The Aye-Aye: Adorably Terrifying

Many animals are cute. Many animals are quite frightening. It's only once in a great while that you encounter an animal that manages to tow the line between the two. Enter the Aye-aye (pronounced "I-I").

Image from: factzoo.com

I was introduced to the Aye-aye during a round of youtubing with the GGRO interns last year. More recently, I was reminded of the Aye-aye by Dr. Patricia Wright, winner of the Indianapolis Prize (a super prestigious conservation award) during a talk she gave at Ball State earlier this month. Dr. Wright won the prize for her work with lemurs, many of which are endangered on the island nation of Madagascar. One of those lemur species is the Aye-aye.

When most people think of lemurs, there is probably a distinct image that comes to mind - something like this:

Ring-tailed Lemurs are adorable and not at all creepy (Cincinnati Zoo, Oct. 2014)

The Aye-aye has a slightly more striking appearance:

Photo from WikiMedia Commons.

Is it adorable? Is it terrifying? The jury is still out.

Native to Madagascar, the Aye-aye possesses a host of unique traits that make it stand out from its other lemur brethren. When first discovered, the Aye-aye was thought to be a rodent because it looks so distinct from other primates. In fact, it does share one trait with rodents: its teeth, specifically its incisors, which grow continually throughout the lifespan and have to be maintained regularly.

Check out those teeth! (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Most notably, the Aye-aye has an extra-long middle finger. Unlike the rest of its fingers (and most mammal fingers for that matter), the middle finger is composed of a ball-and-socket joint, giving it the ability to swivel around in all directions. The Aye-aye uses this finger to tap on the bark of trees, (much like woodpeckers) sometimes up to 8 taps per second. By tapping, the Aye-aye is able to identify hollow parts of the trees. Once identified, the Aye-aye then uses its rodent-like teeth to break open the bark. Lastly, it uses it's narrow finger to dig into the tree and pull out bugs and grubs hidden within. Yum.

Multi-purpose finger (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Aye-ayes are nocturnal, the largest nocturnal primates on the planet. They are also solitary; occasionally territories will overlap, but for the most part they keep to themselves (okay, there might be some recent research to dispute this long-believed fact). Often, many females will live in a single male's territory and there is no regular mating cycle. The female pretty much just lets the male know when she's ready.

Like many lemurs in Madagascar, the Aye-aye is classified as endangered (as of this year). This is partly due to a superstition amongst the native Malagasy people that the creature is an embodiment of evil and must be killed whenever spotted. Many Aye-ayes are killed without second thought because of this legend. In addition to this superstition, Aye-ayes are viewed as pests by local villagers and farmers, which puts another target on their backs.

Luckily, people like Dr. Wright and her research team are working hard to ensure a future for Aye-ayes and the other lemurs of Madagascar. She was instrumental in the implementation of Ranomafana National Park, which protects vital habitat for many of these lemur species.

Whether creepy or cute, the Aye-aye is an important species in its own right and worthy our protection and attention.

A great creature to pay attention to this month - Happy Halloween!

Cerulean Warblers in Decline

Last month, the National Audubon Society released a report in which they indicated that nearly half of North American bird populations are threatened by climate change. To carry out this study, scientists examined the current geographical ranges of North American species and projected if and how those ranges would change over the next century under current projected climatic changes. (This is, of course, a massive oversimplification of a scientific compilation that was more complex than I could probably ever articulate). As I perused this report, I was entirely unsurprised to find the Cerulean Warbler as one of the 314 species projected to experience significant range shifts.

Doing Science. (Photo: Claire Nemes)

Given my long absence from this blog, you may or may not be aware that I spent spring and summer of 2014 studying breeding Cerulean Warblers in southern Indiana. As part of a collaborative research project on the larger effects of various silvicultural practices, we monitored Cerulean Warblers on nine different study plots, studying abundance, nesting location and outcome, territory extent, and vegetative makeup of nest plots and territories.

Our research was part of an ongoing survey of Cerulean Warblers in Indiana, now in its 14th year. Cerulean Warblers have received a lot of research attention recently because they have one of the fastest declining populations of all North American songbirds. Since the 1960's, it has been estimated that Cerulean Warbler populations have decreased between 2 and 4% every year!

Male Cerulean Warbler.

Female Cerulean Warbler.

