Humboldts moving north

[Emily182]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070725/ap_on_sc/jumbo_squid_invasion
That article says they are moving into the areas around the Monterey coast because of overfishing of tuna and possibly global warming.
Thoughts on this?

 

[tonmo]

I think it's sensationalism to tie this to global warming.

It's all over the news today and tonight, isn't it? The major newswires and networks picked it up (your link is to Associated Press coverage)... I'm very grateful they correctly identified these as "jumbo" squid and not "giant!" (although I think I saw a couple of independent articles mess it up).

It does appear that this is the year of the squid... It's interesting to observe trends in media (and the Web) and how certain "viral" stories become "reprocessed" over and over in hopes of exploiting the initial spark. So earlier this year (and late last) there were some *truly* sensational stories about photos of living giant squid, retreival of a half-ton colossal, etc. Now, it seems there is extra-special attention given by mainstream outlets whenever "squid" is part of the story (so long as there is *something* newsworthy about it).

I believe Bruce Robison was supposed to speak at TONMOCON I but couldn't make it, correct? We did have excellent representation from MBARI just the same though -- great event.

 

[sorseress]

I'm not sure that it's all sensationalism. Other species are also moving north. My daughter lives in Santa Cruz and they are getting lots of reports of species that are not normally found so far north, and some of the fish that usually inhabit the area have moved north.

 

[tonmo]

Monty was kind to forward me the original paper from which all the media reacted to. It would seem climate change and predatory changes are what the folks at MBARI believe are the reason for the increase in populations.

I guess I just tend to add a layer of skepticism when "global warming" is brought in, since there are so many political ties to that term (unfortunately!). It is very reasonable and understandable that a change in oceanic climate off California would play a significant role in the influx of jumbo squid near Monterey.

The original study does not suggest "global" warming is at play, but does comment on how the shift in climate in those local waters are playing some role (but not an exlusive role) in this population increase.

So as to whether this regional change is a direct result of "global warming" as described by Al Gore, that is probably another discussion (and one that goes on daily!)

Thanks Monty for facts.

 

[monty]

Thanks Monty for facts.

No problem, but you should really thank Zeidberg and Robison! Anyway, it was complicated enough that I didn't feel like I could "sum it up" adequately, since it describes a combination of factors, of which local climate is key.

I'm frequently exasperated at how science reporters key in on just the elements of things that they think will appeal to popular culture... the recent "octosquid" business was particularly stupid, since they chose to report some unidentified person's catchy "octosquid" description for about a week after Dr. Young had IDed it properly. Anything I can do to counter distortions between the source articles and how the press reports it is something I feel good about doing.

 

[tonmo]

Right on!

Yes, thanks to Ziedberg and Robison, that is a nice piece of work and definitely newsworthy... Just a bit ham-fisted on the part of the media!