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Celebrating Singapore Shores!
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Open electricity market to be extended to rest of Singapore from Q4 2018
Tang See Kit Channel NewsAsia 6 Aug 18;
SINGAPORE: The extension of a fully liberalised power market to the rest of Singapore is set to take place in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing.
At the moment, only 108,000 household and 9,500 business accounts in Jurong have the option to switch to an electricity retailer other than SP Group, under a pilot launch of the Open Electricity Market (OEM) put in place since Apr 1.
Authorities earlier said that a nationwide rollout will take place in the second half of this year.
Noting that this timeline remains on track, Mr Chan said more details will be shared in the coming months.
The information was part of a written response to a parliamentary question filed by Member of Parliament Desmond Choo on Monday (Aug 6) about the Government's plans to further liberalise the energy market.
The progressive introduction of competition into the local power market is one of the steps taken by the Energy Market Authority of Singapore (EMA) to improve price competitiveness here, added Mr Chan.
Given Singapore’s reliance on imported fuel to meet its energy needs, electricity prices in Singapore are largely swayed by movements in the global energy markets. Natural gas accounts for about 95 per cent of local electricity generation.
He said: “EMA has progressively introduced competition into our electricity market since the 1990s, so that companies would strive to be more cost-effective and offer better service in competing for customers.”
For instance, larger businesses have been allowed since 2001 to go shopping for electricity, instead of buying solely from SP Group at the regulated tariff.
The Government is also looking to diversify Singapore’s electricity generation sources so as to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and exposure to volatile global fuel prices.
Mr Chan highlighted initiatives, such as the JTC’s SolarRoof project, as part of a plan to raise solar adoption in Singapore to 350 megawatt peak (MWp) by 2020 and 1 gigawatt peak (GWp) beyond 2020.
Adoption of solar power here has grown from 0.4 MWp in 2008 to around 145 MWp at the end of 2017.
Source: CNA/sk(hm)
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Malaysia: Sabah authorities discover remains of protected wildlife in cooler box
Poliana Ronnie Sidom New Straits Times 6 Aug 18;
BELURAN: The remains of several protected animals were discovered in a four-wheel-drive vehicle during a road block operation by the Sabah Wildlife Department at Jalan Paitan here, yesterday.
The animals comprised two foxes, a python, a deer and a wild boar, all of which were concealed in a cooler box.
District Wildlife officer Hussien Muin said two men, aged 33 and 34, were in the vehicle when it was stopped by the Department’s enforcement team at 6.45am.
“We carried out the road block following a public tip-off on (possible smuggling of protected wildlife).
“We have lodged a police report over the seizure at the Beluran police station,” he said in a statement.
Hussien added that the duo will be investigated under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 for possessing wildlife without a permit.
The operation, which included the Honorary Wildlife Warden team, was led by Wildlife assistant officer Mohd Aznandy.
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Ten ways the planet could tip into 'Hothouse Earth'
Marlowe HOOD AFP Yahoo News 7 Aug 18;
Paris (AFP) - Even if humanity slashes greenhouse gas emissions in line with Paris climate treaty goals, the planet could overwhelm such efforts and irretrievably tip into a hellish 'hothouse' state, top scientists warned Monday.
Under such a scenario, Earth's average temperature would stabilise 4 or 5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, rather than the 1.5 C to 2 C (2.7 or 3.6 Fahrenheit) cap called for in the 196-nation pact.
As it is, the world is struggling to curb the manmade carbon pollution that -- with only one degree Celsius of warming so far -- amplifies the likelihood and intensity of deadly heatwaves, droughts and superstorms.
Simply put, climate change continues to outpace the transition to a green, clean global economy.
But that challenge will become exponentially more difficult if Earth itself gets into the act, the researchers reported in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
- Tipping points -
No less than ten distinct facets of what scientists call the Earth System could switch from neutral or helpful to harmful, eventually dumping more CO2 and methane into the atmosphere than all human activity combined.
Most have temperature "tipping points" beyond which the release of these planet-warming gases would be irreversible, at least on a human time scale.
"The feedback process becomes self-perpetuating after a critical threshold is crossed," the study said.
