Endangered Marine Life of BC

ENDANGERED MARINELIFE OF BC Preservation Through Education NORTHWEST WILDLIFE PRESERVATION SOCIETY

SEA OTTER By 1929, sea otters were virtually extinct in BC waters due to the fur trade, and between 1969 and 1972 89 otters had to be introduced. Eventually, their status was adjusted to ‘threatened’ in 1996 by the Committee of the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada and the BC Wildlife Act. This desperate increase in sea otters has slowed in recent years and there is currently only about 5,000 in BC waters.

HABITAT Smaller groups of sea otters inhabit confined, protected areas such as kelp forests, bays, coastal waters near reefs, and fjords in the north Pacific ocean. They can be found near rocky sea bottoms and also above mud and sand bottoms near shorelines.

Sea otters generally prefer shallow water that is less than 40 m because they find their food on the ocean floor. They can be found on the surface of the water doing activities like eating, playing, grooming, resting, and participating in other social interactions.

Range Generally found in the north Pacific from Japan in the kamatchaka Peninsula along the coast of Siberia and the Aleutian Chain, Alaska and the Pacific Coast in Baja California.

Sea Otters migrate depending on their food. In British Columbia, they are found in the west coast of Vancouver Island and the central coast near Bella Bella.

Diet They have an extensive diet of clams, sea urchins, sea snails, chitons, crab, mussels, abalone, squid, sea star legs, and in specific areas, certain types of fish. They hunt by diving to the ocean floor and feeling until they find their food because they have poor underwater vision. Once dinner is caught, it is served on their belly as they float on their backs. Tools such as rocks are used to crush clams and crabs and other hard shelled food. Every day, they eat 30% of their body weight to maintain a warm enough body temperature in their icy waters.

Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

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Adaptations Because they lack fat insulation, sea otters rely on their very thick fur for warmth, each adult pelt has 100,000 individual hairs per square cm. They have long sparse guard hair and dense, soft under fur. Adults spend about 15 % of their day grooming it by licking and blowing air into it to maintain the insulating layer of air between their skin and the water. A healthy otter’s skin will never get wet because of how dense their fur is. To further prevent heat loss, the otters float on their backs and fold their webbed feet out of water. When trying to lose heat, they will extend their powerful webbed feet under water to increase surface area. Their feet are vulnerable to heat loss, they have adapted heat exchangers to balance the loss. Arteries are surrounded by veins in their legs, so that before warm blood in their arteries reaches their skin, it is cooled by blood in their veins, and thus prevents heat loss.

THREATS Historically, sea otters suffered massive declines from poaching for their fur. More recently overfishing, overharvesting of marine life, entanglement in fishing gear, oil spills and pollution have threatened the survival of this amazing species. Additionally, chemical pollutants and garbage from land run off into the ocean and are found in their food or directly in them, 40% of sea otter deaths in California are due to infectious diseases and parasites. Very high levels of PCBs and PBDEs (toxins) in have been found in sea otters. These toxins can lead to liver, kidney, lung, and eye failures.

Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

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ORCA Listed by Canada as endangered in 2003 under the Species at Risk Act, there exist only 86 southern resident and 300 northern resident orcas in British Columbian waters.

Until 2005 little was known about the life history and biology of the largest member of the family of Delphinidae, but with further longitudinal studies, more can hopefully be discovered.

HABITAT Frequent occurrences are in the Pacific Northwest as well as higher latitudes of the southern ocean, but they appear most abundant in cooler waters, which indicate the significance of their protection in BC. They may be found in open water but usually reside in coastal waters.

Range Orcas are one of the most widely distributed mammals in the world as they inhabit all oceans. In British Columbia, there are three main types; resident, transient and off-shore. The north resident community of orca is most commonly spotted in the northern waters of Vancouver Island and among sheltered inlets along the north and central BC coasts. In winter, they range towards southeast Alaska. Southern residents may be spotted near Victoria and the San Juan Islands in summer and distribute either north to Desolation Sound or south to California in winter months. Orcas do not follow particular migration patterns; their distribution seems to depend on the abundance of food, and may follow the migration patterns of their prey.

