QUEST Community Science Blog

I first met Ugo Conti a number of years ago when we discussed an inflatable boat he had designed to sail from the San Francisco Bay to Hawaii. This adventure was born from Conti’s passion for the sea and was somewhat of a follow up to the round-the-world sailing adventures he took with his young family decades before. I think it takes someone with a lot of self-assuredness to quit their job, buy a sail boat, load up their family, and sail off into the big blue with relatively limited sailing experience.

The funny thing is, Mr. Conti actually claims to be a “coward.” He even named that first boat “Phobos” after the god of fear. He quickly adds, though, that the fear he felt was actually one of the things that kept him safe. He approached sailing around the world from the perspective of an engineer… and then he over-engineered the situation to be doubly or triply safe. As Mr. Conti told me, “If you go at sea, and with other things in life too, either you are an expert, or you’re scared. If you are both, it’s even better. If you’re not one of those two, any sailing endeavor becomes very dangerous. If you’re scared, or you’re so worried about everything, then you’re very careful. And so you can go into difficult situations because you are careful. If you’re not scared and you’re not an expert, if you go to sea you’ll get clobbered, and maybe even die.” He continued, “but by going through that, you face, but not conquer, fear. They say it’s a courageous person that goes on despite the fear, not somebody that is not fearful. Because that person is an idiot.”

I have been lucky to meet many unconventional thinkers who have changed the world by “thinking outside the box.” That term has become a cliché. But when I spoke with Mr. Conti, I saw a person who has never seen “the box.” It seems as though each of his projects starts with a clean slate and he borrows little from collective engineering standards. He designs boats but does not claim to be a marine engineer. One thing he told me that I found very interesting was how someday “someone is going to invent a powerful engine, something that runs on water, air or some unlimited resource and makes no pollution. This will kill the combustion engine and every car, boat, train, airplane and power-plant will be generating power in a completely clean way. The person who invents that machine will not be someone from the car industry or anyone who studied combustion engines or conventional engineering.” True groundbreaking progress comes from outsiders who don’t follow the pack.

Watch the “Ugo Conti’s Spider Boat” TV Story online, as well as find additional links and resources.

Chris Bauer is a Segment Producer for television on QUEST.

First things first: If you swim in the bay, no need to worry about sharks. None of the experts we spoke to could remember a single instance of someone getting bitten. And you can rest easy about Great Whites too; they don’t seem to have a taste for Bay waters. For more on this, see the Aquarium’s Chris Spaulding’s blog post.

The San Francisco Bay is much more of a mystery to scientists than I, at least, had realized. Why? It’s simply too hard to peer into. There’s no point in scuba diving. The bay is thick with sediment, much of it a legacy of gold mining explosions in the Delta. So if you want to know what’s swimming around in those murky waters, you have to go fishing.

At first glance, this struck me as both laborious and tough on the animals – catch and release may spare lives, but not without putting a lot of stress on whatever’s on the other end of the line. But when you think about how heavily we humans use the bay – sewage leaks, oil spills, urban runoff, coastal development — it becomes clear we have to take a closer look at how its inhabitants are faring. Sharks are at the top of the food chain, which means they’re a great indicator of how everything underneath them is doing.

Of course, tagging is only worth the effort if you catch enough animals to have meaningful data – which means this project requires tenacity on the part of Aquarium researchers. For updates (as well as info on what to do if you catch a tagged shark) check out the Aquarium’s website. Also, here’s the radio piece we did on the same project.

Watch the “Cool Critters: Sharks of the Bay” TV Story online, as well as find additional links and resources. Also don’t miss our behind-the-scenes photos for this story.

Amy Standen is a Reporter for QUEST and Radio News at KQED-FM.

Humboldt Squid - known as “Diablos Rojos”.I have to admit I had a bit of trepidation when QUEST set out to tell the story about Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas). The squid have aggressively expanded their territorial range from the warmer equatorial Pacific to waters off central California. These are not the little market squid you might be used to seeing. “Jumbo” squid can grow up to six feet long, have barbed tentacles and a powerful, razor-sharp parrot-like beak. They have also arrived with a somewhat nasty reputation. In Mexico, where they have the nickname “Diablos Rojos,” or “red devils,” there are stories of fishermen falling overboard and being pulled below, never to be seen again. But that’s not what made me nervous.

I get seasick.

Still, I love being out on the ocean and never turn down the chance to get out beyond the breakers. We set out on the charter fishing boat Huli Cat from Pillar Point Harbor near Half Moon Bay. The boat was aiming for an area the captain called the “Dover Grounds,” about 20 miles out to sea. On the way, we passed a migrating pod of Humpback whales, coming so close that we could smell their breath as they spouted. We passed through vast fields of pink jellyfish that covered the surface as far as the eye could see. We saw mola mola (or ocean sunfish) rising to the surface to be cleaned by waiting seagulls. As we got closer to our destination, a gang of playful porpoises caught up to the boat and began surfing the bow wave.

Producer Chris Bauer fishes for squid -
and tries to stay on his feet.Just then, the boat’s radio cackled with Coast Guard chatter. A container ship had struck the Bay Bridge and was leaking vast amounts of oil into the San Francisco Bay. It seemed a world away and at that time we had no idea what kind of impact the oil spill would have on those very waters. The captain scanned the fish finder and we drifted to a stop. Fishermen began letting out their lines and a lone albatross landed off the stern. He looked at me in a curious way, maybe wondering why I appeared somewhat greener than the other people on the boat.