"The Earth System may be approaching a planetary threshold that could lock in a continuing, rapid pathway towards much hotter conditions -- Hothouse Earth."
- Weakened carbon 'sinks' -
Earth's forests and oceans have together absorbed more than half of carbon pollution over the last several decades, even as those emissions grew.
But forests are shrinking, and oceans are showing signs of CO2 saturation, according to recent studies.
These carbon sponges or 'sinks', in other words, may be weakening.
- (Not so) permafrost -
Methane and CO2 trapped in the increasingly misnamed permafrost of Russia, Canada and northern Europe is roughly equivalent to 15 years of emissions at today's levels.
The release of these gases -- negligible so far -- would speed global warming and, in effect, hasten their own escape, what scientists call positive feedback.
Similarly, rock-like formations in shallow ocean waters called methane hydrates -- prime suspects for episodes of rapid global warming millions of years ago -- are also vulnerable to global warming, but at what threshold remains unknown.
- Forest 'dieback' -
Global warming of 3 C could condemn 40 percent of the Amazon forests to dieback, a process that would reach well into the next century, according to recent research.
Accidental or land-clearing fires -- not accounted for in these models -- could hasten this destruction.
In Canada, forests that gained CO2-absorbing biomass for most of the 20th century began to lose it around 1970, due mainly to climate-related insect infestations and fires.
Taken together, these forest dieoffs would release billions of tons of carbon into the air.
- Less snow = more heat -
Dramatically shrinking polar sea ice, especially in the Arctic, means the deep blue ocean water that takes its place absorbs as much of the Sun's radiative force -- about 80 percent -- as was reflected back into space by snow's mirror-like surface.
The Arctic's will likely see its first ice-free summer before mid-century, and -- in a 2C world -- could be that way one-in-four years.
Over the last four decades, minimum sea ice extent has dropped by about 40 percent.
- Ice sheets, sea level -
Experts disagree on how much global warming it will take to condemn the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets and how quickly they would melt, but all agree that such a tipping point exists, with estimates ranging from 1 C to 3 C.
The consequences for humankind would be catastrophic: Two-thirds of the world's megacities are less than 10 metres about sea level, and is much of the agricultural land that feeds them.
Together, West Antarctica's and Greenland's frozen reservoirs would lift ocean by 13 metres.
Another 12 metres of potential sea level rise is locked in parts of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet that are far more susceptible to climate change than once thought.
- Cascading dominoes -
All of these processes are interconnected, the authors note, and the collapse of one could trigger another.
"The risk of tipping cascades could be significant at a 2 C temperature rise, and could increase sharply beyond that point."
"This cascade of events may tip the entire Earth system into a new mode of operation," said co-author Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The "carrying capacity" of a 4 C or 5 C degree world, he has said previously, could drop to a billion people.
Climate change: 'Hothouse Earth' risks even if CO2 emissions slashed
Matt McGrath BBC 7 Aug 18;
It may sound like the title of a low budget sci-fi movie, but for planetary scientists, "Hothouse Earth" is a deadly serious concept.
Researchers believe we could soon cross a threshold leading to boiling hot temperatures and towering seas in the centuries to come.
Even if countries succeed in meeting their CO2 targets, we could still lurch on to this "irreversible pathway".
Their study shows it could happen if global temperatures rise by 2C.
An international team of climate researchers, writing in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, says the warming expected in the next few decades could turn some of the Earth's natural forces - that currently protect us - into our enemies.
Each year the Earth's forests, oceans and land soak up about 4.5 billion tonnes of carbon that would otherwise end up in our atmosphere adding to temperatures.
But as the world experiences warming, these carbon sinks could become sources of carbon and make the problems of climate change significantly worse.
So whether it is the permafrost in northern latitudes that now holds millions of tonnes of warming gases, or the Amazon rainforest, the fear is that the closer we get to 2 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels, the greater the chances that these natural allies will spew out more carbon than they currently now take in.
Back in 2015, governments of the world committed themselves to keeping temperature rises well below 2 degrees, and to strive to keep them under 1.5. According to the authors, the current plans to cut carbon may not be enough if their analysis is correct.
