Making Conservation Matter: The Power of Economics

Pacific Islands anemone, NOAA

In the conservation arena, many environmental advocates try to appeal to our sentimental fuzzy feelings to convince us that protecting sea otters, waterfalls, or forests is important for future generations.  However, in doing this, they alienate many members of the public and miss out on the most powerful argument of all: economics.  Because we all do enjoy the great outdoors, things like clean water, safe beaches, and healthy animal populations are valuable.  It seems strange to attach monetary values to something as intangible as enjoying a seaside sunset, but the fact remains that the general public is willing to pay for these aspects of the environment.  Not only do these types of valuation exercises exist, but they underlie many (if not all) resource management decisions that are made worldwide.  Economists often specialize in this type of non-use or existence valuation and conduct studies that lead to reports such as this recent NOAA publication, stating that Hawaii's coral reefs are worth almost $34 billion annually.  Such a large sum holds a lot of sway in political circles and speaks to the power of numbers. 

Sala y Gomez marine reserve, Chile

Similarly, several months ago, Enric Sala (National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and one of my personal heroes) spoke at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars along with Dr. Jane Lubchenco about using economics to debunk popular ocean conservation myths.  He has visited pristine areas around the world and works in Washington DC to raise awareness about the benefits of marine protected areas.  Using examples from Spain, Kenya, and Mombassa, he shows that MPAs have doubled fisheries income and raised tourist revenue twenty times over.  The largest marine conservation myth that he combats is that MPAs are costly.  Spotlighting Australia's Great Barrier Reef, he shows how tourism revenue is up almost 40%, with management costing a mere 10% of that income (a smart investment to be sure!). 

West coast sunset, Surfrider

Sala's dream is to get a large portion of the ocean protected.  What is enough, you ask?  Of course this is difficult to determine, but the scientific community recommends between 20-50% of the worlds oceans be protected and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity has mandated 10%. Twelve large MPAs account for almost 80% of the world's total protected areas, with almost 4500 smaller reserves dotting coastlines around the globe.  No doubt these smaller reserves are more costly per unit area, but again Sala appeals to the numbers.  To protect 10% of the world's oceans, he estimates the cost at $12 billion per year.  For only an additional $4 billion, 20% could be protected and 1 million jobs would be created.  Interestingly, this $16 billion dollars is the same amount that is spent in bad fishing subsidies per year.  Sala hopes for a combination of government involvement and stakeholder demand to change congressional attitudes toward MPAs around the world.  This economic perspective is increasingly important as we move forward in marine conservation and management. 

Check out the IUCN's global work in MPAs for more information on this topic!

Brown Bag Seminars

As part of our continuing Knauss Brown Bag seminar series, we have two new talks tomorrow at noon in the NOAA Central Library.

First up, Amanda Keledjian (Office of Protected Resources) will tell us all about her work studying sea lion stranding and fisheries interactions during periods of El Nino conditions that are often experienced in the California Current Ecosystem.  This interdisciplinary work brings together oceanography, coastal health, animal mischief, and fisheries - come see what results!

Second, Heidi Geisz (Committee on Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife) will talk about her work investigating persistent organic pollutants in the Antarctic environment.  You thought that it was pristine and isolated from the effects of human pollution?  As it turns out, researchers can study pollution within the food web by analyzing animal tissues.  In this case, Heidi studied Adelie penguins!  Come find out what she knows about the contaminants found in one of the most beautiful regions on the planet.

As always, bring your lunch and some stimulating questions for our speakers.

Science Humor

It's Monday, so here's a matrix I think we can all appreciate. 

Bring on the Jobs

It seems to be on every Fellow’s mind at the moment, and conversations among us usually wind up there sooner or later: what are your plans after the fellowship? There are four months to go which makes it a good time to start thinking about our next move. Ten fabulous volunteers with the inside scoop shared their valuable information with us at the 2011 Knauss Career Workshop on Friday.

Resumes and Interviews

Ida Buffone, Recruitment Manager for the contracting company IMSG, kicked things off by providing some tips for constructing an optimal resume and how to impress during the interview that (hopefully) follows.
After lunch a panel of hiring professionals explained some ins and outs of applying to federal jobs and contractors –

•    Ida Buffone, IMSG
•    Jim Saulsbury, 2020
•    Christine Carpino, NOAA

Two take-home messages stood out: be sure your application materials highlight the experiences you have that explicitly satisfy the job description, and network! You never know when who you know will come in handy.

