February 19, 2016 Seaside Signal seasidesignal.com 7A
Talking stranded whales and
sea lions with PSU professor
Close encounters of the
marine mammal kind
By Lyra Fontaine
EO Media Group
The humpback whale
stranded in Seaside in January
may have become entangled
or struck by a boat, according
to Dr. Debbie Duf¿eld.
More than 30 people gath-
ered for an engaging lecture,
“Marine Mammals, the Ma-
rine Mammal Stranding Net-
work and Marine Reserves,”
on Wednesday, Feb. 10, at the
Cannon Beach Library.
The topic was particularly
timely. In the past few weeks,
a humpback whale washed
ashore in Seaside, and a har-
bor porpoise and two striped
dolphins were found on the
North Coast. Experts are still
waiting on necropsy results
for the whale to see whether
it was infected or if it had an
accident.
The humpback has bruis-
ing that could have been from
entanglement or a boat strike,
Duf¿eld said. It also carried a
fairly heavy parasite load for a
whale not more than two years
old.
The presentation — a part-
nership between Duf¿eld,
Portland State University bi-
ology professor, and Keith
Chandler, Seaside Aquarium
general manager — was part
of Haystack Rock Awareness
Program’s lecture series.
The Oregon Marine Mam-
mal Stranding Network, which
Duf¿eld and Chandler be-
long to, responds to mammal
strandings from Tillamook
to Long Beach, Washington.
They see 149 stranded animals
per year on average. The most
common animals include Cal-
ifornia sea lions, harbor seals
and Steller sea lions.
Strandings allow research-
ers to evaluate otherwise in-
accessible animals, and nec-
ropsies tell scientists vital
physiological and biological
information. Marine mam-
mals’ tissues are sampled and
used for studies on ocean pol-
lution, biotoxins and other en-
vironmental changes.
Once they evaluate a
stranded animal, researchers
take samples back to the uni-
versity to study it in a con-
trolled area and test for in-
fections. After they ¿nish the
necropsies, they might prepare
the bones for students to artic-
ulate.
LYRA FONTAINE PHOTO/EO MEDIA GROUP
Seaside Aquarium employees Mollie Schmidt and Tifany Boothe with Dr. Debbie Duffield and
aquarium general manager Keith Chandler.
“Every once in awhile we
have species that, because of
their charismatic value, are of
great interest to everybody,”
Duf¿eld said.
For example, a killer whale
was stranded in Long Beach
several years ago, drawing
veterinaries, researchers and
onlookers alike.
Duf¿eld also recalls when
a Baird’s beaked whale came
in live in Seaside during a vol-
leyball tournament. “Luckily,
people weren’t around it when
it started to die and thrash,
because it could have killed
somebody,” she said.
Why do these animals ap-
pear on shores? Seals, sea li-
ons, whales, dolphins and por-
poises are primarily stranded
due to human interaction, such
as gunshots, ¿sheries inter-
action and net entanglement.
Bacterial disease, cancer and
infections also cause strand-
ings.
Sometimes the human-re-
lated interactions are extreme.
Duf¿eld displayed a jarring
photo of a California sea lion
that had part of its face de-
stroyed by an explosive de-
vice.
She also showed a picture
of plastics and debris on the
Seaside beach. Sea lions get
entangled in plastic bands, but
since they bite, it’s dif¿cult
for humans to help them re-
move bands and recover from
wounds. In 2010, a dead whale
stranded on Puget Sound beach
had 50 gallons of material in
stomach that was mostly algae
‘It’s easy to feed and
rescue the pups but
what do you do with
them next? Let them go
out into the same area
they couldn’t get food
out in the first place?’
Debbie Duield,
Biology professor,
Portland State University
but also human debris such as
sweatpants, plastic bags, duct
tape and towels.
The Oregon Marine Mam-
mal Stranding Network works
to improve treatment and dis-
entangle marine mammals
from debris and ¿shery gear.
Duf¿eld said that the ani-
mals are resilient. Seals and sea
lions often carry worms in their
stomach that can form ulcers.
“They just live with that. Their
parasite loads are tremendous.”
The strandings may also
point to larger forces at work.
The El Nino climate pattern
that’s increasing coastal tem-
peratures, along with the warm
“blob” of water in the north
Paci¿c Ocean, affect the ani-
mals’ prey.
“We’re at the apex of these
changes that we can actual-
ly follow annually,” Duf¿eld
said. “It’s a fascinating change
that we’re living through.”
Last year, in California,
increasing water tempera-
tures affected sea lions and
their pups in California. The
animals normally feed on an-
chovies and sardines, which
disappeared to another loca-
tion due to warming water.
The remaining ¿sh may not
have had adequate nutrition,
leading females to leave their
pups earlier, which resulted
in more than 2,000 young sea
lions starving on California
beaches.
Rehabilitating the animals
raises a question, Duf¿eld
said. “It’s easy to feed and res-
cue the pups but what do you
do with them next? Let them
go out into the same area they
couldn’t get food out in the
¿rst place?”
Several in the crowd asked
why we don’t let nature dic-
tate the animals’ lives.
Rehabilitation efforts have
been in California, while the
Northwest does not rehabili-
tate seals and sea lions, Duff-
ield responded. Oregon state
policy aims to minimize dis-
turbance from humans and let
nature take its course.
However, in cases like As-
toria, sea lions are crowding
ports, perhaps drawn to food
like smelt ¿sh in the Colum-
bia River.
