Isla Alcatraz

One of my most frequented research sites is a small island located less than a mile from the mainland of Bahía Kino. While Isla Alcatraz only has a surface area of 1.44km², it is one of the most important bird areas in the Gulf of California. The island is utilized by over 50 different bird species and boasts thirteen different species of nesting birds. Additionally, it is home to 60 plant species, 6 reptile species of which 3 are endemic, 1 endemic bat species, at least 88 species of invertebrates, and supports marine mammals offshore. The island is composed mostly of a mountainous rocky cliff with one flat desert area to the east. It is part of the “Islands of the Gulf of California Reserve,” and as such is protected from development. However, it still faces threats from shrimp trawlers offshore, fishermen, and visitors that leave trash, disturb animals, or step on nests.

Isla Alcatraz has the largest colony of nesting Double Crested Cormorants (DCCO) in the Gulf of California. The DCCO nest along the crevices of the cliffs in small colonies. They begin nesting in late September, peak in December (about 2000 nests!), and taper out over the spring months. Part of my monitoring consists of recording the number of DCCO nests, and later I will be conducting a productivity study. The island is divided into sections to simplify surveying. One side of the island can only be counted from the panga (boat) because of the high cliffs, and the other side I traverse by foot. This seems like a simple enough job, but the island likes to throw challenges in your way.

First of all, this island was initially referred to as “Hell” by one of the teaching assistants. I thought this might be a little harsh, but then I decided that for most people (like you Mom) “Hell” would be a pretty accurate description. The first thing you notice up close to the island is the strong smell of bird guano. Since thousands of birds use this area daily, it smells pretty bad. Next, while surveying the island you are completely exposed to the elements, so at this time of year, it is blazing hot. Then you must maneuver your way around squawking/pooping birds (like Yellow Footed Gulls) through prickly cacti to reach the survey spots. Finally, as you survey, these little bugs who are about three times the size of a fruit fly, called bobitos, surround and land all over you. Luckily they don’t bite, but they are attracted to moisture since there is no source of fresh water on the island. This means, as you are sweating profusely trying to count hundreds of nests, little bugs are crawling all over you and flying in your ears, eyes, and up your nose!

But if you can get past all of that, it is an incredible ecosystem. I am amazed how much life the island can support and it is one of my favorite places to work.

Those little black forms among the grasses are the Double Crested Cormorants Nests!

Isla Alcatraz

Look Closely at my hat for the Bobitos

Multi-species heron nest in cardon cactus

Fishing trip highlights

Despite being a very eye-opening experience, those of you that know me well are aware that I don’t enjoy being involved with anything that kills things. So, the fishing part wasn’t really that great for me. Instead, my highlights for the day were more about setting things free! 

Cosme began to shell one of the scallops for Michelle (one of Xavier's students) to try and then there was one for me. Michelle ate the whole thing raw and said it wasn't bad. I on the other hand, was still thinking about how many scallops are being fished from just this area alone, and how the population could possibly be stable (but in fact, all the fishermen we interviewed said how few resources are actually left). Then I consciously made a cultural faux pas by deciding to set "my" scallop free. I sure got a lot of flack for that one!

The other really cool thing that happened was that the fishermen had a baby pulpo (octopus) stuck in their boat. We saw it first thing in the morning which means that they had probably caught it yesterday and it was surviving in a pool of water. It was so amazing to see and feel how strong the suction cups were! Unfortunately, despite being warned that they bite, I thought it would be awesome to get a picture holding it before we let it go. My picture went fine, but on Michelle’s turn, the pulpito was annoyed and decided to let her know by giving her a good bite on her hand! I felt terrible since it was my idea. Luckily, it only bled a little. Michelle laughed it off like a trooper and said it felt like a bee sting. How many people can say they were bitten by an octopus?