Advice from Knauss Alums

Two panels of Knauss alumni sat down to share their post-fellowship stories. The Senior Managers Panel included two fellows from the class of ’92 and one from the class of ’82 -

•    Lauren Wenzel, Acting Director of the National Marine Protected Areas Center
•    Russell Callendar, Acting Director of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
•    Christophe Tulou, Director of the District Department of the Environment

None of these successful Knauss grads entered their current positions or organizations directly after their fellowship. In fact, they had pretty circuitous and diverse paths to their current careers, but they gained unique perspectives along the way. So ask yourself – what skills to I need? You’re not expected to land your dream job in February, just start the path to get there.

Our final panel included former fellows from ’00, ’03, ’05 and ’09 and led to some candid conversations about work-life balance and techniques for advancing your knowledge base (or “pie”) -

•    Jason Goldberg, Fish and Wildlife Biologist in Aquatic Invasive Species USFWS
•    Amanda Leland, National Policy Director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s Oceans Program
•    Kirsten Larsen, National Habitat Science Coordinator in the NMFS Office of Science and Technology
•    Jeb Berman, Director of Government Relations for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

This panel stressed again the importance of getting your face, your name and your handshake out there. So if you didn’t have the opportunity to meet our fine panelists on Friday, track them down at the next oceans event, introduce yourself and make a connection. They took time out of their hectic schedules to sit down and help us. The least we can do it take them up on the offer.

Knauss in Aberdeen – Biodiversity, Fjords, and Climate Change

On the third day of this marine biodiversity extravaganza, one gentleman from the University of Hawaii presented his exciting findings from the hidden fjords of the West Antarctic Peninsula. If you’re wondering what Hawaiian researchers are doing near the South Pole, you wouldn’t be alone, as I was pondering that same question myself when he began explaining that his goals included comparing his research to what they have discovered in the Arctic.  Talk about spanning the globe!  As it turns out, his hard work has led him to conclude that climate change will dramatically alter the kinds and types of creatures that live in fjords, leading to growing similarities between the two poles!

When they first began their research on the peninsula (where climate is changing faster than anywhere on the planet ) near the U.S. Palmer Station Research Base, they had assumptions about what they would find.  However, as so often occurs with scientific exploration, they were greatly surprised by the large abundance and diversity of animals they found in their samples.  One hypothesis for this finding is that Antarctic fjords are in a much earlier melting stage compared to their northern counterparts.  Faster melting in the Arctic leads to larger amounts of heavy, glacial freshwater that causes faster sediment burial and less mixing within the water column.  Without mixing of the nutrients that sink to the bottom, these communities have low biodiversity.

The researchers decided that this alone could not explain the diversity they saw.  They began devising new theories to explain their findings when they made another discovery: sunken krill.  It would seem that an unexpected amount of krill die and “fall out” of the water column down to the benthos, where they decompose and create a feast for the abundant and diverse critters of the deep.  While they noticed these krill deposits in many locations, they have not been able to explain the phenomenon, as the Southern Ocean is not believed to be limited by oxygen or nutrients. 

Taken together, slow melting and krill fall-out create rich and diverse communities.  However, this means that these fjords have not one but two Achilles heels in the face of changing climate: quickening glacial melting and declining krill.  Another factor besides climate putting krill at risk is the growing pressure from fishermen braving the Southern Ocean and high fuel costs in search of this large (and dare I say charismatic?) crustacean species.  In this way, biodiversity hotspots in the Antarctic may shrink over time, eventually resembling Arctic communities.  The impacts of this shift would amplify through the food web in an area already experiencing warming temperatures, melting sea ice, and predator-prey distribution mismatches.  Only time will tell how the peninsula will change, but certainly interesting and important polar research coming from Hawaii!

