Tag Archives: Die-offs

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 →
Animals

New Virus Associated With (But Not Causing) Mass Oyster Die-Offs

UBC researchers found a new virus in farmed Pacific Oysters that perished during a mass die-off in 2020. 

During the die-off, researchers collected 33 dead oysters as well as 26 wild oysters from neighbouring sites. Pacific Oyster Nidovirus 1 (PONV1) was only found in 20 of the dead or dying farmed oysters.

Dr Kevin Xu Zhong, a research associate in the UBC department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS), explained this does not mean the virus was the cause of death.

“We found this new virus. There is no indication it is causing the mortality mentioned in the database, the study, or the reporting.”

Continue reading New Virus Associated With (But Not Causing) Mass Oyster Die-Offs →
Cost of Climate Change

Marine heatwaves a threat to B.C.’s shellfish industry says expert

Editor’s note: The shellfish industry is one of Cortes Island’s principle employers.

By Mick Sweetman,  CHLY 101.7 FM Nanaimo, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

This summer was hot, not only for us, but also for the life in our oceans as marine heatwaves swamped B.C’s coastal waters. According to researchers, sea temperatures off northeastern Vancouver Island reached 21 degrees Celsius in July, boiling kelp alive.

In the first week of August the average global sea surface temperature reached a record-breaking 30 degrees Celsius.

Continue reading Marine heatwaves a threat to B.C.’s shellfish industry says expert →
Cost of Climate Change

B.C. launches blueprint to fend off climate’s ‘one-two punch’ on the ocean

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

B.C. has unveiled an action plan to tackle the two greatest climate threats to the ocean, coastal communities and marine ecosystems on the West Coast. 

Ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH), or plummeting oxygen levels, that often occur in tandem with a snowball effect, are spiking due to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. 

The plan’s goals include strengthening scientific collaboration and research and public awareness on these issues. Finding ways to adapt to or mitigate the negative impacts of OAH is also a priority. 

The province also wants a better understanding of how or if blue carbon — CO2 captured naturally from the atmosphere by marine plants and algae — could or should be used as a natural solution to buffer acidification and hypoxia.  

Continue reading B.C. launches blueprint to fend off climate’s ‘one-two punch’ on the ocean →
Cost of Climate Change, Environment

Unchecked climate change puts Canada’s West Coast in hot water

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Last year was the hottest on record for the ocean, an upward trend only expected to continue as it wreaks havoc on coastal communities and spurs irreversible losses to marine ecosystems. 

Ocean warming has cascading effects, melting polar ice and causing sea-level rise, marine heat waves and ocean acidification, the United Nations’ panel of climate experts made clear on Monday.

Sea-level rise has doubled in the last three decades, reaching a record high in 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported. Rising seas, coupled with more extreme weather, are setting the stage for a perfect storm of flooding for coastal communities. 

Continue reading Unchecked climate change puts Canada’s West Coast in hot water →