Dolphins abandon Bay of Biscay
Marine boffins very concerned
Most of the dolphins usually spotted in the Bay of Biscay are missing this year, according to researchers at the wildlife conservation charity Marinelife.
The group has been monitoring the whale, dolphin and seabird populations for the last 13 years as part of its Biscay Dolphin Research Programme (BDRP), using the P&O ferry Pride of Bilbao as its research platform. The programme involves monthly surveys and a daily dolphin headcount.
But this summer, sightings of the cetaceans are down by as much as 80 per cent, along the ferry's route. Auks, gannets, and shearwaters are also in short supply. The research groups says populations showed no sign of picking up through August, and is concerned that the decline might be indicative of a bigger problem.
"Whatever the cause of the disappearance of dolphins this summer, it shows both how vulnerable they are and how alarmingly quickly local declines can occur when environmental conditions change," said the group's research director Dr Tom Brereton.
This summer, French and Spanish fishing fleets have been banned from fishing for anchovies, and MarineLife is worried the scant dolphin sightings might indicate a wider reduction in fish stocks due to changes in sea temperatures.
Without wishing to play down the significance of the missing cetaceans, we have a couple of theories of our own. We suspect the dolphins have just gone home, as Douglas Adams predicted, or have been press ganged into US Naval service.
Of course, if they have gone home, that is bad news for the planet, as it suggests that it might be bulldozed to make way for an intergalactic superhighway. Bummer. ®
COMMENTS
Intergalactic superhighway
Hmm... Disappearing dolphins. A large empty patch discovered in the sky: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6962185.stm>. Could El Reg's quip at the end of this article perhaps be more perspicaceous than it at first appears?
More please
yes, a broader awareness of the world is a wonderful thing. can we please have more stories with a deviant, SF or science angle? also, how about more privacy, human rights and bureaucratic dysfunction articles?
the gentleman is quite likely to be in or from the US, as the philosophy here is "if it doesn't make money, it isn't worthy of attention or effort". the curiosity to enjoy such topics is thus discarded, in favor of learning content that can be more easily monetized.
since a majority here also believe in Intelligent Design and/or Creationism, this guy probably forgot (or never knew about) basic natural selection: "too much specialization usually leads to extinction".
this is good news for the rest of us, as it makes Stuart a short-to-medium-term problem.
Not his fault?
If it's not his fault, then just whose fault is it then? Somebody else who forced him to
write the "No IT angle"? If that is so then I sympathise with him, but I doubt it's the case, so -
I'd say it was exactly his fault and no-one elses.
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