Visitor in Moss Landing Harbor:

As we were observing otters in the northern portion of Moss Landing Harbor, we observed an elephant seal moving towards the shore. An elephant seal? This species of marine mammal is not typically found in in the Moss Landing area! We took a break from otter behavioral sampling to observe this unlikely visitor. As we were observing from the jetty near "Track Beach," she started to haul out onto shore and we were able to see an injury above her left pectoral fin. We moved back up the beach to give her plenty of room (at least 50 feet) and called the Marine Mammal Center. When the rescue crew arrived, they moved in within six feet of the animal to assess her condition. They reported back to our team that her injury was healing and there were no signs of infection. Although she is currently underweight and moderately dehydrated, they predict that she will eventually. We were then escorted closer to this massive mammal to learn more about the physiology of an elephant seal! You can learn more about elephant seals at The Marine Mammal Center website.

Please note that I took these photos with a very long camera lens; and the closest photos were taken while I was being escorted by an experienced marine mammal rescue worker.

Anna

This morning, Larry and I observeed a medium grizzled otter of undetermined gender. We took notes as it groomed itself and subsequently played with other otters in the harbor area. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to follow one individual when it is playing with another otter. The wrestle and dive in the water, and eventually we lose track of who is who. At this point, we must end our focal observation.

The rest of the team arrived just in time for lunch. As you know already, Donna and Ruth are both teachers. Donna is from Phoenix and Ruth is from the Boston area. Also on the team is Larry from Phoenix who has traveled extensively around the world and Paul and Joanne who are Earthwatch vets at 9 & 10 expeditions a piece! Another exciting addition to Team 3 is the co-PI, Dr. Thomas Jefferson. He will be on the boat every day collecting biopsy samples on the same dolphins that we are photographing.

After lunch, we took this lovely team photo, the before photo. And then we walked down to Lovers Point to get oriented to the bay and to look at the kelp forests. You may see from the pictures that it was sunny with blue sky- unusual for the area, so I think it is Danny that brings the sun.

Anna

TEAM 3!! I have just returned from picking up two of our newest teammates: Ruth and Donna. Ruth and Donna are both educator fellows who will be teaching Live from the Field. We are currently playing with audioblogs as we wait for the other teammembers, Joanne, Paul and Larry to arrive.

Anna

Reflections from Allison:

Coming from a city like New York, I was never really able to get in touch with the wild, or even living creatures, unless I went to the zoo, so going on this expedition really opened up my world for me. I always wanted to see the animals I saw in the zoo or aquarium in the wild, to see how they naturally lived. Luckily for me, I was able to do that.

It took me a while to figure out what was most memorable for me on this trip, and I realized what was most on my mind when I got home were the dolphins. When I was on the bow of the Asterix, I saw my first wild dolphin face to face, without any glass, as they leapt and dove a yard in front of me and beside me. I will always remember seeing those elusive silvery bodies rising out of the cold wetness and for a split second, making direct eye contact with me before diving down in to the depths again. I thought, how ironic it is that humans have generally felt so alone in this universe, and that we need to search for others like us in the depths of space, when really, we have been completely blind. I don't believe we are alone in this universe, and more importantly, I don't believe we are alone in this world. The ocean is truly the world's final frontier, a glistening pot of Life Soup, so to say.

I simply want humanity to know and understand that we are not alone.

Marjorie is rocking the socks! It was quite a chilly day and these fuzzy kitties were keeping her piggies warm.

Elizabeth and Marjorie spent the afternoon observing a raft of sea otters that ranged in size from 24 - 33 animals. We were observing from the West parking lot at Moss Landing harbor. The otters were located between the port and starboard Channel markers. An interesting anecdotal observation was that a large proportion of the raft moved 'en masse' for no apparent reason. However, within a few moments of this movement, a speedboat and on another occasion a kayaker who was moving across the area at a fast pace, were determined to be the cause of this movement.

Since the tide was ebbing, the group kept floating toward the main channel. Then, when they reached a 'critical point' the group would back paddle until the reached the more sheltered area away from the channel. The thing that was interesting to note in these episodes was that they seemed to be back paddling to return to their former location, would groom for a bit and then settle in to resting behavior.

