In science news this week: Scientists explain mechanisms affecting runoff levels during drought; Marijuana farms expose spotted owls to rat poison in Northwest California; Researchers find post-fire logging harms spotted owls; Kokanee carcass concludes a season of oddballs; Draft recovery plan promotes recovery of threatened green sturgeon; California sea lion populations rebound; Pacific Northwest salmon species has lost two-thirds of its genetic diversity; and more …
Scientists explain mechanisms affecting runoff levels during drought: “Scientists at UC Merced’s Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI), UC Irvine, UC Davis and the USDA Forest Service have enumerated the mechanisms that serve as master regulators of streamflow and drought intensity by studying California’s 2012-15 drought. Their findings are detailed in a new paper published in Scientific Reports. Researchers used measurements from the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) in California’s Kings River Basin to pinpoint four distinct mechanisms responsible for regulating runoff levels during the recent drought. Runoff — water from precipitation, snowmelt and natural reservoirs that feeds into mountain streams and rivers — ultimately supplies much of the state’s water. … ” Read more from UC Merced here: Scientists explain mechanisms affecting runoff levels during drought
Marijuana farms expose spotted owls to rat poison in Northwest California: “Wildlife species are being exposed to high levels of rat poison in northwest California, with illegal marijuana farms the most likely source point, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis, with the California Academy of Sciences. The study, released Jan. 11 in the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology, showed that seven of the 10 northern spotted owls collected tested positive for rat poison, while 40 percent of 84 barred owls collected also tested positive for the poison. … ” Read more from UC Davis here: Marijuana farms expose spotted owls to rat poison in Northwest California
Researchers find post-fire logging harms spotted owls: “Wildlife ecologists studying the rare spotted owl in the forests of California have discovered that large, intense wildfires are not responsible for abandonment of breeding territories. Instead, the researchers found that post-fire logging operations, which are common on both private and National Forest lands, most likely caused declines in territory occupancy of this imperiled wildlife species. In the absence of post-fire logging, they found no significant effect of large forest fires on spotted owl territory occupancy. Post-fire logging damages important spotted owl foraging areas in “snag forest habitat” that is created by patches of intense fire. This habitat is rich in the small mammal prey species that the owls feed upon, but post-fire logging largely removes this habitat, thereby causing higher rates of territory abandonment. ... ” Read more from PhysOrg here: Researchers find post-fire logging harms spotted owls
Kokanee carcass concludes a season of oddballs: “We’ve had four out of five Pacific salmon species visit us on the Stanislaus River in the last few months during a rather remarkable monitoring season. In addition to above-average passage of Chinook salmon, we also observed a rare chum salmon and pink salmon at our fish counting weir. To add one more salmon species to the season’s list, the carcass of a kokanee – the land-locked form of sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka – also washed up on our weir. The kokanee is shown on the left in the photo above, with a much larger Chinook salmon on the right. ... ” Continue reading from the FishBio blog here: Kokanee carcass concludes a season of oddballs
Draft recovery plan promotes recovery of threatened green sturgeon: “One of Central California’s most ancient fish, the green sturgeon, will soon have a new recovery plan to steer it toward sustainability. NOAA Fisheries released a draft recovery plan under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for public comment on January 9, 2018. The plan itself is non-regulatory. Rather, it identifies steps to guide state and federal actions that will promote recovery of the green sturgeon’s depressed southern population. NOAA Fisheries biologists divide the green sturgeon into two distinct populations segments based on what we know about the species. In 2006, the southern population – covering Central California – was listed as threatened under the ESA. The northern population was more abundant and listing was not warranted at the time. … ” Read more from NOAA here: Draft recovery plan promotes recovery of threatened green sturgeon