“We’ve gone from having
a few sea lions to having a lot
... from 100 or 200 sea lions
to over 2,000 last year,” she
said as the crowd murmured
in agreement. “It will be inter-
esting to see if their numbers
get quite as high this year, and
they should.”
Images of nature from Janet Bland
SUBMITTED PHOTO/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Paintings by Janet Bland are
on exhibit at the Seaside Pub-
lic Library.
The Seaside Public Library
is exhibiting work by local
artist Janet Bland through
Feb. 29. The title of the show
is “Presence” and the art will
hang in the Community Room
and the foyer.
On the north coast of Or-
egon, just south of the Co-
lumbia River, Bland paints
and draws. Her work features
the beautiful and lush coastal
landscape of the area. Bland’s
work is a personal response to
nature and to the experience
of painting. She emphasizes
color, gesture and the tactile
qualities of paint. Her paint-
ing encourages looking at
ourselves and at our surround-
ings.
Bland is a graduate of
Stanford University and has
studied in California, Oregon,
and at the New York Studio
School. Her work is in collec-
tions in the United States and
Canada. She is represented
by the Cannon Beach Gallery
and the Rental Sales Gallery
of the Portland Art Museum.
The Seaside Public Library
is located at 1131 Broadway.
For more information call
503-738-6742 or visit sea-
sidelibrary.org.
Join the ‘Better Breather’s Club’ at Providence Seaside
Providence Seaside Hos-
pital, in conjunction with the
American Lung Association,
is offering a monthly Bet-
ter Breathers Club to senior
members of the community
who have dif¿culty breathing.
Attendees will meet in the ed-
ucation center of the hospital
from 1:30 to 3 p.m. There is
no charge to attend, but regis-
tration is encouraged.
These sessions will provide
an opportunity to learn ways
to cope with COPD, asthma,
pulmonary ¿brosis and other
respiratory issues while get-
ting the support of others who
share the same struggles.
The Better Breathers
Club’s monthly meetings will
feature educational presenta-
tions on a variety of relevant
topics including breathing
techniques, exercise, medica-
tions, home healthcare, lung
transplants, pollution, smok-
ing and more. Caregivers are
also welcome to attend all
meetings.
Monthly meetings for
2016 will be held March 10,
April 14, May 12, June 9, July
14, Aug. 11, Sept. 8, Oct. 13,
Nov. 10 and Dec. 8.
To register for one or more
sessions, call 800-562-8964.
Providence Seaside Hospital
is located at 725 S. Wahanna
Road.
Montero leaves SDDA
Montero from Page 1A
“She put a lot of time into
this. We just feel it’s only fair
that we allow her to gain some
of that time back in the next
couple of week,” Swenson
said. “When she came to us
with this, it was easy enough
for us to say, ‘Let us make it
easy for you. You’ve done so
many things for us.’”
Swenson said Montero
“still has that commitment to
Seaside and SDDA and all of
the other things she does.”
During her year as execu-
tive director, Montero helped
make the Hot Rod Classic
Charity Golf Tournament and
Auction Dinner in September
a big success for the associa-
tion.
“She left us in a great posi-
tion,” Swenson said. “She es-
tablished building blocks that
will make it a very successful
year for SDDA.”
Keith Chandler, the board
treasurer, agreed.
“We’ll be ¿ne,” he said.
“Everything works out.”
The association is work-
ing on its downtown walking
maps and planning for the
upcoming Spring Wine Walk
in May. This year, the associ-
ation plans to bring back its
Halloween Happenins event.
When searching for a re-
placement, Chandler said, the
board is seeking “someone
who has a lot of time” and
“someone who can network
with businesses well.”
Mespelt, who now coordi-
nates the association’s two car
shows, also offered to help
during the transition, along
with several other community
members, Swenson said.
“It’s been a great commu-
nity, to wrap its arms around
us and say, ‘If you need help,
we’re there for you,’” she
said.
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menu,too!
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MAZATLAN
M E X I C A N R E S TA U R A N T
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Monday, Feb. 22
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Tuesday, March 1
Seaside Community Center
Commission, 10 a.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Seaside Library Board, 4:30
p.m., at the library, 1131 Broad-
way.
Broadway.
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 698 Pacific Way.
Thursday, March 3
Seaside Parks Advisory Com-
mittee, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Thursday, March 10
Monday, March 14
Thursday, March 22
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Seaside Airport Committee, 6
p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Tuesday, March 15
Monday, March 28
Seaside School District, 6
p.m., 1801 S. Franklin St.
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Wednesday, March 16
Tuesday, April 5
Sunset Empire Parks and Rec
District, 5 p.m., 1225 Ave. A,
Seaside.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Seaside Convention Center
Commission, 5 p.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Thursday, March 17
Wednesday, April 6
Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Wednesday, March 2
Gearhart Planning Com-
mission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 698
Pacific Way.
Seaside Transportation Advi-
sory Commission, 6 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
Seaside Improvement Com-
mission, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Seaside Improvement Com-
mission, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 698 Pacific Way.
Phone 503-738-9678
1445 S. Roosevelt Drive • Seaside
NATIONALLY FAMOUS CLAM CHOWDER • FRESH OREGON SEAFOOD
R E STAU R A N T S
CANNON
BEACH
503-436-1111
Ocean Front at
Tolovana Park
www.moschowder.com