During the first three hours of our observation the otters were resting and grooming except for a frollicking playful pair. During the last hour the 49 sea otters in the area congealed together into a large loose raft. Of note, at no time during this observation did any of the otters forage.

In the area were two harbor seals, who sometimes intermingled with the sea otters. They were tail slapping around the group. However, when they were in the group of sea otters they politely did not do this maneuver to disrupt the raft.

Throughout the entire observation, there were always at least two playing otters cavorting around, through and within the raft. They interacted with several resting otters in the raft, but these attempts to engage others in their play were fruitless or limited to short duration.

Also observed was one adult sporting a red mesh net around its middle. It didn't appear to be under duress, so it could have been substituting this netting for its more favored sea kelp.

Marjorie and Elizabeth

TECHNOLOGY!! Daniela could not be in California for Team 2, but that did not stop her from joining the team remotely from the Earthwatch office. Before going into the field on Wednesday, we had a video-conference: Daniela introduced herself and had the opportunity to meet all of the teammates- face to face!

Morning Report by Elizabeth, give a listen!

Miles went kayaking today and apparently saw a lot of sea lions. Here's a recording of his best impression of this charismatic pinniped.

Why are some people drawn to scat, dung, frass, guano, feces, poop? Is it because of its size, texture, shape, coloration, location? Or the fact that it embodies so many minute morsels which can, inevitably, lead to the identity of its depositor? Perhaps it’s because it is called by many names that we weren’t allowed to utter as kids. For me, it’s all of the above.

I became fascinated with scat during a ‘tracking’ experience at Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall, WA. We were learning to identify local animals by their tracks, hair deposits on brush, and scat, if we were lucky. That summer, I was honored to participate in a wolf-tracking expedition in Idaho, where scat played an enormous role in following these magnificent creatures.

Who would have thought I would be fortunate enough to come across sea otter scat. The stuff we found on the cove beach within the West parking lot area was amazing. Some was ‘fluffy’ and filled with crab and clam shells and probably innkeeper worms. Others were more canine-like, perhaps belonging to local foxes – also filled with crabs. There were, as well, several piles of orangish oatmeal-like blobs, dark-colored ooze and oops ~! diarrhea!

The question is, which scat sample came from which animal. We could narrow down the donators by observing tracks in the sand to harbor seals, sea otter and possibly fox. Peter shot a few good photos of tracks along side the GPS unit, for size comparison. Now it’s up to the scientists – “scatologists” - to decipher the contents of the samples we collected. Therein they will discover the species digested, pollution levels and possibly DNA identification. Cool!

Anna shared her poop photos of African animals. Puts a new curve on those of us who are naturally drawn to the other end of “what goes in …. “.

Elizabeth Gates
Monterey Marine mammals – Team 2
Aug. 25, 2006

tracks on W. beach/harbor seal?

Almost Famous! The other day, Sean was notified by the state lifeguards that they had observed a predatory event involving a large shark and a probable harbor seal off of Manresa Beach. This is the same area in which we are conducting our dolphin surveys and have been eager to enjoy a shark siting as well! Needless to say, there has been lots of shark-talk in the Monterey Bay community. Today the Channel 8 news crew was at Manresa Beach fishing for a story, and saw our boat, the Astirix, motor by on our regular dolphin survey. They called Sean's cell phone wanting to have an interview, so we arranged to meet the crew at Moss Landing Harbor when we were done with our survey. Of course I was hoping to jump in front of the camera with my Earthwatch t-shirt, and talk about the research and the volunteers. Today, they were only interested in the shark story, but it was still a treat to watch Sean on the 5 o'clock news!

Earthwatch Circus- Everyone on Team 2 is starting to feel quite comfortable and we have been sharing our tricks and hidden talents. Eilzabeth showed us her magic arm levetation, Marjorie and Peter displayed their shared knack for balancing spoons and John showcased his amazing facial dexterity by moving a pretzel from his forehead to his mouth just by twitching! He wasn't as successful with the brownie. Allison often treats us with a serenade, Eriko teaches Japanese and Miles has been sharing his talents with us all week, but his tricks cannot be seen by the naked eye.