"What we are saying is that when we reach 2 degrees of warming, we may be at a point where we hand over the control mechanism to Planet Earth herself," co-author Prof Johan Rockström, from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, told BBC News.
"We are the ones in control right now, but once we go past 2 degrees, we see that the Earth system tips over from being a friend to a foe. We totally hand over our fate to an Earth system that starts rolling out of equilibrium."
Currently, global temperatures have risen about 1 degree above pre-industrial levels and they are rising by around 0.17C per decade.
In their new study the authors looked at 10 natural systems, which they term "feedback processes".
Right now, these help humanity to avoid the worst impacts of carbon and temperature rises, and include forests, Arctic sea-ice, and methane hydrates on the ocean floor.
The worry is that if one of these systems tips over and starts pushing large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, the rest could follow like a row of dominoes.
What exactly is a Hothouse Earth scenario?
In short, it's not good.
According to the research paper, crossing into a Hothouse Earth period would see a higher global temperature than at any time in the past 1.2 million years.
The climate might stabilise with 4-5 degrees C of warming above the pre-industrial age. Thanks to the melting of ice sheets, the seas could be 10-60 metres higher than now.
Essentially, this would mean that some parts of the Earth would become uninhabitable.
The impacts would be "massive, sometimes abrupt and undoubtedly disruptive," say the authors.
The only upside, if you can call it that, is that the worst impacts may not be felt for a century or two. The downside is that we wouldn't really be able to do anything about it, once it starts.
Are the current heatwaves in the UK and Europe evidence of a Hothouse Earth?
The authors say the extreme weather events we are seeing right now around the world cannot be immediately associated with the risk of passing 2 degrees C.
However, they argue that it may be evidence that the Earth is more sensitive to warming than previously thought.
"One should learn from these extreme events and take these as a piece of evidence that we should be even more cautious," said Prof Rockström.
"It may support the conclusion that if this can happen at one degree, then we should at least not be surprised or too dismissive of conclusions that things can happen more abruptly than we previously thought."
Surely we've known about these risks before?
What these authors are saying is that up to now, we've underestimated the power and sensitivity of natural systems.
People have been thinking that climate change would be a global emergency for everyone if temperatures rose 3-4 degrees by the end of this century.
But this paper argues that beyond 2 degrees, there is a significant risk of turning natural systems - that presently help keep temperatures down - into massive sources of carbon that would put us on an "irreversible pathway" to a world that is 4-5 degrees warmer than before the industrial revolution.
Any good news here at all?
Surprisingly, yes!
We can avoid the hothouse scenario but it's going to take a fundamental re-adjustment of our relationship with the planet.
"Climate and other global changes show us that we humans are impacting the Earth system at the global level. This means that we as a global community can also manage our relationship with the system to influence future planetary conditions.
"This study identifies some of the levers that can be used to do so," says co-author Katherine Richardson from the University of Copenhagen.
So not only are we going to have to stop burning fossil fuels by the middle of this century, we are going to have to get very busy with planting trees, protecting forests, working out how to block the Sun's rays and developing machines to suck carbon out of the air.
Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as in this model, will be necessary, say the authors
The authors say a total re-orientation of human values, equity, behaviour and technologies is required. We must all become stewards of the Earth.
What do other scientists say?
Some say the authors of this paper are too extreme. Many others say their conclusions are sound.
"As a result of human impacts on climate, the new paper argues that we've gone beyond any chance of the Earth cooling 'of its own accord'," said Dr Phil Williamson from the University of East Anglia, UK.
"Together these effects could add an extra half a degree Celsius by the end of the century to the warming that we are directly responsible for ‒ thereby crossing thresholds and tipping points that seem likely to occur around 2 degrees C, and committing the planet to irreversible further change, as Hothouse Earth."
Others are concerned that the authors' faith in humanity to grasp the serious nature of the problem is misplaced.
"Given the evidence of human history, this would seem a naive hope," said Prof Chris Rapley, from University College London.
"At a time of the widespread rise of right-wing populism, with its associated rejection of the messages of those perceived as 'cosmopolitan elites' and specific denial of climate change as an issue, the likelihood that the combination of factors necessary to allow humanity to navigate the planet to an acceptable 'intermediate state' must surely be close to zero."
