Community Corner
Wildlife News on Patch This Year
As a new year approaches, here is a recap of Hermosa Beach Patch's look at the natural environment in 2011.
A 2011 New Year's resolution for Hermosa Beach Patch was to provide a closer look at the local marine environment to the Hermosa community.
Now that the year is coming to an end, here is how we turned a spotlight on wildlife, science and environmental news:
Patch of nature
Find out what's happening in Hermosa Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
In that launched in December, we looked at California halibut population numbers and how a Marina del Rey group is aiming to improve those figures.
"They are around. Just not the numbers we are used to in Santa Monica Bay," said Keith Lambert, a member of the Marina del Rey Anglers Club, about the halibut population.
Find out what's happening in Hermosa Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Whale on video
Local kayaker Rick Coleman captured video footage of off of King Harbor next door in Redondo Beach, and Patch interviewed him in October after the experience.
"When the whales pop up near your kayak, it can be heart-pounding ... you feel all the excitement through your body as this huge whale comes up," Coleman said. But when he was watching the blue whales underwater, "it was just complete peace and relaxation—it was just surreal."
Coastline on camera
The Beach Cities shore is home to dolphins, whales, sea lions, and more. In September, Patch went where the wild things are to produce a of the marine environment.
A harm to wildlife?
Domoic acid is a seasonal and natural occurrence in local waters that can be harmful to marine life. Patch in May took an aiming to identify what causes production of the toxin and how to prevent and mitigate it.
"Even with 10 years of information, we have a relatively short timeline on this problem, and this is something we need to follow," said University of Southern California biology professor David Caron. "We need to see if we’re seeing increases in a linear fashion.... Is it something that’s coming and won’t go away? It’s very difficult to tell the long-term trends when you have a short-term data set.
"What I can tell you is that, so far, we see no wane in this."
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