Anna

Otter Fever! This morning was particularly chilly, and Allison, Marjorie, Eriko and Anna were on the otter team. After observing playing otters and the morning raft from the restaurant deck for over two hours, we were all shivering. It was time to take a short break and head for some hot drinks in Moss Landing. En route, Anna saw a lone otter out of the corner of her eye, and quickly pulled on to the side of the road, right after the Whole Enchilada restaurant. This docking area, Area 6, is very shallow and close to Moss Landing road. Lo and behold, there was a single elderly female, resting. Allison and Eriko started a focal observation while Marjorie and Anna continued on foot to the Haute Enchilada to purchase the hot drinks for the crew. Upon our return, Allison reported that our female otter appeared to be doing sit-ups/crunches in the water; rocking back and forth, while we were gone. After more rest, she began these maneuvers again and we recorded some video on Anna's camera. This appeared to be a travel movement for her. After some more resting and slow grooming, a woman and a small boy walked by our observation point and the child asked the woman about the otter. The woman replied that they see the otter there every day. Having eaves-dropped on this conversation, Marjorie told Anna who promptly stopped the woman walking by. The woman in the purple shirt reported that she frequenly observes this very otter as well as up to three young otters in the area. She said that this older one was "very sweet." As we were conversing, the otter had been rocking her way towards the stones on the shore. She rolled onto her stomach and eased up onto the stones!! Then she began nosing around the stones, and the woman said, "she must be looking for a crab." After the woman and boy departed, we continued to observe the female otter that, by this time, Allison had nicknamed Ophelia, due to her rocking travel movements. We observed Ophelia grooming herself as well as resting on the rocks.
Occasionally she would look up for noises such as some children standing above her on the bank, cars passing by and Anna crunching her plastic lunch bag (oops!). She also would scratch the back of her head on the rocks every so often. After sunbathing for a while (although there was no sun...) she rolled back off the rocks into the water.
We were suprised that she never used her hind quarters to help her into the water, perhaps a little lame in the back. However, we did observer her grooming herself with her back flippers. After a little more time resting, she mosied on past the boats and out of sight.

Marjorie and Anna

THE COUNT!

Once per Team we conduct a detailed count of sea otters along the entire stretch of Elkhorn Slough. The slough is a seasonal estuary which runs 7 km inland from Moss Landing Harbor. It is agreat place... with over 200 bird species either visiting its shores seasonally or living there permanently, a harbor seal colony, and sea otters. The slough is also an important nursery for fishes, especially sharks and rays. The Pelagic Shark Research Foundation, an organization that collaborates with us in the research, is studying these animals in the slough. Their project will also be sponsored by Earthwatch next year.

To count the otters we take the boat into the channel and slowly make our way inland, where the waters get shallower and shallower and there is a good chance of getting stuck. We count every otter we see, write down its gender, approximate age group, its behavior and its location. There are many otters that are tagged. They are grown pups released from the Monterey Bay Aquarium rehabilitation program. Monitoring these animals to see how they fare back in the wild is both interesting and useful. Our counts integrate with another study, one being conducted by Pacific Cetacean Group. They have been conducting weekly counts since 1994. I helped start that study and here we are so many years later, still running and still trying to understand the complex relationship between the slough and the otters.

There are over 80 animals inthe slough right now. Plenty of work for our team.

We had been sitting at the Moss Landing restaurant observing our otter clan. We were ready to call it a day and make our walk back to the doc.

The other two team members took the long road, Peter however wanted to take the beach route shortcut. The tide had come in and all I could see was water. He said he thought we could make it back....I had my doubts.
As one of the older team members, my footing and balance was not what it used to be. The slippery mud, rickety rocks, and slimy sea weed made this route difficult and I was sure that I was going to get wet feet or worse!

Peter was confident, so I followed. He took my hand in all the right places and was patient as I made my way safely to the hard sand.
To my surprise I made it....and was still dry!
Thanks Peter....my hero!

Anita, Volunteer, Team 2

THE BASH!

Tonight there was no cooking. The Team has declared a truce with pots and pans and headed down the street, to quaint downtown Pacific Grove for a dinner to be remembered. We went to Passion Fish, an environmentally responsible and upscale restaurant. What can I say...SUPERB.