Domino-effect of climate events could push Earth into a ‘hothouse’ state
Leading scientists warn that passing such a point would make efforts to reduce emissions increasingly futile
Jonathan Watts The Guardian 6 Aug 18;
A domino-like cascade of melting ice, warming seas, shifting currents and dying forests could tilt the Earth into a “hothouse” state beyond which human efforts to reduce emissions will be increasingly futile, a group of leading climate scientists has warned.
This grim prospect is sketched out in a journal paper that considers the combined consequences of 10 climate change processes, including the release of methane trapped in Siberian permafrost and the impact of melting ice in Greenland on the Antarctic.
The authors of the essay, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, stress their analysis is not conclusive, but warn the Paris commitment to keep warming at 2C above pre-industrial levels may not be enough to “park” the planet’s climate at a stable temperature.
They warn that the hothouse trajectory “would almost certainly flood deltaic environments, increase the risk of damage from coastal storms, and eliminate coral reefs (and all of the benefits that they provide for societies) by the end of this century or earlier.”
“I do hope we are wrong, but as scientists we have a responsibility to explore whether this is real,” said Johan Rockström, executive director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre. “We need to know now. It’s so urgent. This is one of the most existential questions in science.”
Rockström and his co-authors are among the world’s leading authorities on positive feedback loops, by which warming temperatures release new sources of greenhouse gases or destroy the Earth’s ability to absorb carbon or reflect heat.
Their new paper asks whether the planet’s temperature can stabilise at 2C or whether it will gravitate towards a more extreme state. The authors attempt to assess whether warming can be halted or whether it will tip towards a “hothouse” world that is 4C warmer than pre-industrial times and far less supportive of human life.
Katherine Richardson from the University of Copenhagen, one of the authors, said the paper showed that climate action was not just a case of turning the knob on emissions, but of understanding how various factors interact at a global level.
“We note that the Earth has never in its history had a quasi-stable state that is around 2C warmer than the preindustrial and suggest that there is substantial risk that the system, itself, will ‘want’ to continue warming because of all of these other processes – even if we stop emissions,” she said. “This implies not only reducing emissions but much more.”
New feedback loops are still being discovered. A separate paper published in PNAS reveals that increased rainfall – a symptom of climate change in some regions - is making it harder for forest soils to trap greenhouse gases such as methane.
Previous studies have shown that weakening carbon sinks will add 0.25C, forest dieback will add 0.11C, permafrost thaw will add 0.9C and increased bacterial respiration will add 0.02C. The authors of the new paper also look at the loss of methane hydrates from the ocean floor and the reduction of snow and ice cover at the poles.
Rockström says there are huge gaps in data and knowledge about how one process might amplify another. Contrary to the Gaia theory, which suggests the Earth has a self-righting tendency, he says the feedbacks could push the planet to a more extreme state.
As an example, the authors say the loss of Greenland ice could disrupt the Gulf Stream ocean current, which would raise sea levels and accumulate heat in the Southern Ocean, which would in turn accelerate ice loss from the east Antarctic. Concerns about this possibility were heightened earlier this year by reports that the Gulf Stream was at its weakest level in 1,600 years.
Currently, global average temperatures are just over 1C above pre-industrial levels and rising at 0.17C per decade. The Paris climate agreement set actions to keep warming limited to 1.5C-2C by the end of the century, but the authors warn more drastic action may be necessary.
“The heatwave we now have in Europe is not something that was expected with just 1C of warming,” Rockström said. “Several positive feedback loops are already in operation, but they are still weak. We need studies to show when they might cause a runaway effect.
Another climate scientist – who was not involved in the paper – emphasised the document aimed to raise questions rather than prove a theory. “It’s rather selective, but not outlandish,” said Prof Martin Siegert, co-director of the Grantham Institute. “Threshold and tipping points have been discussed previously, but to state that 2C is a threshold we can’t pull back from is new, I think. I’m not sure what ‘evidence’ there is for this – or indeed whether there can be until we experience it.”