Knauss in Aberdeen – Biodiversity in the Best and Worst of Times

The World Conference on Marine Biodiversity is well underway in Scotland and Knauss fellows have been feasting on the wealth of knowledge and information shared by researchers and resource managers from all over the globe.  As the hub for fishing and shipping activities and the oil and gas capital of the United Kingdom, Aberdeen (affectionately termed the Granite City) is an appropriate venue to hold discussions about the importance of conserving marine biodiversity.  Aside from the classic principles of biodiversity being essential to ecosystem resilience and our very existence, experts are presenting on the impacts of climate change, coral genetics, economics, the role of Marine Protected Areas, and recent changes in policy and law.  One of the cornerstones of this conference is no doubt the recent successes and next steps of the ten year effort known as the Census for Marine Life (in case you missed the memo, they discovered a modest 20,000 new species!).  This and other themes has reminded me of the real immergence of interdisciplinary and international conservation work, which is often the most difficult yet most important to undertake for the marine environment. 

Aberdeen City Center

As can be expected, no meeting of biodiversity scientists and aficionados would be complete without those passionate for plankton and benthic invertebrates.  While sitting in one of these presentations on ocean productivity and biodiversity hotspots, I was reminded of the power of bottom-up trophic effects.  As it turns out, a research group in the UK has used biodiversity indices and ocean fronts to model coastal areas that are important for animals such as seabirds, sharks, and marine mammals (similar to our TOPP program).  Where there is more benthic invertebrate diversity and productivity, there are more forage fish, and therefore greater megafauna diversity and abundance. This model was confirmed by satellite tagging studies, where you can see how the foraging and migration paths of these large animals follow the formation of currents along continental shelves on a relatively short time scale.  This information can then be used to more quickly inform spatial planning or renewable energy development projects such as offshore wind farms.  This concept is complicated by the seasonal and variable nature of these ocean fronts, which the author cited as proof for the need for more flexible protected areas.  Talk about interdisciplinary!

Benthic foraminifera

One of highlights so far was a very inspiring plenary presentation by Jeff Ardon, director of the Marine Conservation Biology Institute.  By speaking very charismatically on the challenges in marine conservation in what Ardon refers to as the best and worst of times, he reminded us that local innovation and creativity must be applied at the global scale to minimize cheating.  Strong incentives to ignore the rules are crushing positive contributions of science-based management around the world.  Whether neglecting to report bycatch, releasing more than your fair share of greenhouse gases, or ignoring international protocols, cheating is rampant and dangerous.  Ardon reminded us that despite the great technological feats of our time, we still suffer billions of dollars in damages from Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing.  While local conservation triumphs are worthy of praise, it is daunting to step back and recognize the existing gaps in international management capacity. 

 

These thoughts have been an interesting start to a conference where scientists must lift their heads from the details of benthic microfauna genetics to ensure that we act more wisely by admitting what we don’t know yet not ignoring what we already do know. 

Tune back in for more updates as this conference proceeds!

Crab Night at Sligo Creek Elementary

Anna and Denise debunk the 'old guy in a lab coat' stereotype

How many eyes does a horseshoe crab have? How can you tell when a blue crab is about to molt? These questions (and more!) were answered by Anna and Denise last night at Sligo Creek Elementary School's Guest Scientist Series.

Hoards of eager young minds descended on the cafeteria to hear about what it means to be a scientist, discuss the similarities and differences between blue crabs and horseshoe crabs, and help run a science experiment. Kids and parents alike were surprised by some of the things they learned.

Take, for example, the fact that horseshoe crabs save lives. Including yours most likely. Denise explained that early vaccines were tested for bacterial impurities by injecting them into bunnies. If the bunny got sick, the vaccine was unsafe for people. But the famous blue blood of the horseshoe crab offered a different solution - a substance called LAL that clots when in contact with bacteria.
Using LAL from horseshoe crab blood, Denise demonstrated how modern vaccines are tested. For the control she added regular bottled water to LAL, and for the test she added bottled water that had been swished around in a volunteer's mouth and spit out. 

Denise leading the LAL experiment

In 15 minutes, the control was still a liquid and the test had congealed into a gel, just like it would for a vaccine that contains bacteria. Cool!

Anna taught the group how to determine when a blue crab's egg mass (or sponge) is about to hatch based on its color and how animals with hard outsides, like crabs, grow by molting.
Fun and informal presentations like this one make science accessible to everyone - great job ladies!