Tag Archives: Barnacles

Rivers & Oceans

Some species benefited from BC’s 2021 heat dome — but at an enormous cost, study finds

Editor’s note: Millions of marine creatures may have perished in the Discovery Island’s during the 2021 heat dome. Their remains covered the beaches at places like Smelt Bay, Mansons Lagoon and Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island. Dr. Chris Harley, from UBC, initially told the media that more than a billion mussels, clams, sea stars and other invertebrates may have cooked to death in the area between Campbell River and Washington state. The article that follows cites his initial estimate. As more data became available, Harley revised that figure to possibly as many as 10 billion.

By Hope Lompe, National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Some plants and animals are better off than they were before the 2021 heat dome, despite a week of record-breaking heat intensity across Western North America. 

In a study of approximately 50 species, researchers from across Canada found more than three quarters were negatively affected by the heat dome, while about 25 per cent actually saw a positive outcome. 

Continue reading Some species benefited from BC’s 2021 heat dome — but at an enormous cost, study finds →
Rivers & Oceans

Drift logs are scouring marine life from BC’s rocky shores

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

Surging numbers of free-floating logs are scouring BC’s coast, threatening marine creatures from barnacles to seabirds, a new University of Victoria study shows.

Barnacle populations, which play a critical role in ocean ecosystems, suffer declines of up 80 per cent in key rocky areas pounded by drift logs mostly from forestry operations, compared to colonies tucked in crevices protected from wood debris, the research suggests.

It’s a worrisome finding, said UVic biologist Tom Reimchen, one of the study’s authors, stressing that barnacles may be small, but their loss has a big ripple effect. 

Continue reading Drift logs are scouring marine life from BC’s rocky shores →
Rivers & Oceans

Perceived Biodiversity loss in Mansons Lagoon

Around 30 people trekked around the Spit into Mansons Lagoon, during the July 12 ‘Gumbooting the Lagoon.’ While Jane Newman, from the Cortes Island Museum, explained the site’s human history, marine biologist Deb Cowper and FOCI’s Autumn Barrett-Morgan introduced everyone to intertidal life forms. One of the many topics that arose was the loss of marine life.  

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Cost of Climate Change

Heat wave killed far more marine animals than originally thought, says scientist

UBC marine ecologist Dr. Chris Harley initially told the media that more than a billion mussels, clams, sea stars and other invertebrates may have cooked to death in the area between Campbell River and Washington state. That was a ‘back of the envelope’ estimate, based on his observations among the Lower Mainland’s mussel population and some preliminary reports. Harley has done a great deal more research since then. He now guesstimates that, conservatively speaking, the number of marine fatalities during last June’s heat wave is closer to 10 billion.  

Continue reading Heat wave killed far more marine animals than originally thought, says scientist →