Diet Each ecotype of orcas has a specialized diet among the overall 140 species of animals that can make up an orca’s diet. 65% of daylight hours are spent by resident orcas forging for fish, in particular Chinook salmon which make up 95% of their diet. They will also hunt one species of squid and 22 other fish species including rock fish and Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

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pacific halibut. Whereas, transient orcas spend 90% of their daylight hours hunting mostly seals, sea lions, baleen whales, and other dolphin species. The specialized feeding habits of the ecotypes are theorized to prevent competition between them.

Adaptations Due to their streamlined body, they can swim up to 45 km/hr and can cruise at around 13 km/ hr for very long distances. To conserve energy, the orca will often porpoise (break the surface in one continuous motion) rather than swim just under the surface of the water. They will also ride waves and when travelling with young, the mother’s body produces a ‘slip stream’ (a type of hypo dynamic wake) which conserves the energy of the calf and allows them to keep up with their pod. Orcas also have a specialized pattern of black and white referred to as counter-shading, whereby their dorsal (top) surface is black and their ventral (bottom) is white. This provides effective camouflage in certain lighting in the ocean’s water column from above and below.

THREATS Having few natural predators, the main cause for their depletion in population numbers is human activity such as toxic chemicals entering the water, fishing practices which decrease the abundance of their food supply, as well as climate change. By a process called bio-magnification, the marine animals will carry higher levels of man-made chemical toxins as they increase along the food chain, so that the orca will digest these animals with the highest amount of toxins. Bio-accumulation will affect the next generation of orcas as 30-70 % of an orca’s milk is fat that is bound to toxins.

Fishermen have been known to blame orcas for ruining fishing equipment and stealing their catch. There have actually been cases where fishermen have shot orcas.

Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

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NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL Believed to be extinct in the early 19th Century after an excess of fishing for blubber, the northern elephant seal is struggling to increase their population of only about 120,000 individuals. The northern elephant seal is the second largest seal in the world, and has been recognized as endangered by Mexico and by the US, but has yet to be recognized by COSWIC.

HABITAT The seals spend about 9 months in the ocean diving about 330- 1524 m for about 20-30 minutes, taking only short breaks of about 4 minutes. They regularly feed in the open north Pacific ocean up to 8,000 km offshore, and are rarely found on land. When they are found on land, it is usually from December- March on sandy beaches on islands designed for mating.

Range The northern elephant seal is usually found in the northeast Pacific between Mexico and Alaska, and is the only mammal to migrate twice during the year- the first when the winter breeding is over and the second occurs after their summer molt with an interval of 6 months. The seals traverse up to 33,000 kilometres of water annually, which is the longest documented mammal migration. Due to their depleting numbers, the seals are rarely spotted in British Columbian waters.

Diet Their diet includes Pacific whiting, skates, rays, and pelagic red crabs, but on deeper dives they will be rewarded with octopi, squid, ratfish, dogfish, cusp eels, rockfish and even swell sharks! During breeding and molting, the seals will fast on land and will lose up to half of their 2,000 kg body mass. While the adults grow thinner, their pups will have tripled their weight after only a month of weaning!

Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

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Adaptations To dive such remarkable depths, on each of their feet, they have long webbed fingers to propel them through the water. On land their powerful stomach muscles undulate and their small front flippers are used to pull themselves along the land. In frigid waters, their extreme size limits their heat loss. Their thick layers of blubber also retain their heat by insulation and provide buoyancy and a significant energy store for during their fasting periods. Elephant seals also have an incredible oxygen exchange system to allow for deep dives on a single breath. Their lungs are large and efficient.

THREATS The seals are often victims of by-catch as they become entangled in fishing nets, and they are also prone to boat collisions and effected by aquatic pollutants and oil spills.

Overall, the northern elephant seals are considered a success story as their population has recovered after only 100 individuals were documented in 1900. They show the fruitfulness of the conservation of endangered species and raise hopes for other endangered species around the world.

Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

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NORTHERN FUR SEAL The northern fur seal was last recognized by COSEWIC in November 2010 as threatened, as the 2 million documented in 1950 have radically deteriorated to only 650,000 in 2008 in the eastern Pacific. With a disturbing diminishment of 38% in the last 30 years of pup survival, COSEWIC predicts a detrimental depletion of northern fur seals in the near future.

HABITAT Spending more than 300 days foraging for food at sea, the seals are rarely spotted in their alternative habitat of rocky beaches, which are allocated for breeding areas in the summer. Among underwater canyons, seamounts, valleys, and along the continental shelf, higher concentrations of northern fur seals searching for prey are discovered.