Michelle's scallop

Michelle eating her scallop

me releasing my scallop

el pulpito

the bite (top right side of her palm)

adorable pulpito (pre-bite)

Buceo para Callo

This past week has kept me very busy. With Xavier visiting (a researcher who was actually the first fellow at the Kino Bay Station), I was able to participate in projects that I normally wouldn't have been involved with. In addition to the interviews, part of Xavier's objective for his field work was to film the local fisherman. The two many sources of income in this area, especially in the Seri community, are from Callo (scallops) and Jaiba (blue crab). The Jaiba are collected in baited traps and as long as they are over a certain size (but I don't know how often that is followed) there really is no limit to how many people can take. What's really interesting about Callo fishing is that they are found in pretty deep waters, which means that the fisherman actually scuba dive to collect them!

On Thursday I accompanied Xavier and a few other people on their expedition to document the Callo scuba divers. On the way out there, we stopped and talked to some jaiba fishermen. For the callo diving, Xavier had an underwater camera to film with, and his assistant was filming from the boat. The amount of physical work that it takes to collect these scallops is pretty incredible. Pretty much, the men are out there all day long alternating diving and shelling the scallops on the boat. The guy driving the boat has to watch the two divers, drive the boat, shell scallops, etc. The divers collect huge bags worth of scallops and bring them to the surface. The equipment that they use is very old and worn out, and I would definitely be nervous about scuba diving with it. The two species of Callo found here (redonda y de hacha) have very large shells, but the actual amount of meat collected is very small. In a days work, they probably collect 1000 scallops, but only the meat counts, and that doesn't equal very much, maybe 10 kilos? Cosme, our boat driver, told me that they earn around 90 pesos per kilo for callo de hacha, and maybe 200 for callo redonda. That equals about $7 and $15 respectively.We were given one of each type of scallop by the fishermen to get a closer look. You can see how little the scallop is in relation to the huge shell!

jaiba traps

jaiba

the fishermen getting ready to dive

Cosme helping Xavier to suit up

hauling up the catch

shelling the scallops

callo redonda and callo de hacha

the whole organism

the meat...

Punta Chueca

Yesterday I joined a visiting researcher, a few of his students, and many of the Kino Bay Team to visit a local Comcáac (or Seri, the indigenous people of Sonora) community. Their town is about an 50 minute drive on the bumpy dirt roads from Kino, but the scenery along the way is spectacular as the road weaves around the red rock hills and looks out towards Isla Tiburón. The town of Punta Chueca is actually the part of the mainland closest to Isla Tiburón, which is also Seri territory. There are roughly 400 inhabitants and the main sources of income come from fishing, artisan crafts, and tourism. 

The goal of the visiting researcher was to conduct interviews of the fisherman to gain a better understanding about the health of the local fishing industry, the impact of outside fisheries operations, and how they view outsiders in their community. This was accomplished through working with about 10 youths who are involved in conservation efforts, and have worked previously with this researcher. We met at one of their houses and had a meeting in which we reviewed the survey together and divided up into teams consisting of a few researchers and a Seri member. This would allow us to 1)find our way around, 2) know who was best to talk to, and 3) translate if there were any confusions. The local youths were very nice, educated, and really seemed interested in conservation efforts. 

Most people were willing to do the interviews. It was really interesting to hear some of the opinions of the older versus the younger generations. Everyone agreed that the fisheries are in real trouble.

Limpieza de Playa

This morning I joined the Programa de Educación Ambiental (Environmental Education) for their second beach clean-up of the season. (Last time I did this, I came home with Ocotillo, but despite encountering many dogs in need, I was not allowed to bring any more home :(  This was the largest effort I have participated in, with 280 community members in attendance! The 3 ecological clubs from the primary (La Pandilla Ecológica), secondary (Los Delfines), and prep (Xapoo) schools were the main participants, with the older students organizing the event. The EE girls planned the clean-up to align with the methodologies of The Ocean Conservancy. Their protocols measure what types and quantity of trash encountered in order to gain a better understanding of what resources are needed (like public bathrooms or waste baskets, for example) to address the area’s waste issues. Therefore, we not only picked up trash, but we counted and sorted every little piece into its proper category! We divided up into smaller groups, each with a team leader, and picked up trash along a set transect. My team from the primary school collected 117 plastic water bottles alone in our small 100m section. Another team collected 204 cigarette butts in their section. Most of the trash consisted of plastic bags, bottles, and because we cleaned along the fishing area, lots of rope and fish net related stuff. All participants received a t-shirt and box lunch!

My team!