Recorded by Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Guardian on behalf of Lester B. Pearson College
| Daily Seawater Temperature and Density Record Shore Station | |||||||
| Time Zone: PST | |||||||
| Station Race Rocks Light station | |||||||
| Month: February | Year: 2014 | ||||||
| Observer: Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific | |||||||
| Date | Time | Sea Temp. °C |
Jar Temp. °C |
Hydro- meter No. | Observed Density | YSI Salinity | YSI Temp °C |
| 1 | 1400 | 31.8 | 7.7 | ||||
| 2 | 700 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 1.0249 | 31.5 | 7.7 | |
| 3 | 1430 | 32.4 | 7.1 Continue reading | ||||
A week ago we asked Paul Cotrell, the Pacific Marine Mammal Coordinator of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to assist us in starting a program of annual elephant seal pup tagging by tagging this years elephant seal pup born on January 14.
This morning Erik Schauff drove the college boat Second Nature out to the Ecological Reserve to transport Paul Cotrell, Sheena Majewski from PBS in Nanaimo and Mya Cormie from the Victoria DFO office. Also on board were biology faculty member Ann Stewart, as well as Barry Herring and myself
We joined Alex Fletcher and Virginie Lavalie , Ecoguardians at the ecological reserve in helping with the tagging process. We had planned to do this earlier in the week but the East winds were still blowing. As it was we hit a perfectly calm day today.
The pup was on the grass by the weather instrument and was somewhat bigger than we had estimated, probably 250-300 pounds.
Our first attempts to get it on a weighing platform failed as the pup was just too large and difficult to control. Paul decided in order to avoid any further stress, to just do the tagging. Alex held the rear flippers and Sheena used a tagging tool to insert the tags into the webbing of each of the rear flippers.
Tag on rear flipper of elephant seal pup
A set of turquoise tags numbered F075 and F076, with numbers facing outside were added to the each of the rear flippers. The colour of the tags is important because each research program using tagging has to use unique identifiable colours and numbers.
The first elephant seal to be born on Great Race Rocks in 2009, was tagged with red tags by NOAA scientists when it came ashore in Port Angeles.
Paul Cotrell telling Pearson College students about the hazards of marine mammal tagging.
Pup moving around the following day
A group of Anne’s students came out from Pearson College to observe the newly tagged pup, it being the first one tagged in Canada.
Initially after tagging, the pup moved off about 6 metres and settled down in a grassy area.
Pup settled down on the lawn the next morning.
The next morning, the pup had returned to the same spot where he had been tagged. He moved around a short distance during the day.
Pam Birley from England also took some pictures of the process using camera and has posted these on her Flickr site
This afternoon we observed a sea otter Enhydra lutris eating a giant red sea urchin Strongylocentrotus franciscanus just off the south west corner of Great Race Rocks . It was followed by several gulls, keeping an eye out for scraps. We were able to get a few pictures and some video of it which we will be adding to this post.
Previous sightings of sea otters at Race Rocks are recorded in these posts.
Sea otter at Race Rocks Ecological reserve, February 27, 2014, G. Fletcher photos.
On March Barry Herring, spent a day with us out on Race Rocks recording some of the views. Included here is some of his work. Barry is a photographer from Victoria, BC.
Click on this image for a panorama view of the south side of great Race Rocks island. On the left are the solar panels and foghorn operated by the Canadian Coast Guard for the lighthouse. On the left is the energy centre operated by Lester Pearson College . Note solar panels on the roof. This is the centre for the integrated Energy Project which provides energy for the other buildings and the camera servers on Race Rocks
A panorama of the southwest coast.
The remote-control camera 5 and a view to the west.
We happened to be there on a very calm evening with a great sunset:
The former Assistant lightkeeprers residence of the Lightstation is now the science house at Race Rocks. The building can house visiting students and researchers who arrive at Race Rocks.
For most of last week we had steady westerly winds reaching upwards of 40 NMPH. We got a break in the weather on Friday and Saturday some flurries began and the wind shifted back to North East and cold. It has been upwards of 20 NMPH NE today and the past two days. Today it is sunny for a change.
