In this issue, find articles on:
*Oregon Small Woodlands Association Annual Meeting
*Farewell to Mariane Camargo, Namgon Kwag, and Linsen Zhao
*Deepak Tamang presents on east and west coast
*Alumni Dinner in China
*Field tours to Hancock, GreenWood Resources, and more
Thanks,
Angie, Program Manager
Tens of thousands of sturgeon are found bunched up below Bonneville Dam
Friday, May 16, 2008
MICHAEL MILSTEIN
The Oregonian Staff
When sonar surveys spotted a vast pile of rubble in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam late last winter, officials suddenly worried that part of the dam structure was eroding into the river.
"Everybody said, 'Oh my gosh, we need to get divers out there right away,' " recalled Dennis Schwartz, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the dam.
What they found below the spillways in February was not a giant pile of rock at all, but a humongous pile of thousands upon thousands of sturgeon -- some of them 14 feet long or longer -- lounging together in frigid water at the bottom of the river.
"We call it the big sturgeon ball," Schwartz said.
The mountain of white sturgeon contained around 60,000 fish, according to a rough estimate by Michael Parsley, a research fisheries biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Columbia River Research Laboratory in Cook, Wash. He described that estimate as "probably conservative."
It was an aquatic phenomenon nobody had ever seen at such a monstrous scale, offering a startling glimpse into the life of the Columbia's largest and most ancient fish.
If the estimates are anywhere near correct, the congregation of sturgeon may represent 5 percent to 10 percent of all the white sturgeon in the lower Columbia River, Parsley said. The conclave apparently broke up in March as the corps increased water releases through the dam to help salmon, Schwartz said.
An Army dive team, called out to inspect the dam, discovered the sturgeon when it sent down a remotely operated submersible to take a look at what everyone thought was debris.
The lingering question is: What were all the fish doing there?
"Normally they're pretty spread out," Schwartz said. "You don't see this balling behavior."
In videos recorded by the underwater camera, the fish appear to be lounging, many on top of one another, some even upside down, at depths of 40 to 50 feet. Biologists considered whether the fish may be putting up an organized defense against sea lions showing up increased numbers to gobble salmon and sturgeon below the dam.
They discovered the sturgeon ball just as sea lions started to show up, but they also point out that sturgeon have been known to gather -- though in lower numbers -- in other places where there are no sea lions.
"The correlation (with sea lions) would probably be pretty weak," Schwartz said. "They all seemed to be just hanging out together."
Many unknowns
Similar winter gatherings of sturgeon have been documented far up the Columbia in Canada, but not at the tremendous numbers seen below Bonneville, Parsley said. Biologists are not sure why the fish collect that way.
"We don't know whether that one aggregation is in response to sea lions being there, or if they do this every year," he said.
He said the fish may bunch up for safety as they conserve energy during the cool months of winter. The water was about 34 to 35 degrees.
"They were just lollygagging -- definitely not expending energy," he said. "There must be some social or survival advantage to it, but I'm not sure what it is."
Sturgeon are ancient survivors that have changed little since the time of the dinosaurs. They can weigh more than 1,500 pounds and live well over 100 years.
Biologists have heard reports of congregations of sturgeon at the surface of reservoirs and rivers, including shallow parts of the Columbia. But there aren't very good estimates on how many sturgeon may be involved in those gatherings, Parsley said.
"Sturgeon in general seem to be relatively social," he said.
He said he heard an account from one woman who said the river came alive with fish, and said she couldn't help but think of sharks when she saw the giant fish slice across the water surface.
Teams working at the dam have reported some unusual sturgeon activity since sea lions began appearing in larger numbers at the dam each spring in recent years, eating both salmon and sturgeon. Last year, for instance, crews saw large numbers of sturgeon along the bank of Cascades Island, one of the islands just below the dam.
Biologists speculated the fish may have been trying to avoid sea lions, said Robert Stansell, a Corps of Engineers biologist at the dam.
Sea lions -- mainly protected Steller sea lions -- were spotted gobbling more than 600 sturgeon this year, although the number dropped off later in the spring, he said.
Hundreds of sturgeon were also found in the dam's fish ladder last winter, which was unusual, he said.
Poorly studied fish
Parsley said sturgeon are so poorly studied that biologists don't know much about their behavior. Big gatherings of the fish in the depths of the river may be more common than anyone realizes.
"I firmly believe they do this elsewhere in the river," he said.
Though salmon are well known, biologists have spent far less time mapping the populations and habits of sturgeon. But the fish are by far the largest and longest lived fish in the river system -- and one of the most mysterious.
"They're the wooly mammoth, the saber-tooth tiger or the lion of the Columbia River," Parsley said. "There's just still a lot to be learned about them."
The newest WFI Update can now be downloaded from: http://wfi.worldforestrycenter.org/WFIupdate4.08.pdf
In this issue, find articles on:
*Brazilian Fellow
*Welcome to
*International Builders Conference in
*Updates from our Alumni
Thanks,
Angie, Program Manager
Korean Fellow Namgon Kwag traveled to Orlando, Florida, to attend the International Builders show along with 92,000 other industry professionals and colleagues from Eagon’s Seattle office. The show is so large that it took three days to see, even though this year’s show was smaller due to the slow housing market.
Its aim is to help the Chinese begin to assess the extent of a non-native marine grass invasion that threatens mangrove-dominated coastal forests in that country's Fujian province.
The long-term goal is to forge a relationship between invasive species experts in the United States and China that could help both countries better deal with the threats non-native plants and animals pose to local species and ecosystems – and perhaps to reduce the transport of such organisms via trans-Pacific commerce.