California sea lion populations rebound: “California sea lions have fully rebounded under the protection of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), with their population on the West Coast reaching carrying capacity in 2008 before unusually warm ocean conditions reduced their numbers, according to the first comprehensive population assessment of the species. The sea lion population is healthy and robust, the new research found, and its recovery over the past several decades reflects an important success for the MMPA. The landmark 1972 legislation recognized marine mammals as a central element of their ocean ecosystems, setting population goals based on levels that would contribute to the health and stability of those ecosystems. … ” Read more from Science Daily here: California sea lion populations rebound
Pacific Northwest salmon species has lost two-thirds of its genetic diversity: “Chinook salmon, an iconic species in the Pacific Northwest that supports a major fishery industry and indigenous traditions, have lost up to two-thirds of their genetic diversity over the past 7,000 years, according to a new study. Scientists warn the loss could make it difficult for the species to cope with warming global temperatures and ocean acidification — environmental changes that are already impacting the fish today. … ” Read more from Yale Environment 360 here: Pacific Northwest salmon species has lost two-thirds of its genetic diversity
NASA calculated heavy rainfall leading to Montecito mudslides: “Winter rains falling on recently burned ground triggered deadly mudslides in Santa Barbara County, California on January 9. NASA calculated the amount of rain fall between January 8 and 10, 2018 and calculated the potential for landslides. At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, a landslide potential map was generated by the global Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA) model, a model that combines precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM mission satellite with a global landslide susceptibility map. LHASA gives a broad overview of landslide hazard in nearly real time, but site-specific information should be obtained prior to emergency operations or building projects. … ” Read more from Science Daily here: NASA calculated heavy rainfall leading to Montecito mudslides
Meteorological Conditions Associated with the Deadly 9 January 2018 Debris Flow on the Thomas Fire Burn Area Impacting Montecito, CA: A Preliminary Analysis: “A period of very intense rainfall associated with a Narrow Cold Frontal Rainband (NCFR) appears to be the primary meteorological trigger for the deadly and destructive post-fire debris flow in and below the Thomas Fire burn area. When a watershed experiences sufficient burn severity during a wildfire, water repellent soils can develop. Rainfall runoff is dramatically increased in these areas as compared to unburned areas. When intense rainfall occurs over the burned watershed, progressive bulking of sediment and debris (ash, rock, burned vegetation) occurs due to the increased runoff, and this debris is mobilized downstream. … ” Read more from CW3E here: Meteorological Conditions Associated with the Deadly 9 January 2018 Debris Flow on the Thomas Fire Burn Area Impacting Montecito, CA: A Preliminary Analysis
California’s water savings brings bonus effects: “Water-saving measures in California have also led to substantial reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and electricity consumption in the state. That is the conclusion of new research from the University of California, Davis, published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters. That is the conclusion of new research from the University of California, Davis, published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters. Measures to cut water use by 25 per cent across California were implemented in 2015, following a four-year drought in the state that caused the fallowing of 542,000 acres of land, total economic costs of $2.74 billion, and the loss of approximately 21,000 jobs. … ” Read more from Science Daily here: California’s water savings brings bonus effects
The winter water outlook: “California is receiving its first substantial soaking after an unusually dry start to winter. We reported at the beginning of the current water year about the increasing chance of a La Niña event occurring this winter, which is exactly what has happened. A La Niña is a climatological condition characterized by abnormally cool sea surface temperatures developing in the Pacific Ocean along the equator (as opposed to an El Niño event, in which abnormally warm sea surface temperatures form along the equator). Historically, La Niña events result in wetter weather patterns in northern California and drier conditions in southern California, but that trend doesn’t always hold true. Currently there is an 85–95 percent chance that the current La Niña will extend through the winter. ... ” Read more from the FishBio blog here: The winter water outlook
Maven’s XKCD Comic Pick of the Week …
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About Science News and Reports: This weekly feature, posted every Thursday, is a collection of the latest scientific research and reports with a focus on relevant issues to the Delta and to California water, although other issues such as climate change are sometimes included. Do you have an item to be included here? Submissions of relevant research and other materials is welcome. Email Maven
