Author
Joe Cordaro
Bio: Joe Cordaro is an academic researcher from National Marine Fisheries Service. The author has contributed to research in topics: Marine conservation & Stock assessment. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 4 publications receiving 852 citations.
Topics: Marine conservation, Stock assessment, Marine mammal, Whale, Anchovy
Papers
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Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute1, The Marine Mammal Center2, National Ocean Service3, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories4, National Marine Fisheries Service5, California State University, Monterey Bay6, University of California, Santa Cruz7, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology8, California Health and Human Services Agency9, University of California, Davis10, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill11, Colorado State University12, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration13
TL;DR: Findings reveal that monitoring of mussel toxicity alone does not necessarily provide adequate warning of DA entering the food web at levels sufficient to harm marine wildlife and perhaps humans.
Abstract: Over 400 California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) died and many others displayed signs of neurological dysfunction along the central California coast during May and June 1998. A bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia australis (diatom) was observed in the Monterey Bay region during the same period. This bloom was associated with production of domoic acid (DA), a neurotoxin1 that was also detected in planktivorous fish, including the northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax), and in sea lion body fluids. These and other concurrent observations demonstrate the trophic transfer of DA resulting in marine mammal mortality. In contrast to fish, blue mussels (Mytilus edulus) collected during the DA outbreak contained no DA or only trace amounts. Such findings reveal that monitoring of mussel toxicity alone does not necessarily provide adequate warning of DA entering the food web at levels sufficient to harm marine wildlife and perhaps humans.
794 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reported that ship strikes are a significant mortality factor for other species of baleen whale, and changes in shipping traffic have been advocated to minimize further deaths.
Abstract: Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) are distributed worldwide, and although severely depleted by commercial whaling, their abundance off the California coast now appears to be increasing. Little is known about natural causes of mortality of blue whales, but human-related mortality continues despite legal protection. Ship strikes are a significant mortality factor for other species of baleen whale, and changes in shipping traffic have been advocated to minimize further deaths. Between 1988 and 2007, 21 blue whale deaths were reported along the California coast, typically one or two cases annually. Three pulses in strandings were observed, with three carcasses observed in fall 1988, three in 2002, and four in fall 2007. Two of the four animals in 2007 were first observed dead in the Santa Barbara Channel and had wounds typical of a ship strike. Blue whale strandings were spatially associated with locations of shipping lanes, especially those associated with the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and were most common in the fall months.
73 citations
TL;DR: Although the cause of death for many strandings was unidentified, the increase in strandings in 2008-2009 reflects an increase in blunt trauma rather than an epizootic of disease.
Abstract: In 2007, the apparent increase in the number of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) stranding along the central California coast compared to the number of strandings the previous year resulted in the declaration of an Unusual Mortality Event by the National Marine Fisheries Service. A statistically significant increase in strandings occurred in 2008 and 2009, with more than twice the mean annual number of strandings documented per year in the previous decade occurring each year, but then strandings decreased in 2010. No single cause of mortality explained all the strandings, and there were no significant changes in age class or sex of strandings in 2008 and 2009. Trauma, including interspecific aggression and fisheries interactions, was the most common cause of death, and blunt force trauma increased significantly in August through October of 2008 and 2009. Domoic acid toxicosis was documented for the first time in this species. Although the cause of death for many strandings was unidentified, the increase in strandings in 2008-2009 reflects an increase in blunt trauma rather than an epizootic of disease.
17 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, a global assessment of the effects of inorganic nitrogen pollution in aquatic ecosystems is presented, with detailed multi-scale data, and three major environmental problems: (1) increasing the concentration of hydrogen ions in freshwater ecosystems without much acid-neutralizing capacity, resulting in acidification of those systems; (2) stimulating or enhancing the development, maintenance and proliferation of primary producers, leading to eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems; (3) reaching toxic levels that impair the ability of aquatic animals to survive, grow and reproduce.
1,753 citations
TL;DR: The Effects of Harmful Algal Blooms on Aquatic Organisms: Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 113-390 as mentioned in this paper was the first publication of this article.
Abstract: (2002). The Effects of Harmful Algal Blooms on Aquatic Organisms. Reviews in Fisheries Science: Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 113-390.
1,242 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that top predators exploit their environment in predictable ways, providing the foundation for spatial management of large marine ecosystems, and critical habitats across multinational boundaries are identified.
Abstract: Pelagic marine predators face unprecedented challenges and uncertain futures. Overexploitation and climate variability impact the abundance and distribution of top predators in ocean ecosystems. Improved understanding of ecological patterns, evolutionary constraints and ecosystem function is critical for preventing extinctions, loss of biodiversity and disruption of ecosystem services. Recent advances in electronic tagging techniques have provided the capacity to observe the movements and long-distance migrations of animals in relation to ocean processes across a range of ecological scales. Tagging of Pacific Predators, a field programme of the Census of Marine Life, deployed 4,306 tags on 23 species in the North Pacific Ocean, resulting in a tracking data set of unprecedented scale and species diversity that covers 265,386 tracking days from 2000 to 2009. Here we report migration pathways, link ocean features to multispecies hotspots and illustrate niche partitioning within and among congener guilds. Our results indicate that the California Current large marine ecosystem and the North Pacific transition zone attract and retain a diverse assemblage of marine vertebrates. Within the California Current large marine ecosystem, several predator guilds seasonally undertake north-south migrations that may be driven by oceanic processes, species-specific thermal tolerances and shifts in prey distributions. We identify critical habitats across multinational boundaries and show that top predators exploit their environment in predictable ways, providing the foundation for spatial management of large marine ecosystems.
1,081 citations
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution1, North Carolina State University2, San Francisco State University3, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science4, Stony Brook University5, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission6, University of California, Santa Cruz7, Florida Gulf Coast University8, University of Maine9, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration10, University of South Florida11
TL;DR: In some regions of the U.S., the linkages between HABs and eutrophication are clear and well documented, whereas in others, information is limited, thereby highlighting important areas for further research.
567 citations
TL;DR: There is a rapidly advancing monitoring effort resulting from the perception of increased impacts from these HABs, manifested as expanding routine coastal monitoring programs, rapid development and deployment of new detection methods for individual species, toxins, and toxicities, and expansion of coastal modeling activities towards observational forecasts of bloom landfall and eventually bloom prediction.
Abstract: Blooms of autotrophic algae and some heterotrophic protists are increasingly frequent in coastal waters around the world and are collectively grouped as harmful algal blooms (HABs). Blooms of these organisms are attributed to two primary factors: natural processes such as circulation, upwelling relaxation, and river flow; and, anthropogenic loadings leading to eutrophication. Unfortunately, the latter is commonly assumed to be the primary cause of all blooms, which is not the case in many instances. Moreover, although it is generally acknowledged that occurrences of these phenomena are increasing throughout the world's oceans, the reasons for this apparent increase remain debated and include not only eutrophication but increased observation efforts in coastal zones of the world. There is a rapidly advancing monitoring effort resulting from the perception of increased impacts from these HABs, manifested as expanding routine coastal monitoring programs, rapid development and deployment of new detection methods for individual species, toxins, and toxicities, and expansion of coastal modeling activities towards observational forecasts of bloom landfall and eventually bloom prediction. Together, these many efforts will provide resource managers with the tools needed to develop effective strategies for the management and mitigation of HABs and their frequently devastating impacts on the coastal environment.
516 citations