Animals-2

Bullfrogs in California

Introduction History

Tadpoles 10.2 - 17.1 cm in length

Adults 9 – 20 cm

Introduction History

Diet

Canivore

Eats other invertebrates, small mammals, other amphibians, insects

Introduction History

Behaviour

Aggresive Territorial Nocturnal

Habitat Area

Rana Catesbeiana is found throughout California's open in-land waters

Habitat Area

Lakes Ponds Sloughs Reservoirs Marshes Canals Slow creeks

Why they are an issue

Bullsfrogs caneasily invade otherhabitats due to their broad niche People introducing them across habitatsfor personal gain

Why they are an issue

They quickly consume thefood sources of other species They are responsible forthe decline of many typesof animals such as other frogs, snakes and waterfowl

Leatherback Turtles

By: Daniel Miranda

Leatherback Sea Turtles

• Leatherback Sea Turtles are the world largest

turtles.

• They have a rubbery type of shell instead of

the typical bone shell that their relatives

have.

• Submerging up to 4,200ft and can stay 85

minutes underwater.

Migration of the Migration of the Leatherback’s Leatherback’s

• Researchers say that a Researchers say that a leatherback’s will swim about leatherback’s will swim about 3,700 miles to get food and or 3,700 miles to get food and or breed, taking them breed, taking them approximately 150 days approximately 150 days

• They can be seen swimming in They can be seen swimming in different places; the Pacific, different places; the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic ocean. Indian, Atlantic ocean.

Obstacles

• Leatherback’s are often facing with obstacle when swimming their long distances.

• Many times they are caught by fish hooks when diving deep waters.

• Nets are another obstacle that they are faced with.

• Water currents can impact the turtles direction.

References

(2011). Leatherback Turtle. Signal of Spring. Retrieved from Signal of Spring.

(n.d). Leatherback turtles' mighty swim. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..

(n.d.). Leatherback Sea Turtle. National Geographic. Retrieved from National Geographic.

Mass, T. (2010). Endangered Sea Turtles Face Death by a Thousands Hooks. Treehugger.

Retrieved from Treehugger.

Sylvia, H. (n.d). New study tracks leatherback turtles' epic thousands of miles journey across

S Atlantic. Canadian Press. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

PACIFIC HERRING AND PINK SALMON POPULATION

ALMA GARCIA

ECOL 1

5/17/11

WHAT IS PACIFIC HERRING

• The Pacific herring, Clupea pallasii, is a species of the herring family associated with the Pacific Ocean environment of North America and northeast Asia. This species is a silvery fish with unspined fins and a deeply forked caudal fin. The distribution is widely along the California coast from Baja California north to Alaska and the Bering Sea; in Asia the distribution is south to Japan.

• Clupea pallasii is sometimes considered a keystone species because of its very high productivity and interactions with a large number of predators and prey. Pacific herring spawn in variable seasons, but often in the early part of the year in intertidal and sub-tidal environments, commonly on eelgrass or other submerged vegetation; however, they do not die after spawning, but can breed in successive years. According to government sources, the Pacific herring fishery collapsed in the year 1993, and is slowly recovering to commercial viability in several North American stock areas. The species is named for Peter Simon Pallas, a noted German naturalistic and explorer.

WHAT IS PINK SALMON

• Pink salmon or humpback salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, (from a Russian name for this species gorbuša, горбуша) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. It is the smallest and most abundant of the Pacific salmon.

• In the ocean, pink salmon are bright silver fish. After returning to their spawning stream, their coloring changes to pale grey on the butt with yellowish white belly (although some turn an overall dull green color).

• As with all salmon, in addition to the dorsal fin they also have an adipose fin. The fish is characterized by a white mouth with black gums, no teeth on the tongue, large oval-shaped black spots on the back and v-shaped tail, and an anal fin with 13-17 soft rays. During their spawning migration, males develop a pronounced humped back, hence their nickname "humpies". Pink salmon average 4.8 pounds (2.2 kg) in weight. The maximum recorded size was 30 inches (76 cm) and 15 pounds (6.8 kg).

HISTORY

• The roots of modern fisheries oceanography extend back to the great cod, herring and plaice fisheries of the late 1800s and early 1900s in the North and Baltic Seas.

• Early qualitative observations describe relationships between ocean currents, spawning grounds and nursery areas for commercial species led to ever-more sophisticated concepts about how coastal and shelf ecosystems function to support fish and shell-fish stocks.