Cerulean Warblers are described as "neotropical migrants," meaning that every year, they fly from North America to South America, a migration averaging 4,000 miles, twice a year! Some of these birds actually fly over the Gulf of Mexico, which is believed to require 18-20 hours of continuous flight. And this is coming from an 8 to 10-gram songbird, which simply makes it all the more incredible.

Preferred habitat is the canopy-tops of old-growth forests. The nests we monitored were typically located at least 20 meters into the canopy and almost always in the top third of the chosen tree. It's rare to see a Cerulean Warbler at eye level, unless they are tending to newly fledged offspring, who remain close to the ground for the first few weeks of their lives out of the nest.

Fledgling Cerulean Warbler, perched on a log on the ground.

One of the principle questions in conservation biology is: what makes populations susceptible to declines? There are a number of factors that can make a given species more vulnerable to sudden and significant declines, including having a narrow geographic range, requiring a large area to establish a territory, and requiring a long time to reproduce viable offspring. Species may naturally possess one or more of these characteristics; however, it is also possible for a given species to be "forced" into one of these categories based on environmental changes. It is when these changes are forced upon a species that extinction often becomes a likely possibility.

Which brings us to the Cerulean Warblers. Without considering human interference, they already have a pretty specialized niche (canopy tops of old-growth forests) and annually embark on a dangerous and energy-expensive migration. So their populations are already kind of wobbly. Also, because they are migratory, they rely on not one, but two habitats every year (one old-growth forest in North America for breeding and another old-growth forest in South America for overwintering) not to mention all of the stopover habitat needed during migration.

A clear-cut patch with old-growth forest in the background.
(Photo: Claire Nemes)

Now, throw in the humans, and what do humans love? We love paper and we love wooden furniture and we love coffee. And what do all these things have in common? Of course, it's those old-growth trees that the Cerulean Warblers rely on. And whether through the creation of coffee plantations in Peru or mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia, we have done a great job of destroying tons of ideal Cerulean Warbler habitat. (I plan to unpack each of these issues in future blog posts, which I will write sometime in the next 16 years).

The Audubon report is extremely concerning for Cerulean Warblers. With all the current threats to their habitat, they have managed to hang in there, finding pockets of good habitat to breed and overwinter and survive. However, the climate report suggests that in the next 100 years, the Cerulean Warblers will have to relocate 98% of their range to survive. That's a lot of adaptation that needs to happen and not a lot of time (relatively speaking) in order to do it.

Is it all doom and gloom for the Cerulean Warblers? Of course not. But, as is almost always the case with these conservation issues, humans need to get their act together, and soon, or the Cerulean Warblers could end up being another species that exists only in our memories.

Pigeon Guillemots

Cormorants! Murres! Grebes! Prior to this month, nearly all of my birding experience came from bird watching in my previous stomping ground of Minnesota. One of the perks of being an intern for the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory is quickly becoming proficient in identifying all of the common (and many less common) North American raptors. However, during my first California birding trip to the Point Bonita lighthouse last month, I learned that I'll have more than just raptors to keep me occupied in the Marin Headlands.

The San Francisco Bay makes for surprisingly great birding.

Although fascinated by all of these new bird species, I was particularly captivated by a flock of funny-looking waders with vivid red feet and white wing patches on their otherwise solid back bodies. They looked an awful lot like penguins, but were actually a species called pigeon guillemots.

My new favorite bird - the pigeon guillemot.

Found just off the West Coast from Alaska to Southern California, these birds are actually members of the Alcidae family, which includes puffins, auklets, and murres. Their habit of spending time closer to the shore than their fellow alcids makes them an easily recognized and identified species. This is mostly due to their preference for feeding in shallow water; pigeon guillemots are capable of diving as deep as 45 meters, but typically find the most success in water 10-20 meters deep.

It's hard to deny the truly strange appearance of these birds. (www.whidbeyaudubon.org)

While pigeon guillemot populations are relatively stable off the California coast, the birds are making news in Alaska. It has been almost 24 years since the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Prince William Sound. In the aftermath of the spill in 1989, somewhere between 2,000 and 6,000 pigeon guillemots died of "acute oiling." Following the spill, Exxon Mobil and the state of Alaska formed a commission to ensure that all wildlife populations affected by the spill would be protected and restored. Two and a half decades later, the pigeon guillemots are the only bird species classified as "not recovering." Whether this is still due to the effects of the oil spill, or some other factor is unclear.