Rockström said the question needed asking. “We could end up delivering the Paris agreement and keep to 2C of warming, but then face an ugly surprise if the system starts to slip away,” he said. “We don’t say this will definitely happen. We just list all the disruptive events and come up with plausible occurrences … 50 years ago, this would be dismissed as alarmist, but now scientists have become really worried.”
“In the context of the summer of 2018, this is definitely not a case of crying wolf, raising a false alarm: the wolves are now in sight,” said Dr Phil Williamson, a climate researcher at the University of East Anglia. “The authors argue that we need to be much more proactive in that regard, not just ending greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible, but also building resilience in the context of complex Earth system processes that we might not fully understand until it is too late.”
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Best of our wild blogs: 6 Aug 18
25 Aug (Sat): Lepak with the Marine Community
Celebrating Singapore Shores!
17 Sep (Mon): Talk on "What Treasures Lie in Singapore Waters?"
Celebrating Singapore Shores!
Butterfly Survey @ Zoo
Butterflies of Singapore
Printing, Paperwork, Pulau Ubin Outing
Wan's Ubin Journal
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Indonesia: 100 tons of fish killed in in C. Java lake fish farms
Ganug Nugroho Adi The Jakarta Post 5 Aug 18;
Over 100 tons of red and gold Nile tilapia fish being farmed in karamba (bamboo cages) in Kedung Ombo Dam, Boyolali, Central Java, have died over the past week, reportedly as a result of ammonia pollution, with a financial loss totaling Rp 2 billion (US$138,160).
“Over 100 tons of fish from hatchlings to adult fish have been killed,” fish farmer Budi Siswanto said on Sunday, noting that the fish were worth Rp 20,000 per kilogram.
The fish began to die on Wednesday, Budi said, adding that he suspected that the long drought had caused the ammonia, which was piled up from the residue of fish pellets at the bottom of the dam, to surface and pollute the water.
Wonoharjo village head Gunadi said that the farmers faced devastating losses.
“Most of the fish were ready for harvest,” he said.
Boyolali Livestock and Fishery Agency production division head Deviet Nurmaryani said the fish died as a result of “upwelling”, a vertical motion of water caused by temperature changes between the surface and the bottom of the water. The signs of upwelling are weather change, water clarity and a significant reduction in water temperature.
“Farmers must be aware of fish behavior, natural phenomena and water quality. If there are many wild fish swimming to the surface, that’s a sign that upwelling is occurring,” Diviet said.
According to Kardiyo, a fish farmer, the farmers had tried to oxygenate the water but still failed to save the fish. (stu/swd)
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Indonesia: Deadly magnitude-7 quake rocks Lombok
Tsunami warning issued after tremors shake popular tourist destination
Harriet Agerholm The Independent 5 Aug 18;
At least 82 people were killed when a powerful earthquake has struck the Indonesian island of Lombok, near Bali, killing at least three people.
The earthquake, which struck early on Sunday evening, prompted local authorities to issue a tsunami warning although the alert was later lifted.
It comes just days after another quake killed at least 16 people in the popular tourist destination.
Video showed screaming people running in panic from houses in a Bali neighbourhood and vehicles rocking. On Lombok, soldiers and other rescuers carried injured people on stretchers and carpets to an evacuation centre.
The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics said the latest 7-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 15km (9.3 miles) on Sunday evening.
Najmul Akhyar, district chief of north Lombok, told MetroTV three people had been killed, although he was unable to assess the whole situation due to an electrical blackout.
Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the quake was felt strongly across Lombok and Bali and had damaged houses on both islands.
The quake was felt for several seconds in Bali, where people ran out of houses, hotels and restaurants.
“All the hotel guests were running so I did too. People filled the streets,” said Michelle Lindsay, an Australian tourist.
“A lot of officials were urging people not to panic.”
Other witnesses said the quake got stronger over several seconds and rattled windows and doors in their frames.
Video captured by local stations showed patients being evacuated from a hospital in the island’s Tabanan district.
Twitter user Brad Palmer said in a post: “Not everyday you feel a level 7 earthquake hit. Currently in Bali and was sat in restaurant and suddenly the whole place started shaking and everyone fled to the streets, very scary experience.
“Have read it’s hit Lombok hard again so I hope anyone over there keeps safe.”