The north Pacific Transition zone is a common area for mingling northern fur seals.

Usually solitary travelers, they are often noticed floating on the surface of the sea, however, groups of 20 individuals and the occasional dive for hunting have been recorded.

Range Swimming throughout the northern Pacific ocean, Bering Sea in the spring, Sea of Okhotsk, and Sea of Japan, these wide ranging mammals distribute down to Baja California and up to the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic. At the end of spring, most seals will migrate to the Bering Sea, the largest breeding colony is on Pribilof Islands (which contains half the world’s northern fur seal population). Other breeding locations include Bogoslof Island, Commander Islands, Kuril Island, Robben Islands, and seals have been known to spend time year-around on San Miguel Island. After breeding, the females will leave to the central north Pacific or to California coasts in October. In September, the males will escape to the Aleutian Islands in the north Pacific or remain in the Bering Sea.

Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

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DIET In the summer, Walleye pollock and squid are the seals’ favourites while spending time in the Bering Sea. As secondary choices, the seals will opportunistically feed on sand lance, salmon, capelin, herring, mackerel, anchovy, and hake. During the breeding season, the males lose 20 % of their body weight from fiercely defending their territory onshore. They usually feed at night when their prey will arise closer to the surface, but will also feed during the day if their prey is readily available.

ADAPTATIONS To resist the freezing cold waters, the seals have two thick insulating layers of long visible guard hairs, especially around their mane, and also a dense waterproof under-fur layer. This fur can contain up to 54,000 hairs per square centimeter! Northern fur seal also possess a layer of blubber to keep them warm in the cold oceanic waters. Instead of chewing their food with molars, the seals have developed sharp canines to tear off pieces of their prey and consume them. Decreasing their vulnerability on land, the seals are well adapted for locomotion as they use their fore flippers to pull and their hind flippers to scoot themselves forward. Speedy in the water, their fore flippers are used to propel them while their hind flippers are used to control their direction.

THREATS Historically and presently they are hunted for the fur trade, but are mostly victimized by entanglement in fishing nets and oil spills that render their environments heavily polluted. It is still considered legal for hunters to harvest juvenile male seals and certain females for their fur, and though the decline of their numbers is poorly understood, this is likely a huge factor. Another detriment to their survival is aquatic debris and other forms of pollutants from surface runoff.

Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

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LEATHERBACK SEATURTLE Leatherback sea turtles are considered internationally critically endangered by the Species at Risk Act as their numbers are only a quarter of what they were 20 years ago; only around 30,000 exist today. They are the largest turtle in the world, usually growing up to 2 m and weighing 900 kilograms, and are the oldest of all reptiles having existed on Earth for over 250 million years.

HABITAT Although they are pelagic animals, they are also found in coastal waters, and prefer to be in the boundary between cold and warm waters. Their critical habitats include Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the US west coast. They are one of the world’s deepest diving vertebrates and have been known to dive up to 1,270 m, and remain underwater for up to 2 hours.

Range As the most wide-ranging reptile (some migrate more than 11,000 km a year), the leatherback sea turtle traverses the entire Indian, Pacific, and the northernmost Atlantic ocean basins. Enjoying tropical and temperate environments, the sea turtle can also be found in the Mediterranean Sea. In Canada, they have been sited off the shore of BC, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

While their numbers appear to be gradually approaching stability in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Pacific Ocean off the sands of British Columbia their population is rapidly depleting.

Diet The far off migrations toward the northern Atlantic Ocean are for the pursuit of their main prey-jellyfish. Along the way, the leatherback sea turtles will also feed on the soft, transparent, barrel-shaped bodied, gelatinous, free-swimming marine invertebrates, lacking teeth to chew, they use their upper and lower jaw to grab their food.

Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

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Adaptations To aid in feeding, the entire esophageal tract of the turtle is lined with downward pointing spikes that are theorized to prevent the jellyfish from escaping the mouth and help to shred the jellyfish.

Additionally, unlike other reptiles, the leatherback is able to maintain warm body temperatures in cold waters. This is done by a unique layer of fat that makes up much of their large body size and their swimming and blood flow adjustments. As the only sea turtle with a shell that has linear plates rather than large scutes, their bodies are streamlined so that they are strong and graceful swimmers, and they are equipped with large front flippers. Likely their most useful adaptation, the leatherback sea turtles eliminate waste gases through their skin so they can stay underwater for such long periods of time. Similarly, they ingest sea water and convert this into freshwater by excreting the salt through their skin.

