responders attempt to help the whale keep hydrated. The longer the whale is out of the water, the lower the chances of survival. | Photo by Thomas Lal
    • The beached whale was found earlier this morning by two Eureka residents on their morning walk. | Photo by Thomas Lal

    Locals gathered with their dogs on leashes and phones in hand as they tried to capture the moment without stressing the whale or the wildlife responders. 

    “Those from NOAA here are working with people from around the country to figure out the best way to help the whale and keep the people safe,” Adamson said. “I’ve just been helping to get gear and people back to keep the whale’s stress down.”

    Earlier today, there seemed to be no serious concerns that the whale may lose its life, but according to Goley and reporting by the Lost Coast Outpost, high tide isn’t until after 8 p.m. tonight and as time passes its chance of survival slims.

    People will continue to work on getting the whale back out to the water as soon as possible, and despite high tide’s timing, there is a chance of the whale floating back out before then.

    “They’ve been cutting some of the lines from him,” Adamson said. “But they’ve been doing a lot of assessments and just trying to get him back out there safely.” 

    Update: The whale has successfully been disentangled, but rescuers are waiting for the tide to rise to ensure he gets back out in the water.

    Update: The whale is still on Samoa beach, but it is alive. Goley remains on the scene, and has been accompanied by sheriff’s deputies and game wardens along with the marine mammal rescuers.

    Update, Thursday 9 p.m.: The whale has died. Goley, along with members of the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center and the NOAA, conducted health assessments, determined the whale wouldn’t make it through yet another night out of the water and decided humane euthanasia was the whale’s best option.