Another social media user, Daniel Nepstad, said: “The tsunami warning just ended here in Bali. Our children, Astrid, 5, Hendrik, 21 [months], bewildered and frightened by violent shaking, are back asleep from 7.0 earthquake in Lombok, 73 miles away.
“The sea lies 150 metres away from our house. Our bags are packed, and will remain so.”
Iwan Asmara, from the local disaster mitigation agency, said people poured out of their houses in panic and moved to higher ground, particularly in Mataram and north Lombok.
Take That singer Garry Barlow was reportedly in Lombok, while model Chrissy Teigen was on Bali, when the earthquake hit. They both reported being safe.
The United States Geological Service (USGS) said the epicentre was 2km east-southeast of Loloan, with a depth of 10.5km (6 miles).
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
Associated Press contributed to this report
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Malaysia: MNS Johor approves of shoot-on-sight policy
mohd farhaan shah The Star 3 Aug 18;
JOHOR BARU: Drastic action like having a shoot-on-sight policy against poachers will help save and protect Malaysian wildlife, said Malaysian Nature Society Johor chairman Vincent Chow.
Chow said Malaysia had long been involved in a war against poachers.
He said this in support of Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar’s announcement that he was seriously considering bringing a shoot-on-sight policy on wildlife poachers for the Cabinet’s deliberation.
“These poachers come from countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia and they are here just to hunt down our animals such as tigers, elephants as well as for agarwood, because they are very lucrative in the black market.
“The poachers will usually work in a group of five where at least two or three of them are normally armed. They are very dangerous,” he said when contacted by StarMetro.
Chow noted that these poachers would usually spend months in the Malaysian jungles until they were able to obtain what they wanted in their hunt.
He said the poachers would build their own camps to familiarise themselves with the Malaysian jungles to make it easier for them to hunt the animals.
“They will carry specific weapons for the different animals targeted, and they will resort to anything including attacking officers from the Malaysian authorities if they come across them in the jungle,” he said.
He said Malaysia needed strict action in its fight against poachers, having such policy would reduce the threat of poachers and send a strong warning to others.
In earlier reports, Dr Xavier said he would instruct ministry officials to immediately have a meeting between the army, police, Perhilitan as well as the Maybank Foundation and WWF Malaysia to see what could be done collaboratively.
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Malaysia: No farm workers affected by bird flu - Sabah minister
Olivia Miwil New Straits Times 4 Aug 18;
TUARAN: None of the workers at a chicken farm here are showing any signs of being affected by the bird flu virus, Sabah Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Junz Wong said today.
On Tuesday, the chicken farm was found positive for avian influenza (bird flu) and the district was declared as a bird flu epidemic area.
“Health personnel had gone to the farm, where the bird flu virus was first detected, to conduct checks on the workers.
“For now, there are no signs and symptoms of them affected by the disease.
"However, the team will continue to check including the village within a kilometre radius of the farm,” he said, adding that 471 villagers within the vicinity are still being monitored for possible infection.
Junz was speaking to reporters during a visit to a newly established district operation centre established to monitor the bird flu incidence.
He added that culling operations, involving two farms with 10,000 and 18,000 birds respectively, have started today and will continue tomorrow.
“Compensation (to farm owners) will come later. What is important is to contain the disease.
On Tuesday, the chicken farm was found positive for avian influenza (bird flu) and the district was declared as a bird flu epidemic area. Pic by STR/LANO LAN
“We are still trying to find out and determine how the virus got into the state,” he said, adding the ministry is hoping to declare the district free from the virus within two months.
Meanwhile, a check by NSTP at the district also showed that the department had been conducting inspections on vehicles coming out of the affected area at Kampung Kauluan Kiulu near here.
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A red tide ravaging Florida may have killed a whale shark for the first known time
Kate Furby Washington Post 3 Aug 18;
In late July, a whale shark washed up dead at Sanibel Island in Florida. The young adult male shark was 26 feet long and floating in the surf zone as soft waves lapped around its body.
Abby Jakoplic-Arnold, on vacation from Kansas City, Mo., happened to be on the beach when the shark was being removed. “At first we didn’t know if it was dead,” she recalled. “But it became pretty obvious when they flipped it over and blood was coming out of its gills.”