On Tuesday February 18 there were three heavy blasts that appeared to come from behind Christopher Point, not the usual blasting location.
On Friday Feb 21st Erik brought a group out to Race Rocks that include Ric the electrician and his apprentice. The inverter which had been repaired in Vancouver had shipped overnight and arrived on campus just in time to make it out here. We were able to re-install and test run the inverter, replace a broken solar pane- using adapter cables-on the roof of the engine room and repair a failed light circuit in the assist house. Jonathan also came out and replaced the switch in the assist house and did some troubleshooting of the internet system. He also brought out a replacement conduit access box for Camera 5. Five other guests from the college also came to visit for a total of 9 visitors including Erik. Erik returned in the afternoon with a group of student divers from the college; they dove near the jetty and brought the electrician and company back to campus. I picked up 3 guests form Pedder Bay and brought them for an overnight visit.
On Saturday, in the morning I counted over 200 Pigeon Guillemots along the shore of race rocks. I have seen and heard them a few times this year but this was by far the most i have seen. There were at least 3 eco tour vessels in the reserve, there have not been many lately. I went off island for a few hours in the afternoon.
-fixing running light wiring in boat
-finished building and painting box for GPS console on boat
-coordinating with DFO for tagging elephant seal
-measurements for adapter cables for replacement solar panel
-coordinating with electrician, assisting with gear, installation, etc
-communications about wood stove
-moving back into main house/clean up
-cleaning up jetty more frequently due to NE wind
Click for Barometric pressure today at Race Rocks
Click for Barometric Pressure for the past week
Click for Barometric pressure this past month
The weight of the air that makes up our atmosphere exerts a pressure on the surface of the earth. This pressure is known as atmospheric pressure. Generally, the more air above an area, the higher the atmospheric pressure. This, in turn, means that atmospheric pressure changes with altitude. For example, atmospheric pressure is greater at sea-level than on a mountaintop.
To compensate for this difference in pressure at different elevations, and to facilitate comparison between locations with different altitudes, meteorologists adjust atmospheric pressure so that it reflects what the pressure would be if measured at sea-level. This adjusted pressure is known as barometric pressure. Our weather iinstrument measures atmospheric pressure. Barometric pressure changes with local weather conditions, making barometric pressure an important and useful weather forecasting tool. High pressure zones are generally associated with fair weather, while low pressure zones are generally associated with poor weather. For forecasting purposes, the absolute barometric pressure value is generally less important than the change in barometric pressure. In general, rising pressure indicates improving weather conditions, while falling pressure indicates deteriorating weather conditions. Our weather instrument samples the barometric pressure at the time of the archive and writes that value into the archive memory every 10 minutes.
It makes an interesting esercise and one can get a good understanding of negative correlations when comparing the records for wind speed and barometric pressure for several days or the past month
Research Idea: Track barometric changes at Race Rocks, and do behavioural observations using the remote control camera. Try to find out if there is a correlation between a rapidly changing pressure and bird behaviour. Things to control for in your study:
Temperature and present wind conditions ( velocity and direction).
