Field Reports: Humans hinder dolphins

Federal wildlife officials are concerned about the increasing human interaction with spinner dolphins off Hawaii.

“A lot of the things going on out there are going beyond the bounds of responsible wildlife viewing,” said Chris Yates of the National Ocean Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service.

Spinner dolphins feed for much of the night, then come into bays to rest and play during the day. Their rest time is sometimes interrupted by swimmers, kayakers, snorkelers and boats filled with tourists.

Federal authorities are looking into whether more regulations are needed to protect the mammals. NOAA biologist Dave Johnston said there is increasing evidence worldwide that spinners need their rest during the day. If the dolphins do not get their required rest, their behavior and rest cycles may change and possibly affect their reproductive rates, he said.

“We do not want people swimming with dolphins,” Yates said. “These are wild animals and people should not be going out and touching them or playing with them. That’s not good for these animals. It changes their natural behavior … We want wild animals to be wild.”

The Honolulu Advertiser

GLOBAL WARMING

Arctic melt continues

Signs of warming continue in the Arctic with a decline in sea ice, an increase in shrubs growing on the tundra and rising concerns about the Greenland ice sheet.

“There have been regional warming periods before. Now we’re seeing Arctic-wide changes,” said James Overland, an oceanographer at the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle.

For the past five years, it was at least 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above average over the Arctic over the entire year, he said.

The new “State of the Arctic” analysis, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also reports an increase in northward movement of warmer water through the Bering Strait in 2001-2004.

The tundra is becoming greener with the growth of more shrubs, a development causing problems in some areas as herds of reindeer and caribou migrate. The glaciers are continuing to shrink and river discharge into the Arctic Ocean is rising.

Marine creatures in the middle levels of the ocean, such as pollock, seem to do well; those on the surface ice or the sea floor, such as walrus or crabs, are not coping as well.

Associated Press

FISHING

Fish warning illustrated

Montana has printed skeletal drawings of fish as part of the state fishing regulations, to warn people about possible risks from eating their catch.

Each drawing indicates a body of water where people are advised to think twice about eating sport fish.

“It’s mostly about mercury,” said Don Skaar, pollution control biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Mercury can damage the human nervous system. The greatest risk is to the fetuses of pregnant women.

The 2004 regulations book lists 38 bodies of water across the state that have some type of warning about fish consumption. No state waters have a “don’t eat” advisory.

Fish bought in a store or restaurant can contain more mercury than sport fish in Montana, the state Department of Health and Human Services said.

The amount of mercury in fish varies widely among species and among individual fish.

Common fish such as lake trout, northern pike and walleye may contain enough mercury that susceptible people should limit consumption.

Mercury occurs naturally in trace amounts, but is spread widely through coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities.

Associated Press

WILDLIFE

The latest poop on goose waste

New technology may allow peaceful coexistence with Canada geese, whose daily 5-pound poop production has had officials in Seattle and other cities killing them by the thousands.

“It’s basically a carpet sweeper for grass,” said Ed Zylstra, inventor of the patent-pending Goose Goo Gone machine and co-founder of Naturesweep, based in Victoria, British Columbia.

Seattle is the first U.S. municipality to try Naturesweep’s device, a boxy little trailer with rotating bristles. The company is providing a free test run for the city Parks Department, which has an agreement with the Progressive Animal Welfare Society to look into non-lethal means of controlling the problem.

The geese don’t migrate if there’s food year-round, causing problems in urban parks. In addition to lethal removal, geese in the Puget Sound area have been herded by dogs, shipped to rural areas and prevented from multiplying by “addling,” or oiling, their eggs.

Associated Press