p etition to l ist p into a balone as e ndangered under the esa rachel aronson – [email protected]...
TRANSCRIPT
PETITION TO LIST PINTO ABALONE AS
ENDANGERED UNDER THE ESARachel Aronson – [email protected]
Adi Hanein – [email protected]
Amy Klein – [email protected]
Zachary Meyer – [email protected]
University of Washington ESRM 458
Professors M. Miller and J. Marzluff
March 7, 2012(Welch 2012)
Outline
1. The Client
2. Pinto AbaloneI. Current Status
II. Population Decline
III. Reasoning for Listing
under ESA (Welch 2012)
The Client: Center for Biological Diversity• Miyoko Sakashita• “We work to secure a
future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science…”
• “We want those who come after us to inherit a world where the wild is still alive.”
(Center for Biological Diversity 2012)
Current Status of Pinto Abalone• IUCN Red List– Endangered
• Canada (COSEWIC) • Threatened in 1999• Endangered as of 2009
• United States – Species of Concern• Receives no protection under ESA
Pinto Abalone
(Welch 2012)
• Marine Gastropod• Broadcast spawner• CaCO3 Shell
Pinto Abalone Population Decline
(Photo courtesy of: Independent.com)
Pinto Abalone Fisheries History and Continued Monitoring
• Commercial fisheries existed in Alaska and British Columbia, recreational fishery in Washington
• Poor management led to permanent fishery closures in the 1990’s
• Continued monitoring shows populations continue to decline Recent Pinto abalone abundance declines in the San
Juan archipelago (pugetsoundscienceupdate.com)
ESA definition of “species”• The pinto abalone is a “species” under the ESA
• The Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531 – 1544, allows any species of fish or wildlife or plants to be listed under the provisions of the act. Section 3(8) of the ESA defines “fish or wildlife” to mean “any member of the animal kingdom, including without limitation any mammal, fish, or bird…, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, or other invertebrate…” 16 U.S.C. § 1532 (8) (emphasis added). The pinto abalone is a mollusk. The pinto abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) was formally described as a species in 1845 by Jonas (Cox 1962). Its taxonomy and validity as a species is uncontested. It qualifies as a “species” under the Act. Petitioners seek protection for the species throughout its range in Alaska, Washington, and California.
ESA definition of endangered
•The Secretary shall by regulation promulgated in accordance with subsection (b) determine whether any species is an endangered species or a threatened species because of any of the following factors:•(A) the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range;•(B) overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes;•(C) disease or predation;•(D) the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or•(E) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence.
Predation and Disease
Sea Otters Withering Syndrome
Synergy with Warming
Inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms• Strict fishing regulations are too little, too
late for population rebound.• Climate change effects on abalone
habitat are unregulated
Destruction of Habitat or RangeOcean Acidification:
• CO2 + CO32- + H20 ←→
2HCO3-
• Decreases the availability of carbonate ions in the water
• Carbonate ions are essential for calcifying organisms
• Larval survival decreases (Crim et al. 2011)
• Shell deformities (Crim et al. 2011)
Larval Recruitment
• �Low densities from over harvesting• �Low fertilization success• �Global climate change
o �Degraded spermo �Decrease in eggs due to decreased food
resources
Final thoughts: Protection for Invertebrates is Key• Once listed, the Pinto Abalone would
join the Black Abalone, the White Abalone and the Elkhorn and Staghorn Corals as the only marine invertebrates protected under the ESA.
• IUCN has considered for listing 54% of vertebrate species, compared to 1% of invertebrate species.
Selected References• Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). 2012. “Our Mission”.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/about/index.html• Crim, R.N. 2010. Effects of ocean acidification on different life history stages
of northern abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana). MSc thesis. University of British Columbia: Vancouver, Canada.
• Crim, R.N., Sunday, J.M. and C.D.G. Harley. 2011. Elevated seawater CO2 concentrations impair larval development and reduce larval survival in endangered northern abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 400(1-2): 272-277. (http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0022098111000499)
• Endangered Species Act of 1973, Pub. L. No. 93-205, Approved Dec. 28, 1973, 87 Stat. 884.
• Welch, Craig. 2012. "Abalone Are Treasured — Nearly to Extinction Locally." The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009202083_abalone10m.html.