October 23, 2014 — Meeting Report:

ABC was happy to welcome Professor Peter Hodum from UPS as our guest speaker, and we had to be forcibly kicked out of the library due to a constant stream of questions at the end! We’ll definitely be having Prof Hodum back again!

Professor Hodum had lots of information on his studies of Rhinoceros Auklets and Tufted Puffins in Washington waters, although he did let on that his true love is Tubenoses, and that is what his research on Chilean islands is all about, which he will tell us more about next year. Two surprising things were the lack of past reliable work done on our Alcids as well as the factoid that Rhinos are really homely Puffins rather than Auklets! His research on the Alcids covered in particular Destruction Island off the coast, Tatoosh Island at the intersection of the Pacific and the Strait, and Protection Island at the intersection of the Strait and Puget Sound, as well as Smith Island in that same area, and there were notable differences in many factors such as the presence or absence of European Rabbits. Bottom line is that Rhinos are doing fairly well, and Puffins are not. Puffins may soon be declared Endangered in the state, although they are doing well in Alaska.

He closed his presentation with a sobering overview of plastics in the ocean waters and in the species studied as well as their prey. Even filtering mussels had tiny pieces of plastic that made it through their filters. So the biggest problem for these birds and for the earth is us.

Click to enlarge photo.