Chan, who works with the OSU-based Oregon Sea Grant program, is an aquatic invasive species expert, watershed education team leader and an assistant professor in watershed health at OSU. He also chairs the education and outreach team of the Oregon Invasive Species Council.
The China venture came about as a result of Chan’s earlier work with Fanglin Tan, a faculty member with the Fujian Academy of Science, the academic science arm of the provincial government's forest service. The two men met in 2001 when Tan was a fellow at the World Forestry Center and Chan – then a research scientist with the U.S. Forest Service – held a workshop about invasive species and restoration in riparian areas on the Pacific Northwest coast.
High on their list of mutual concerns were species of spartina, commonly known as cordgrass. Spartina plays an important ecological role in its native habitats, including the east coast of the U.S., but can be highly invasive and damaging to ecosystems outside its native range.
Sometimes planted for erosion control and salt marsh reclamation, or used as animal feed and packing material for oysters, spartina can be a vigorous invader, quickly colonizing estuaries, driving out native plants, and eventually creating islands that block the natural flow of water. Ecologically destructive spartina invasions have occurred on both the west coast of the U.S. and the south coast of China.
The threatened mangroves are salt water-tolerant trees that are the center of complex ecosystems (known as mangrove swamps or forests) along coastal estuaries in much of the world, including the seacoast of China's Fujian province. Adapted to survive in both salt and fresh water, the trees and the systems around them can serve as important buffers to coastal storms and flooding, as well as providing habitat for shellfish and other commercially important species.
Since the Indonesian tsunami of 2004, China has turned its attention to the importance of the Fujian mangrove forests, along with off-shore coral reefs, in protecting its densely populated coastline from similar disasters caused by tsunamis or far more frequent typhoons. Of particular concern is invasion by spartina, which chokes off the normal flow of water vital to the mangrove ecosystems' survival.
The plant's structure – its rhizomes break loose easily and are transported by the water – makes it spread rapidly. The Chinese estimate that as much as 100,000 hectares (nearly 250,000 acres) of mangrove forest are infested by spartina, almost all of it spread by invasion.
Chan's May 16-26 visit is part of a major Chinese initiative to save its remaining mangroves as a protective belt around its coastline and to reduce the threat from invasive species.
"Our goal is to work with the Chinese in sorting through the probable causes of mangrove forest declines, including invasive spartina, and to work cooperatively to develop the best courses of action to protect coastal ecosystems," Chan said.
Accompanying Chan on this initial visit are David Hannaway, an OSU professor of crop science and member of the university's China Initiative Working Group; Merritt Tuttle, a retired official of the National Marine Fisheries Service; Wendy Brown, invasive species manager for the Washington Department of Natural Resources' aquatic resources office; Mike Spranger, Florida Sea Grant Extension program leader; and Edward Jahn and James N. Fisher, producer and photographer for Oregon Public Broadcasting's Oregon Field Guide series.
The Chinese government is funding the trip.
While in China, the team will visit several local forestry bureaus, meet with local officials, tour and observe estuaries and wetlands – both intact and spartina-infested – and will give formal presentations on the potential for ecosystem management and restoration. Chan hopes the trip will result in future collaboration on estuarine wetland restoration, spartina control and related research and public education issues.
"This is an opportunity for members of our team, for OSU and for the Chinese government to work on invasive species as a global issue, and not just a problem caused by organisms transported here from the other side of the ocean," said Chan. "Both of our countries face similar ecologic, economic and health problems from invasive species. We both have concerns about tsunamis and other natural disasters.
“The opportunity to discuss our common problems could allow us to work together seeking comprehensive solutions."
After one year in Portland, the time arrived for Australian Matthew Pope and his family to return to Tumut, New South Wales.
Matthew’s project examined field technologies used to streamline the management of information between the office and field. Matthew visited forest organizations, hardware and software developers, and had the dubious distinction of driving the entire length of the I-5 corridor from Canada to San Diego in the process. “The scale of the forest industry in the US and Canada is hard to fathom for an Australian,” said Matt. “Rest assured you do not need to worry about Australia flooding the US market.”
Matt has returned to Forests New South Wales to work with radiata pine plantations. “My day-to-day job is so focused that I often don’t have time to look around at broader issues in forestry,” said Matt. “I think the experiences from this year really broadened my professional understanding of forestry. I am looking forward to implementing some of the knowledge I gained and sharing my experiences with other forestry colleagues far and wide.”
Matt’s wife Ainsley is looking forward to beginning teaching, as she recently completed her education degree. The family is excited to be back in the land of sunshine. Four year old Keegan summed it up best as the family went through customs at the Sydney airport. Upon hearing familiar accents, Keegan exclaimed “these people speak our language!”
WFI Alumnus John Turland is now living in Olympia, Washington where he works for Washington’s Department of Natural Resources as a Senior Forest Management Analyst.
John completed a 12 month WFI fellowship in 2007 where he undertook a study on North American forest modeling software and approaches and the potential applicability to Australian native forest management.
John’s decision to move to the USA to work was the result of career advancement opportunities coupled with the outdoors lifestyle that was too hard to resist. He has spent much of his recreation time fishing for salmon, hiking, snow shoeing and a little skiing as well. “The mountains, rivers, winter snow and lush forest scenery of the PNW more than compensate for beautiful Sydney beaches and weather – for now anyway,” says John.
In his current position, John is involved is growth and yield modeling, formulating forest management planning models and determining strategic sustainable timber supply forecasts that balance economic, social and environmental management objectives on state trust lands. “Learning about silvics of forest trees in the Pacific Northwest, management policies, regulations and using imperial measurement units have all been reasonably steep learning curves,” explained John. “But the foundations provided with the WFI Fellowship training combined with the plethora of knowledge and literature provided by DNR staff have facilitated the transition into the US forest industry.”