THREATS The prime reason for lowering numbers of leatherbacks is due to their startling death rate during their newborn stage. With a decreasing habitats of remote sandy beach, the newborns that are hatched are often confused by the lights of the city and do not find their way to sea. The eggs are often harvested for food. The lucky survivors of early development will face increasing difficulties in the ocean such as mistaking plastic debris for jellyfish. Annually 11,000 are found in fishing nets and suffocate from entanglement. Although Turtle Excluder Devices have been built into some nets, they are losing popularity because they have been argued to cut down on fisher’s catch size.

Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

720-1190 Melville Street Vancouver BC, V6E 3W1 t 604.568.4907 f 604-568-6152 w www.northwestwildlife.com

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

1

Shoreline clean ups- do not allow any garbage or any

chemical pollutants to enter the aquatic environment.

2

Buy less oil; the greater demand for oil the greater the

likelihood of an oil spill.

3

Try to decrease intake of fish and other marine animals or buy

and consume in a sustainable manner, look for oceanwise.

4

Report sightings of endangered species to support

conservation efforts, in Vancouver you can call Vancaqua at 1-866-472-9663.

5

Support organizations that increase public awareness through education and actively work to conserve habitats and protect wildlife.

PHOTO CREDIT Front cover: “Starfish” by Kristine Krynitzki Page 2: “California Sea Otter” by Mike Baird (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/4665780216/in/photostream/) Page 4: “Orca” by Christopher Michel (https://www.flickr.com/people/cmichel67/) Page 6: “Northern Elephant Seal” by Micheal L. Baird (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72825507@N00/6815159385) Page 8: “Northern Fur Seal and Harem” by M. Boylan (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways/photos/65035) Page 10: “Leatherback Sea Turtle/ Tinglar, USVI” by US Fish and Wildlife (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ usfwssoutheast/5839996547/in/photolist-5uJgui-5uJfrT-5uNwM1-bzYsob-hbCBZ-frNFGp-6Rrfgw-icQQX-7DvH7S-daZkAS9U4vvD-ehpM3C-GUgYx-GUkmG-GUgSj-GUtgw-GUfWv-GUpap-GUchb-GUrA4-4Y28n7-9knv8k-8KRmJT-4cVfYp-5vRPcU5uJ8c4-5uJ7Rt-5uNEcd-5uJey4-5uNDkY-5uJfcn-5uJgdX-GUhxL-GUaHW-GUip7-GUdNs-GUjxJ-GUa7S-GUrrY-GUsEw-9kUVv5GUnSR-oa8oK9-9kqxcq-9knuMn-9kntHk-8fUK7J-3bHXdP-eJ3DDh-8fUK3U)

WORK CITED Page 1-2: http://www.seaotter-sealion.org/seaotter/factsseaotter.html http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/bluske_brit/Habitat.htm http://www.vanaqua.org/learn/aquafacts/otters-and-pinnipeds/sea-otters http://www.defenders.org/sea-otter/threats Page 3-4: http://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-infobooks/killer-whale/conservation-and-research/ http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas/Csas/DocREC/2005/RES2005_045_e.pdf http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1213_051213_killer_whales_2.html Page 5-6: http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/upload/resourcenewsletter_elephantseals.pdf http://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/the-phocid-seals/northern-elephant-seal http://www.racerocks.ca/wp/1984/07/15/marine-mammals-in-british-columbia/ http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/pinnipeds/northernelephantseal.htm Page 7-8: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/pinnipeds/northernfurseal.htm http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Callorhinus_ursinus/ http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct1/searchdetail_e.cfm?id=325&StartRow=2. http://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/sea-lions-and-fur-seals/northern-fur-seal http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/education/marine-mammal-information/pinnipeds/northern-fur-seal/ Page 9-10: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/publications/uww-msm/articles/turtle-tortue-eng.htm http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/leatherback.htm http://wildwhales.org/leatherback-sea-turtle/ http://www.hww.ca/en/species/amphibians-reptiles/leatherback-seaturtle.html http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/leatherback-sea-turtle/

Author: Fennie van der Graaf Designer: Anitra Paris