Research elsewhere has shown that Bats are the only mammals that respond to pressure changes, because they also have a Vitali organ. See the quote below: “BAT BAROMETERS SIGNAL MEAL TIME” By Sean Henahan, Access Excellence “CHAMPAIGN, Ill. –
Bats appear to use a built in barometer to determine the chances of a good nights bug hunting, according to a study by Ken Paige of the University of Illinois Institute for Environmental Studies. Paige spent nearly a year monitoring the dining habits of a colony of eastern pipistrelles, a cave-dwelling bat commonly seen in western Illinois. He found that the bats emerged in larger numbers when barometric pressures dropped and insects were numerous. He noted that the number of insects declined dramatically and that fewer bats left their roost when air pressure increased. Indeed, barometric pressure alone explained 87 percent of the variation in bat activity, he noted: “My research strongly suggests that the eastern pipistrelle uses barometric pressure as a cue for predicting the relative abundance of aerial insect prey outside their roost. Barometric pressure is the only physical environmental cue available to a bat roosting deep within a cave. All other variables such as light, temperature, relative humidity and wind currents are virtually constant. When air pressure is low, aerial insects are abundant, and bats respond by leaving the roost to forage.” The bats built-in barometer is likely to be its Vitali organ, a middle-ear receptor that is thought to help birds measure air pressure. Bats are the only mammals to have such a sensory organ. Paige’s bat-watching also showed that bats track barometric pressure metabolically. When the barometer fell, the bats slowed down their metabolisms, allowing them to conserve energy. By doing so, they can delay or eliminate the need for entering torpor, a sluggish state of dormancy that makes them susceptible to predators. In addition, the bats’ tracking of metabolic pressure may function as a bet-hedging strategy, he said “When pressure is low, insects are most abundant, except during heavy rain,” he said. “Because it is unlikely that bats can detect the rain from deep inside a cave, they have to fly out of the roost to check. This is no problem, however, because at low pressure they already are running on an economy setting and will waste minimal energy if they find their trip to the outside is a waste of time.” Because they already are conserving energy, he added, they can extend the benefit of their previous meal. Thus barometric-pressure tracking can be viewed as an alternative evolutionary strategy to torpor, he explained. This results of this research project appeared in the June issue of the British journal Functional Ecology.”.
Accessed January 2014: at: http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/SUA06/batsense.html
The weather this week has shifted to predominantly W and SW with a few nights of winds over 40 NMPH. There have been some big swells rolling in several days this week. This morning there is a 30 NMPH NE wind blowing 4 foot waves into the jetty but it is forecast to swing back to west this evening. The west wind has brought much warmer temperatures than the previous week.
There has been ongoing military blasting on Bentinck Island this week with some particularly heavy blasts occurring Monday. The images above were captured from video taken on Monday.
There has also been regular navy activity in the Straight including a submarine that passed by on the 14th
There have been lots of Bald Eagles in the reserve lately, they have been feeding regularly on the dead sealion in the East bay.
The pup has been much more adventurous lately. He has been moving around the island and has shown an interest in muddy puddles which he seems to have some trouble getting himself out of as he is slippery, still quite chubby and building his strength. Chunk went off island yesterday evening and is back today. He mostly ignores the pup but has occasionally pursued the pup, putting his head and mouth on the pup but without causing harm. The pup squawks and moves away and that seeems to be the end of it.
Went off island on Wednesday afternoon for supplies. On Friday I picked up four guests from Pearson College and brought them to the island for the weekend.
-finished replacing bad drain pipes in main house basement, clean up
-picked up backup Honda water pump and other supplies from College
-cleaning and fixing up assist house, added shelf for VHF regulated power supply box
-have been in touch with faculty regarding planning for a student group to RR for Project Week
-communications with inverter mechanic and about wood stove
-cut, chopped, stacked fire wood
Weather has continued to be cold, dipping below zero degrees. Wind has persisted all week NE-E generally over 20 NMPH. Clouds have settled in over the past couple days so it is feeling a bit warmer, forecast for flurries today/this evening.
We were able to get off the island Friday morning for a quick run for provisions. By the time we came back out around noon there were already 3 foot Easterly swells picking up.
Yesterday a pod of around 10 orcas passed by on the West side of Race Rocks heading NE towards Victoria. A group of Pearson divers got to see them from Second Nature on their way for a dive at Swordfish Island.
Bertha left Friday night or early morning Saturday. The young male from middle rock was in the jetty Saturday morning, first time i have seen him on the main island. Chunk has seemed a bit restless. He made his way around the south side of the Science house yesterday and over to main house. He saw the young male in the jetty and chased him into the rocks on the W side of jetty. Chunk went into the water and waited around the jetty, a bit of a standoff. Eventually young fellow made it into the water and I saw Chunk coming back up the ramp around dusk. He seems very uninterested in the pup which is quite different from two years ago when Misery chased and bit Squall all the time. The pup hasn’t moved much and is sleeping a lot.