A STUDY

• Five years of field, laboratory, and numerical modelling studies demonstrated ecosystem-level mechanisms influencing the mortality of juvenile pink salmon and Pacific herring.

• They found that juvenile herring were subject to substantial starvation losses during a winter period of plankton diminishment, and that predation on juvenile pink salmon was closely linked to the availability of alternative prey for fish and bird predators.

• The further study revealed that juvenile pink salmon and age 0 herring exploit very different portions of the annual production cycle.

Pacific Herring

Pink Salmon

Pink Salmon

Size of Pacific herring at different ages

Age (years) Source and location

• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

• Wa 56.5 90.0 112.5 136.0 155.5 Haist & Stocker (1985), Strait of Georgia

• wb 22.1 66.0 86.7 106.3 130.6 147.9 164.6 180.1 201.4 Spratt(1981), Tomales Bay

• wb 18.5 57.9 75.9 95.6 116.8 130.5 149.8 156.6 - Spratt (1981), San Francisco Bay

• BLC 113.0 164.0 180.0 193.0 207.0 216.0 224.0 231.0 240.0 Spratt(1981), Tomales Bay

• BLC 113.0 161.0 175.0 188.0 200.0 200.0 216.0 219.0 - Spratt (1981),

• San Francisco Bay

• Ld 90.3 153.6 197.9 232.0 255.4 278.4 291.9 - Naumenko (1979), eastern Bering Sea

DEFINITIONS

• aW = mean whole wet weight (g) for males and females combined from Haist and Stocker

• (1985, Table 1).• "W = expected whole wet weight (g); calculated from observed

mean body length (this table)• and lengthheight relationships provided by Spratt (1981):• Tomales Bay W = 0.2125(~10-~B) L ~ - ~ ~ ~ ~• San Francisco Bay W = 0.4278(~10-~B) L ~ - ~ ~ ~ ~ .• b~~ = mean body length; Spratt (1981) measured "body length"

from "the tip of the snout to the• end of the silvery part of the body."• d ~ =me an length; Naumenko (1979) did not mention whether

"length" was measured as standard,• fork, total, or some other measure of fish length.

The Fur Seal

By Erica

FAST FACTS!

Type: MammalDiet: CarnivoreAverage life span in the wild:12 to 30 yearsSize:4 to 10 ft Weight:Up to 700 lbsGroup name:ColonyPredators: Adult fur seals are hunted by orcas and large sharks.Did you know? Mother seals and pups find each other using a familiar call. A study in Alaska found that mothers and offspring were still able to recognize each others' calls even after a separation of four years.

There are four main species of southern fur seals, all smaller than their northern relative. They include the Guadalupe fur seal of Baja California, the South African fur seal, the South American fur seal, and the Australian fur seal.

Australian Fur Seal

Guadalupe fur seal of Baja California

African Fur Seal

South American Fur Seal

Physical appearance? Fur seals have sharp eyesight and keen hearing. They have small ears, unlike the earless or hair seals.Fur seals have the ability to turn their rear limbs forward and move on all fours. Fur seals are generally smaller than sea lions.

 However, their flippers tend to be proportionately longer, their pelage tends to be darker and the vibrissae more prominent. Males are often more than five times heavier than the females, making them among the most sexually dimorphic of all mammal groups.

Although they breathe air, fur seals are most at home in the water and may stay at sea for weeks at a time eating fish, squid, birds, and tiny shrimp-like krill. Fur seals may swim by themselves or gather in small groups.

Mating occurs between June and July on exposed sites such as rock slopes, ledges, pebble beaches and reefs.  Pups are born one year later on the same beach.  In 4 months the pups are able to live independently.

The conservation status of the Fur Seal is very vulnerable.  Fur Seals were commercially hunted for their pelts until the practice was banned in 1966.  But even with that done, the population is still declining and the reasons for the decline of the fur seal species is still unclear. Possible factors could be overfishing, entanglement in fishing gear, climate change, and of course polution.

Predators + Threats-A small number of seals are killed by sharks, particularly White

Pointers who prey on seals. -Killer Whales are known seal eaters but are rarely seen near the

Australian Fur Seal breeding colonies.-Commercial fishing has reduced the seals food sources.-Entanglement with fishing gear (lines, nets and ropes)

-The swallowing of plastic bags, thinking they are a type of translucent squid etc

-Toxic pollution and oil spills

The End.