Cepphus columba (www.bird.cornell.edu)

In an effort to restore pigeon guillemot populations to their pre-spill numbers of more than 1,000, the Exxon Valdez Commission has proposed trapping of local minks. For unknown reasons, the mink population exploded in the aftermath of the oil spill, which increased predation on the guillemots, among other local bird species. By removing some of the minks, the pigeon guillemots will hopefully be able to fully recover from their population deficit, while also benefitting many other bird species that are preyed on by the minks.

American mink are natural predators of pigeon guillemots, among many other bird species. (www.arkive.org)

Is it ethical to remove one native species to assist the growth of another? The commission argues that, since the mink population was apparently affected by the oil spill, it is their responsibility to remove it, especially if it will help the pigeon guillemot numbers to increase again.

I can't wait to see many more of these unique birds while in California (www.prbo.org)

This story is a great illustration of the long-term effects of major environmental disasters such as oil spills. A quarter of a century after the spill, people are still investing millions of dollars and countless hours into restoring the ecosystem. Either way, pigeon guillemots make me laugh every time I see them. Their quirky appearance and behavior is part of the personality of the San Francisco Bay bird populations and I am glad to see restoration efforts elsewhere being taken seriously.

Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project

Peregrine falcons almost went extinct, but they didn't. DDT bioaccumlated in their bloodstream, reducing calcium and weakening egg shells. Mama peregrines would crush their eggs and so babies couldn't be born. (For more details, read "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson. But don't actually ... it's pretty dry). I've told the story to countless groups of students during our weekly raptor presentation. The story is made more powerful because there's a live peregrine falcon in front of the students. Additionally, the North Shore played a huge role in the recovery of the peregrine falcons and continues to do so today.

Chup, Wolf Ridge's resident peregrine falcon (first four photos by Sara Sloan)

The North Shore is ideal habitat for nesting peregrine falcons because they like to nest on cliff faces, something we have an abundance of along Lake Superior. The Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project is a research project that monitors peregrine falcon populations along the North Shore. Initially, they were involved with releasing captive peregrines into the wild to help re-establish the population. Now, the population is stable and so the main objective is to monitor the nesting pairs along the shore and band the chicks.

A couple weeks back, Joe (who is a volunteer for the project) took us out to check a common nesting site at Pallisade Head, part of Tettegouche State Park. He had seen a female peregrine on a nest earlier that week, so we were all quite excited as we walked out along the cliff face. However, when a few of the naturalists got a good look at the bird sitting at the nest site, it was clear that there was some sort of mistake because sitting on the nest was not a peregrine falcon, but rather a Canada goose.

Goose butt.

Monitoring the cliff faces.

Having only gotten a quick glimpse, Joe just assumed the gray bird butt he'd seen belonged to the raptors in question. Luckily, the peregrine falcons found a different place to nest a little further along the cliff and we all got a good look at the female, sitting on her nest. (The Canada goose raises a number of questions. Why is a goose nesting on such a precarious cliff? I suspect it has something to do with the lack of unfrozen lakes, which I wrote about in the previous blog entry. More importantly, what will happen when the goose's eggs hatch? There will be some baby geese taking a very dangerous dive to get into the water......)

Looking down on a female peregrine on a nest.

Given my interest in avian research, I decided I wanted to get involved if I could. Joe sent me out to a couple sites to see if I could establish whether or not nesting pairs were present. Sara and I spent an afternoon investigating Crystal Cove and Kennedy Creek (two other cliff faces on Lake Superior) but to no avail. The next week, Peter and I searched the cliffs in his back yard and had a little bit more luck.

Birch Bay cliffs.

First, we watched the cliff from a distance. Not five minutes after getting our binoculars out, we saw a peregrine falcon fly to the cliff face. Based on where it landed, we were able to guess where the nest might be at, so our next step was to get a closer look. As we hiked along the cliff face, we noticed a ton of signs of peregrine falcon activity.

Left-over feathers from a Northern flicker, a common peregrine snack.

A peregrine falcon pellet and a Northern flicker feather.

After searching the area for awhile, the peregrines started to circle over us, crying out their alarm call ("get away from our nest!") and we were able to ID the spot where we think the nest is.

We think the nest is behind the aspen tree on the cliff here.

Now that we've identified a potential nest site, I'm somehow supposed to see if these peregrines are banded and then figure out what the band numbers are. I've spent a good four+ hours at the site stalking these guys, trying to get a close enough look, but I still can't even identify if they're banded or not, much less what number bands they're wearing...