Apart from the excellent California wines which we all enjoyed almost too much, there were the mouth watering fishes (ahi, salmon, tilapia, etc..) and the masterfully prepared sides with names so complicated we were all a little to tipsy to remember.

It was a large family event and everybody felt good about staying up a little too late because tomorrow is our Day Off and we can spend a little longer under the covers and enjoy a well deserved rest. But the evening did not end here.

There was the ICE CREAM RODEO!

I am not sure who displayed the best acrobatic skills (I think Sean may be the winner...) but the locals of Pacific Grove, at least the few that happened to visit the little ice cream store on the corner, will probably report to family and neighbours that a bunch of crazy people have taken residence in PG. Well... they did not spend long and hard days on boats and docks so they really cannot understand.

So far it has been really incredible. There are already so many stories and data to go with them. Claire and Kate have been busy with the dolphin photo-id. They are finding many new animals. So far only one dolphin, Wild Woman was seen 12 years ago. Claire and Kate have named their first new animal Joker, because the dorsal fin profile looks like that of a clown.

It is hard to sit down in the office and work after a full day in the field. Yet our team is unrelenting. Data still need to be entered and while the staff is busy with food preparation in the kitchen the team does their share. Carole and Lyman are always the first to their computer. Lyman is our official team photographer. Many of the photos you see are his. He likes to capture the moment.

Anita is our database person and Sean has been busy keeping his boat, the Astrix, in ship shape for the team. Everybody is busy but also having a good time.

Daniela

A big day for dolphins. This morning both of the boats used in the project departed Moss Landing in search of Bottlenose Dolphins. The Astrix headed north while The Maverix turned south under cloudy, windless skies. The calm seas provided excellent opportunies for spotting marine mammals, and team members identified Harbour Porpoises, California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters and Harbour Seals before encountering several pods of Bottlenose Dolphins feeding, playing and milling in the shallow waters just beyond the surfline. The cloud cover dissipated and the California sun sparkled off the breaking waves.

Once the dolphins were located, the serious work began...recording animal numbers and behaviour, snapping images for photo identification and keeping a keen eye out for surfacing animals. Eight new animals were identified off Marina State Beach, including two calves less than a week old. Some thrilled the team with exuberant leaps over breaking waves, while others accompanied The Maverix by riding the boat's bow wave.

On our return to Pacific Grove, the process of data entry and photo identification continued. One dolphin, originally identified in 1994, was recognised, but the remainder appeared to be animals new to Monterey Bay since previous surveys were undertaken.

The evening provided opportunities for team members to enjoy more of Peter and Daniela's incredible cooking and to share stories of previous Earthwatch adventures.

Daniel

Elkhorn Slough - First day of the Sea Otter Project

There are so many otters in the harbor!! All over the place. There is a big raft floating around in the midst of all the boat and kayak traffic, and many of them are foraging right in front of the launch ramp. There is still a harbor seal haul-out in front of the launch ramp as well.

We spent the day checking out good observation spots...and testing the data-sheets. There are a few tagged animals, recent releases from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and a lot of young animals in general. Another amazing day in Monterey Bay.

Back at the house, we had, once again, spectacular food accompanied by wine and beer and by a dip in the hot tub. By the way, the house is fantastic. It is a large victorian home in a quiet street in Pacific Grove, with a nice decked back-yard and the well received hot tub. A perfect finishing touch for a perfect day.

We did manage to fit 10 people in the hot tub. A record for sure and very cozy too. We had great conversations under the almost full moon and got ourselves very excited about the next day.
The Team fits well together. We are already best friends!

We did work on our data-sheets before getting in the hot tub, so stop frowning. We really are very responsible researchers!

Daniela

Welcome to Moss Landing! For every dolphin survey, we depart on the Astirix from Moss Landing, under the shadow of the Moss Landing Power Plant. The stacks of the power plant let out billowing clouds of white steam and create a very salient landmark for boaters in the bay, on a clear day at least. We can use the direction of the steam out of the stacks to indicate wind direction.

Team I left Moss Landing harbor around 0930 hrs. Team member split up into two groups, one on board of R/V Astirix and the other on board of R/V Mavrix. The two vessels and the crew are from the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation, our collaborating organization. They study sharks, the dolphins and sea otters top predators. An unlikely combination but it really works out well.