Feb 8: 2 ecotour vessels in reserve. One vessel caused a disturbance of sea lions on East rocks.
Feb 9: float plane flew over. Sports fishing boat entered reserve in afternoon and was fishing in reserve. I tried contacting them on the VHF radio but they did not respond, I waved at them but they kept on fishing. They didn’t stay long and left for Pedder Bay so I called the marina and reported the incident. The staff person on duty at the marina spoke with the 3 individuals who were apparently not aware of the fishing ban. We have photos and their ID info on record and will report them to DFO if they repeat their offence. Thanks once again to Pedder Bay Marina and their staff for their cooperation and support!
-picked up parts for plumbing drain in main house, bar oil for chainsaw
-cut, chopped, stacked wood
-worked on wiring in station boat, attaching new running light
-shore-master for Pearson divers Sat afternoon
-worked on drain plumbing in main house
“Weaner” — That’s the name all elephant pups receive after their mother has nursed them for up to 28 days and then leaves them suddenly in the night and returns after a month on land to the sea.
When I first looked on the camera, I could see Chunk on the north side of the steel hose-reel box, but no pup!
On Sunday morning, Feb 8, I received an e-mail from Pam in England pointing out that Bertha was gone. When I first looked on the camera, I could see Chunk on the north side of the steel hose-reel box, but no pup.
The pup shows up as the shadow of the lighthouse moves back.
A few minutes later the shadow of the Lighthouse had moved and 25 days after being born, our pup was certainly all alone on the lawn. Bertha was nowhere to be seen ..
Morning of Day 2 for the weener.
DAY 2 not much has changed.. The pup will get a lot of sleeping time as it matures, and lives off the fat it has accumulated. The aerial in the foreground is that used by Environment Canada to transmit signals from its temperature, barometric and wind data from the top of the tower.
This starts what will be almost a month of fasting before the fat stores are used up and the pup will go to the ocean. This evening and tomorrow it may experience snow and rain before the weather warms up.
Now that the pup has survived this long we are about to give it a name. We have decided to use a name from the First Nations Klallum language. — stay tuned..
There has been a fairly steady 20-35 NMPH NE wind blowing since Sunday which has meant pretty constant white caps and waves breaking along the jetty, the sky has been mostly clear. This has made any transport to/from island difficult. On Monday Erik brought out an electrician and apprentice to remove the failed inverter. He wasn’t able to stay tied up very long on the jetty. We got the inverter off and it is now in Vancouver for servicing.
On Tuesday one eco tour vessel passed through the reserve. There was also a government barge and tug boat that seemed to have some trouble while going through Race passage. With a strong tail wind and current the barge seemed to pick up speed and get ahead of the main tug. Between here and Church Rock, I watched them maneuvering in what appeared to be efforts to regain control. Eventually they got it under tow again and reversed direction, with main tug pushing the barge from behind going backwards, and they tucked in behind Christopher point for protection. Several hours later they pulled out and returned in the direction from where they came, apparently having abandoned their original destination. Navy exercises most days this week with large vessels and several zodiacs trailing.
Bertha and Chunk continue mating, pup continues putting on fat. Bertha seems ready to leave any day now, she is visibly thinner, paler in colour and seems more passive and lethargic. The female eseal that had been in S bay has left, I assume to get out of the cold wind which has been below zero plus wind chill while sea temp is currently around 7 degrees C. The younger male e-seal is visible out on Middle Rocks today and has been there the past few days.
A coast guard helicopter arrived today for maintenance on the light and fog horn. They landed next to tower as usual which was pretty close to elephant seals, Chunk took off around the other side of the house but returned soon after to mate. While clearly bothered by the sound, wind/debris and proximity of the helicopter the mother and pup didnt or couldnt really move away.
-Checking heating coils on exposed water lines
-cut, chopped, stacked fire wood
-cleaned panels
-running some heat in main house in the evenings to keep it warm
-worked on wiring/lights in whaler
-communications for wood stove/inverter/solar
-entered data and submitted DFO boat count and Seawater samples
-made parts list for plumbing in main house
-month end report fuel inventory
