Wildlife
Plus: the sad death of Nakoda and her cubs, the NASA satellites tracking endangered wildlife, the climate challenges facing Atlantic herring, and… sharknados?
The Canadian Arctic has a new resident: Pacific salmon.
A recent study published in Global Change Biology has discovered that climate change is creating new corridors of warm water for Pacific salmon to travel along into the Canadian Arctic. With warmer ice-free conditions persisting in the northwest of Alaska into the summertime, more salmon are migrating through the gates of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.
“You need both gates to be open, which is fascinating in itself,” says Curry Cunningham, an associate professor at UAF’s College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. “If they don’t align in terms of having open, ice-free water, salmon don’t turn that corner.”
For approximately 20 years, subsistence harvesters who target other Arctic species have recorded salmon caught outside their typical range. Chum and sockeye have a higher tolerance for cold temperatures than other salmon, making it particularly easy for them to transition into Arctic waters.
Researchers at UAF predict conditions will allow these sightings to become common as early as the 2040s — a significant cause for concern. As climate change continues to alter their ecosystems, salmon populations may be found in other regions and become increasingly vulnerable.
On June 8, two different vehicle incidents took the lives of Bear 178, famously known as Nakoda, and her two cubs. Both events took place on the Trans-Canada Highway in Yoho National Park.
Nakoda’s cubs were reportedly struck and killed at around 5:15 a.m. while Nakoda herself was injured approximately 12 hours later. The accident took place after Nakoda was startled by a train, causing her to run into traffic. The bear was then seen limping away from the accident.
Nakoda’s GPS collar later sent a mortality signal, indicating that she had been stationary for 24 hours. The wildlife management team soon after confirmed her death.
Nakoda was a rare white grizzly bear who became well-known across social media due to her many roadside visits. But her frequent interactions made her a little too comfortable around humans.
“It is an unfortunate reality that bears that become habituated to people often have negative outcomes,” said Saundi Stevens, a Parks Canada’s wildlife management specialist to CBC News.
Parks Canada had been monitoring Nakoda and her cubs since June 5 in an attempt to prevent them from returning to the highway.
To avoid further incidents, visitors to the park should drive carefully and not stop to view wildlife.
The number of endangered wildlife is so high, even NASA is taking notice. The space agency recently took to Twitter to share how its satellite technology is tracking global warming patterns to identify factors threatening numerous endangered species, including jaguars, tigers and elephants. According to their findings, tigers have lost at least 93 per cent of their historical range, while jaguars and elephants face shrinking territories and increasing levels of deforestation, tourism infrastructure and development.
Despite these challenges, NASA scientists remain hopeful. By making use of NASA’s near-real-time satellite technology — including landsat satellites, moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagers, and visible infrared imaging radiometer suite (VIIRS) — they believe it may be possible to recover 50 percent of the tigers’ land base.
Thanks to NASA’s satellite wildlife conservation efforts, conservation experts can pinpoint the exact locations of endangered animals and determine which areas of their habitat are most critical for their survival, going far beyond the scope of traditional ground surveys. This offers conservationists another tool to combat climate change and shows the immense potential for future space exploration technology in wildlife conservation.
Canada’s recent warmer-than-usual temperatures are seemingly having an effect on herring stocks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Thanks to climate change, our waters are warming and many fish are not for it.
Last year saw 11 of the 12 months with warmer than usual temperatures. Due to the mild and nearly iceless winter, there remains some heat in the gulf, according to Joël Chassé, an oceanographer with Fisheries and Oceans Canada who spoke with CBC.
Areas like the Northumberland Strait are being more affected by this than others. Their shallower waters are more likely to be impacted by air temperatures than the cold water coming in from the Atlantic ocean.
The warmer-than-usual weather has led to a decline in fishing Atlantic herring, said Jacob Burbank, researching in fish ecology with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In October 2023, a significantly warm month for the gulf, fishermen reported difficulty in finding fish in places where they would typically locate the herring.
As herring stocks continue to decline, Burbank’s theory is that the fish are moving to colder, deeper water. But his theory awaits confirmation.
The term “sharkcano” might sound like a made up word or the title to a mediocre film franchise (yes, I’m talking about you, Sharknado 1 through 6!), but according to NASA it’s a very real thing.
In 2022, NASA’s satellite image captured volcanic activity in the area, otherwise known as the Kavachi volcano. The area is located in the Pacific Ocean, among the Solomon Islands and east of New Guinea.
The area was titled “Sharkcano” after a 2015 expedition showed that it was inhabited by two different species of shark. This suggests that large marine animals can tolerate hot and acidic water.
The crater, which was dormant for years, was also home to many other aquatic species. 2016 research showed that the area was occupied by sixgill stingrays, bluefin trevally, jellyfish, snappers and sharks. Gelatinous animals and some smaller fish were also found living within the crater.
According to NASA, the Kavachi volcano is one of the most active submarine volcanoes in the Pacific. Its first recorded active eruption was in 1939, while its most recent active eruptions were in 2007, 2014 and 2022.
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