microrobert
06-27-2014, 03:37 PM
Efforts to Increase Orcas Population Fail to Deliver Desired Results
http://frenchtribune.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/article/efforts-increase-orcas-population-fail.jpg
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has carried out a research on orcas. As per the research, only a fraction of orcas are now remaining when compared with the number present in the 1960s.
A number of measures have been applied to increase its population, but NOAA said no positive result has been noticed. Since 2005, Puget Sound's southern-resident killer whales were included under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Now only around 80 orcas are living in Puget Sound.
In those years, researchers have got to know numerous things about these whales like what kind of behavioural changes come due to propeller and engine noises coming from boats. But this knowledge is not helping to increase the population of orcas in the region.
Mike Ford, involved in the conservation biology program at NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, stated that researchers are investigating the problem as to why the desired rise has not been witnessed in orcas population.
One of the facts is these whales face complex and overlapping threats and that tend to get mix with one another. "Part of what I hoped at the beginning was that it would be mostly one thing that was wrong", said Brad Hanson, a whale expert with the fisheries center.
Lack of food, buildup of pollutants in orcas bodies and disturbance by marine vessels appear to be three main reasons contributing to their decline. There could be more reasons that scientists keep on researching.
A lot of money has been spent to improve the condition of these species, but too little progress has been seen. Ford said they have made progress in understanding each of the three primary factors of decline. For the research, NOAA scientists tracked orcas using acoustic monitoring and satellite tags.
Efforts to Increase Orcas Population Fail to Deliver Desired Results | French Tribune (http://frenchtribune.com/teneur/1422930-efforts-increase-orcas-population-fail-deliver-desired-results)
http://frenchtribune.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/article/efforts-increase-orcas-population-fail.jpg
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has carried out a research on orcas. As per the research, only a fraction of orcas are now remaining when compared with the number present in the 1960s.
A number of measures have been applied to increase its population, but NOAA said no positive result has been noticed. Since 2005, Puget Sound's southern-resident killer whales were included under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Now only around 80 orcas are living in Puget Sound.
In those years, researchers have got to know numerous things about these whales like what kind of behavioural changes come due to propeller and engine noises coming from boats. But this knowledge is not helping to increase the population of orcas in the region.
Mike Ford, involved in the conservation biology program at NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, stated that researchers are investigating the problem as to why the desired rise has not been witnessed in orcas population.
One of the facts is these whales face complex and overlapping threats and that tend to get mix with one another. "Part of what I hoped at the beginning was that it would be mostly one thing that was wrong", said Brad Hanson, a whale expert with the fisheries center.
Lack of food, buildup of pollutants in orcas bodies and disturbance by marine vessels appear to be three main reasons contributing to their decline. There could be more reasons that scientists keep on researching.
A lot of money has been spent to improve the condition of these species, but too little progress has been seen. Ford said they have made progress in understanding each of the three primary factors of decline. For the research, NOAA scientists tracked orcas using acoustic monitoring and satellite tags.
Efforts to Increase Orcas Population Fail to Deliver Desired Results | French Tribune (http://frenchtribune.com/teneur/1422930-efforts-increase-orcas-population-fail-deliver-desired-results)