A biologist from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sampled the shark's muscle, liver, intestines and stomach contents. The muscles and organs tested positive for brevetoxin, a neurotoxin created by a harmful algae called Karenia brevis. This is the first time the commission has had an opportunity to sample whale shark tissue for this toxin.
Scientists cannot be certain about the exact cause of the whale shark's death, but the timing and location implicate the harmful algal bloom, or “red tide,” as the most likely cause. “This whale shark was definitely exposed to the bloom, and we know brevetoxins” are deadly to fish, said Kelly Richmond, a spokeswoman for the commission.
Five shark biologists were interviewed for this report, and none had ever heard of a whale shark death related to algal blooms.
The bloom along the Florida coast stretches 100 miles from Sarasota County to Collier County. It has affected the coastline in different ways and areas for the past nine months. The commission has fielded hundreds of reports on its Fish Kill Hotline, and its biologists have collected thousands of water samples to test for the algae. On Friday, algal load in the water was still very concentrated, at millions of cells per liter of ocean water. A “low” concentration is about 1,000 cells per liter. Harmful algal blooms are often called "red tide," because some kinds of algae can make the water appear reddish.
Whale sharks are filter feeding, gentle giants with constellations of white polka dots on glimmering navy blue skin. They have small eyes set wide above a mouth that gapes to an enormous size to pull in the water from which they filter small items such as fish eggs, plankton and krill. They do not generally occupy coastlines, said Bob Hueter, a senior shark scientist from the Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida, and harmful algal blooms are commonly found close to the coast. This geographic separation may be part of why whale sharks have not been reported with red tides previously.
The second part of the mysterious shark death is how the shark became trapped in the bloom in the first place. Sharks have taste buds in their throats and mouths as well as a very good sense of smell, which should help them to avoid feeding in toxic areas, Hueter said.
Along with the Fish and Wildlife Commission, Gretchen Lovewell, manager of Mote's Stranding Investigations Program, has been responding to other animal strandings caused by the bloom. She said more than 100 turtle deaths have been recorded — 50 in the past month. Green sea turtles, loggerheads, and Kemp's ridley (a critically endangered species) are among the casualties.
After accidentally ingesting the toxic algae, turtles appear “intoxicated” and uncoordinated in the water and are unable to swim. Most turtles drown as a result. It is turtle nesting season in Florida, Lovewell said, so this may explain the large number of turtles affected. As baby turtles hatch, they will have to swim through the toxic bloom to reach open water. Because baby turtles do not feed right after hatching (they have a tiny belly-button-shaped yolk sac to nourish them in their infancy), scientists hope that they will make it through the algae bloom.
Manatees, dolphins and grouper have also been reported dead as a result of the bloom, Lovewell said. The animals are accidentally ingesting the algae along with their food, said Rachel Graham, a whale shark scientist and director of MarAlliance.
Toxic algal blooms can also harm humans. The toxin is accumulated in filter-feeding animals such as mussels and oysters and is toxic to humans if ingested. Authorities are monitoring beaches and seafood from the area. Swimmers are advised not to enter the water if dead fish are present. The algae “can be airborne in sea spray and cause people along beaches to have difficulty breathing. You start wheezing and coughing,” said Don Anderson, director of the U.S. National Office for Marine Biotoxins and Harmful Algal Blooms.
Algal blooms are a natural phenomenon that can be aggravated by human influences such as pollution or nutrient runoff from sewage or land development. They can occur in freshwater and saltwater. The algae are usually present in small amounts such as a few thousand cells per liter. Once the algae are triggered to “bloom,” or rapidly reproduce, they reach concentrations in the millions. The ocean has thousands of species of algae, and only about 100 that produce dangerous toxins, Anderson said. Algae in general are hugely important to marine life. Scientists do not know why this algal bloom is so concentrated and persistent.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is maintaining a red tide hotline and status report website.
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Best of our wild blogs: 4 Aug 18
19 Aug (Sun) - Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk
Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs
Nesting of Long-tailed Parakeets in Singapore – A 11 weeks Monitoring Report
Singapore Bird Group
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