It was not long before the first Humboldt squid was pulling on a line. Soon all the anglers were straining at their reels. Fishing for Jumbo squid isn’t as much about finesse as it is about brute force. The rods seemed to be at the point of snapping and the angler’s arms burned as they reeled in Jumbo squid from 800 feet below.

So why are these animals arriving here in Northern California? And what impact does this “invasion” have on the fragile ocean ecosystem? As QUEST begins our second television season, we’ll join this trip and meet one of the foremost experts on Humboldt squid, Professor Bill Gilly from Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station. Tune in on Tuesday, April 1st, on our website or on KQED channel 9, to learn more about these amazing animals.

Chris Bauer is a Segment Producer for television on QUEST.

A Northern Elephant Seal at Ano Nuevo State Park.On a sunny Tuesday, our education staff quietly slipped out the zoo door and headed south for an off-site enrichment day: a day to learn and be inspired by nature, in order to teach and inspire others.

We headed west, then south down the coast to the site of the largest mainland breeding colony of the massive Northern Elephant Seal: Ano Nuevo State Reserve.

The Northern Elephant Seal is named for the large, protruding nose, or proboscis on the male of the species. Like elephants, they are also gigantic. The bulls can grow up to 16 feet long and weigh up to 5000 lbs, while the females are much smaller.

On a hike guided by a knowledgeable naturalist volunteer, Scott, our staff spent 1.5 hours traipsing over the dunes to see the winter breeding action of this charismatic pinniped. Getting respectfully close, we first saw what they referred to as “Loser Males”. Though this term felt a bit un-PC (how about “mating-challenged?”), the idea is that these males are not old enough or savvy enough to be an alpha or beta male. They are simply not in the competition this year, so they lounge away from the females, thermo-regulating by flipping sand on themselves and holding fins up into the ocean breeze.

We then came upon a pile of weaners. This is another fine term used to describe the young pups that are newly weaned from Mom. These co-ed pods spend time losing some of their 300 lbs of milk fat while they learn to swim in the rain water pools. Born at 70 lbs, pups are nursed for a month or so before they gain weight and take on their new role as weaners. Some pups nurse from two or three females and gain up to 600 lbs. These are then dubbed Super Weaners. The weaners are the last to leave the site, waiting until the adults have gone to take their time swimming away in the salty waves.

Towards the shore the real show was on; Females (cows) gathered in harams, some nursing pups. Males (bulls) fought other males, or at least postured, in order to establish dominance and control of the harams. In one case, a masculine fellow came after another male, blubbering up towards him with full barks, only to then claim his seawater puddle. The fights between males are usually short, but very dramatic and violent. According to Scott, an Alpha Male Elephant Seal in mating-mode has more testosterone than any other mammal.

Our staff left feeling like weaners ourselves; happy and exhausted, but not as exhausted as Scott, whom I am sure has never fielded as many questions as he did for our staff!

Breeding Season at Ano Nuevo is December 15-March 31. In spring and summer, the elephant seals return to molt.

The Ano Nuevo Interpretive Program is excellent and popular. Book a guided tour and check out the dominance displays!

After your tour, visit the gift shop at the site. On your way home, I recommend the town of Pescadero for artichoke bread at Arc Angel Grocery Company & Bakery or the San Gregorio General Store.

Amy Gotliffe is Conservation Manager at The Oakland Zoo.

latitude: 37.1266, longitude: -122.3344

Listen! You can hear the sounds of the ocean, but is it getting quieter?

Last week while snorkeling in Roatan, Hondoruas, I came face to face with a Conch. Not a shiny shell in a gift shop, but a moving creature, shuffling along the sea floor, munching on grasses and just being a mollusk. I was in awe. My crew was still digesting the Conch Soup from the previous night and would soon tap our feet to a Garifuna performance complete with Conch Shell blowing. And haven’t we all picked one up off of someone’s coffee table and listened to sounds of the ocean? I am sure I am not the only one who associates the Conch Shell, and so many shells, with jewelry, lamps, ash trays, picture frames, instruments, Bo Derek, and at times, dinner. But this, this was a living creature, using the shell for what it was created for; a home.

The study of shells, both amateur and professional, is called Conchology. There are millions of Conchology practitioners, or collectors, who feel drawn to collect shells. They are inspired by their spirals, blown away by their beauty, and drawn to keep them in their desire to connect with the earth. Many study shells scientifically and their findings can lead to conservation awareness, medical advances and my favorite, biomimicry ideas. I do not aim to deny anyone these experiences, but do wish to know how to collect shells, and all items from nature, responsibly.

As a conservation teacher, I have often talked to kids about picking flowers, etc. At times I will teach the ditty, “One for the butterflies, one for the bees, one for the beetles and one for me,” honoring the deep need to be close to nature, while teaching that other creatures need these treasures for survival. Therefore, we share.

Tips for collection shells might be:

• Adhere to the environmental regulations of the state and country you are in (for California, go to www.dfg.ca.gov/fish/fishing)
• Put things back where you found them as you look
• Take only shells with nobody home
• Be aware of your source and their conservation practices before you buy
• Join a club that practices responsible collection

Other ideas would be appreciated.

On the boat on the way back from the snorkeling, one woman could not resist. She had a shiny, pink Conch Shell on her lap. The guide attempted to explain why tourists are not allowed to take the shells directly from the ocean. As the woman protested, a hermit crab popped out of the shell and gave the woman a surprising poke. Over the edge and into the sea went the shell and its guest. When we listen to the ocean, it sometimes speaks for itself.

Amy Gotliffe is Conservation Manager at The Oakland Zoo.

latitude 37.7502, longitude -122.148