Since it was our first day on the water, we decided to stay together and spend some time training everybody on the proper way to collect the data. The weather was incredible, sunny and crisp with Beufort 0 sea state, no clouds or swells. We cruised northward, along the Monterey Bay shoreline. The water was teeming with birds, mostly pelicans, sooty shearwaters, terns, cormorants and seagulls. There were areas of high abundance of baitfish at the surface and the water was the typical brown-green of the "upwelling" period, signalling healthy plumes of productivity in the bay.

Conditions like this are unusual at this time of the year, when the fog is thick in the morning and the wind kicks-in in the afternoon. Definitely not today.....Harbor porpoises, generally so hard to spot in windy conditions were all over the nearshore, moving in and off shore while foraging.

We found the bottlenose dolphins at Rio del Mar, just in front of a kayaker who was delighted to be the center of the school's attention. The animals were swimming spread out in a lime about 800 m long. Some travelled in the surfline, others slightly offshore. Groups of dolphins within the same school coalesced and dispersed continuously and it was difficult to keep track of individual animals. There were 15 adults and no calves and we photo-identified at least six individuals with distinct markings.

On the way back to Moss Landing we travelled offshore and we came across two humpback whales, mother and juvenile, foraging in a large circle along theMonterey Bay submarine canyon's edge. What a perfect first day for the Team!

Welcome to Moss Landing! For every dolphin survey, we depart on the Astirix from Moss Landing, under the shadow of the Moss Landing Power Plant. The stacks of the power plant let out billowing clouds of white steam and create a very salient landmark for boaters in the bay, on a clear day at least. We can use the direction of the steam out of the stacks to indicate wind direction.

We picked up Daniel, Claire, Kate and Mark at the Monterey Peninsula Airport at 1000 hrs. They were all tired from the long flight. The rest of the Team joined us at home; Lyman and Carol drove in from San Francisco, Anita arrived accompanied by a friend. We had a great spaghetti lunch. Daniela briefed the team about the days ahead. In the late afternoon we took a walk to Lover's Point, just a couple of blocks from the house. Daniela, Peter and Anna showed the Team the surroundings: it was a lovely sunny day, and the Monterey Peninsula truly showed its shine to the volunteers. We could see all the way to Santa Cruz, on the other side of the bay.

After a hefty dinner of grilled potatoes and roasted chicken, we all retired anxious to spring into action the following day. The plan is to meet our two captains, sean and Callahan at Moss Landing Harbor and to go out in search of bottlenose dolphins.

The first day was a great success.....

Daniela

Today is the first day of the Marine Mammals of Monterey Earthwatch expedition. Seven volunteers arrived at the house this morning with a variety of previous experiences and expectations. Everyone has excellent stories to tell and I know that we will all get along with ease. We had a delicious spaghetti lunch cooked by the lead Principal Invesigator, Daniela Maldini. She is quite the cook. I'm not sure if I'll have much luck duplicating her meals, but she has instructed me to cook from the heart and not from the head. The first day of the project is primarily an orientation to the accomodations, the area and a brief introduction to the research. Four of the volunteers have arrived from overseas (3 from the UK and one from Australia) so after lunch we've let everyone take some time to un-pack, relax and get acquainted. In the mid-afternoon we'll have a team meeting, a tour of the house and walk through the Pacific Grove and down towards the coastline. Tomorrow we will go to Moss Landing Harbor to get oriented to the boats and the research methods.We are renting a lovely victorian home in Pacific Grove. It was built in 1893 and originally owned by Margaret McCormick. Downstairs there is a large sitting room with fireplace, an office for data entry and internet use, a dining room, large kitchen, pantry, one bedroom and one bathroom. Upstairs there is an additional bathroom and four more bedrooms. We also have a nice large common area for team meetings and there is also a television. Out back we have a small yard, deck, gas fire pit and a hot tub. (So far, the tub has not been too hot, but it was repaired this afternoon and should be in good working order this evening.) We are only a few blocks from town and less than a mile from the coast line where several harbor seals have hauled out on the shore to get warm.

Anna