Biology professor took two journalists on a trip to Destruction Island
TACOMA, Wash. – The Seattle Times ran a front-page, Sunday story about field research by University of Puget Sound faculty member Peter Hodum on Destruction Island, an uninhabited, rocky isle off the coast of Washington. Hodum, assistant professor of biology, and Washington State Fish and Wildlife Service scientist Scott Pearson are studying rare seabird populations and the destructive effect of wild rabbits on their numbers. To their great credit The Seattle Times environment reporter Craig Welsh and photographer Steve Ringman packed their tent and jumped on a boat with the two researchers with less a day’s notice. The Aug. 5, two-page, photo feature, titled “Rabbits Ravage Seabird Populations on Destruction Island,” is available on this link:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018850249_destruction05m.html
Peter Hodum conducts research on Washington islands focusing on the ecology and population dynamics of burrowing seabirds, principally rhinoceros auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) and tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata). Conservation of the clown-faced tufted puffins is of concern in Washington. Rhinoceros auklet populations likewise declined significantly during the 1970s through early 1990s, presumably as a result of increased bird deaths in salmon gillnet fisheries. Hodum and his colleagues are interested in a broad range of questions related to island biology and conservation. For example European rabbits were introduced to Destruction Island in the 1970s. Nobody has quantified the impact of the rabbits on flora and fauna native to the island. Hodum is working in collaboration with colleagues at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, University of Washington, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He is also conducting research in the Juan Fernández Islands off Chile.
Photos on page: Top right: Tufted puffin in flight, photo by Peter Hodum; Above left: rhinoceros auklet on Protection Island, photo by US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Tweet this: Peter Hodum @univpugetsound and Scott Pearson @USFWSPacific study seabirds disappearing due to … bunnies. http://tiny.cc/4ugmiw
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