In the last few weeks, many sick and dying California Sea Lions began showing up on central California beaches, even hauling out at Pier 39 in San Francisco. They were victims of Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning, aka Domoic Acid Toxicosis. What is domoic acid, where does it come from, and why is it affecting so many marine mammals? For answers we turn to Dr. Pádraig Duignan, Director of Pathology at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. He is at the front lines in the response to this outbreak, in addition to many other novel diseases affecting marine mammals, and explains what is happening and why.

We spoke with Dr. Eric Bjorkstedt of the NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem Science Center. He talked about some of the work being done at the Telonicher Marine Laboratory in Trinidad, Humboldt County,
monitoring the offshore marine ecosystem in this little-studied region. Dr. Bjorkstedt gives us an update on current research and some recent findings, including how some key elements of the food web have responded to marine heat waves, as well as the large-scale oscillations of marine weather in the Northeast Pacific Ocean.

Birds invest considerable effort in the reproductive processes and have evolved myriad ways to improve their chances of success. The entire process of mating, nest-building, brooding, and rearing young consumes enormous amounts of energy, often leaving the parent birds nearly worn-out by the time their young reach independence. It is perhaps no wonder, then, that a few birds have developed a way to avoid most of that expense by getting other birds to do most of the work. Brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, which then hatch and rear them unwittingly.

The most widespread and abundant brood parasite in North America is the Brown-headed Cowbird. Dr. Mark Hauber studies Cowbirds and other brood parasites around the world, focusing on questions of recognition, social function, and the complex interactions between the parasites and their victims. He is a Professor at the University of Illinois in the Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, where he runs the “Cowbird Lab” and conducts some fascinating research. He is also Harley Jones Van Cleave Professor of Host-Parasite Interactions in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior. Dr Hauber addressed the central question of recognition: How does a Cowbird chick, raised entirely by another species, know it is a Cowbird?

On the April 2024 episode, we delve into how best to support the environment through charitable giving. We hear from Tom Wheeler, Executive Director of EPIC in Arcata, CA, and from Lawyer Paula Goodwin of Perkins Coie, as well as take a closer look at a number of nonprofits. Check out our Primer for Giving! The show also features music from artist and activists Diane Patterson and Alice Dimicele, featured here with their express permission.

Join us for a follow up on a past episode on residential decarbonization., with some state forest news starting the hour:
Segment 1: Richard Gienger on the Board of Forestry:

• www.savejackson.org
• www.pomolandback.com
• www.mendocinotrailstewards.org

To send comments to the Board of Forestry:

Publiccomments.@bof.co.gov

Segment 2: Sonoma Clean Power Resources for improved home efficiency:

• https://sonomacleanpower.org/programs/diy-toolkit
• https://scpadvancedenergycenter.org/
• https://switchison.org/

Evan Mills’ resource sheet here and his full, updated report, Kermit Was Right.

A net zero community in Vermont here.

Segment 3: Matt Simmons on Wind Power and the Grid in Humboldt:

~The Environmental Protection Information Center Blog

We learn about Elephant Seals from Dr. Heather Liwanag, Associate Professor in the Biological Sciences at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She studies the physiological adaptations of animals to their environment, and Elephant Seals provide her with many remarkable features to study.
The largest and deepest-diving pinnipeds in the world, Elephant Seals can be found on certain California beaches during their breeding season, when the males put on spectacular battle displays. At other times they are occasionally found hauled out when they molt. The rest of their lives are spent at sea, where they are only occasionally spotted as they come up for air between dives; they even sleep under water.

Gray Whales have recently been spotted off Mendocino. On The Ecology Hour this week, we replay a great discussion from June 2022 with Dr. James Harvey of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, who gave us a great overview of their lives and their fantastic migrations.

Tim Bray and Dr. Robert Spies take a deep dive into the world of squid, with Dr. Sarah MacAnulty, Executive Director of Skype a Scientist. Jet-propelled and able to change color at the speed of thought, they are both predator and prey in every ocean, and the subject of the world's largest fishery. Surprisingly complex, with an evolutionary history going back hundreds of millions of years, they are endlessly fascinating creatures.