Salt Creek Tiger Beetle Educator Guide

There's the atlas beetle that's black and shiny like a newly washed Harley Davidson motorcycle. There's leafcutter ants that slice leaves off of trees with a cut as clean as a butcher's knife would make. (Those leaves become fungi, which is actually what they eat.) I'd never seen anything like a violin mantis before. This bark-colored creature flexes at the joints as it moves to make it seem more like a robot.

"Eewww!!" That's what a lot of people say when they see bugs. Kay Klatt, Supervisor of the Butterfly and Insect Pavilion at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, says, "That's perfect. That's what gets people interested, especially young people. What is that? What does it do? How does that work? That's what might motivate someone to want to work with insects when they grow up."

The staff couldn't stop telling me about the creatures as they showed them to me. They talked about how many times they've been bitten or what species have bitten them, but they even did that with enthusiasm. I learned a lot about many types of bugs in a short amount of time. But the other thing I learned is that rare and fragile creatures like Salt Creek tiger beetles are in good hands when people like this are looking out for them. The odds are stacked against the tiger beetles, but if they make it, it will be because there are people with a passion to help them.

The passion will be a test of patience for the next several months. All the staff can do with the Salt Creek tiger beetle larvae is feed it. To do that, its food is placed at the top of a tube of soil, then the larvae will come to the top to get it. I was surprised to learn that's about all the staff can do — watch and wait until (hopefully) the larvae turn into beetles and then can be released into saline habitats near Lincoln next spring.

The Salt Creek tiger beetle is one of the most endangered species in the United States, with only two to five hundred beetles left. They're found only in a small saline wetland area just north of Lincoln, Nebraska. We visited the wetland with Mitch Paine, a former research assistant at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln who worked with the beetles and comes back every summer to photograph the Salt Creek tiger beetles.

Produced by Diego Moreno / QUEST Nebraska. Beetle photographs by Mitch Paine.

QUEST Science on the SPOT takes a close up look at the Peregrine Falcon.

We walk through the Nature Trail near the San Francisco Zoo’s Koret Animal Resource Center. Owls, vultures, hawks and falcons sit perched on a grassy rise, admiring the people who walk by admiring them. The Animal Resource Center, or A.R.C., is home to the zoo’s educational outreach animals. And outside, a teen volunteer is talking to a group of younger kids and their parents about the Great Horned owl.

The zoo’s youth volunteer programs are training local teens to handle live animals from the educational outreach program and in addition the volunteers help educate zoo visitors about the life history of these animals and the conservation threats they face in the wild. For many of these kids this is a first step to a lifetime of environmental stewardship and a new-found love of science.

Each year over 130 local youths go through the zoo’s volunteer programs. The programs are designed to teach kids about conservation but most importantly they train the volunteers to pass on that knowledge. “Teaching city children about nature and the importance of habitat health not only to wild areas but to themselves as well.” said one volunteer program alumni, “I’ll never forget the faces of awe on both children and adults as they got to see, touch and learn about animals such as opossums, chinchillas and ferrets. It felt great to be able to provide such an experience to the visitors of the Nature Trail.”

Jessa Barbelay, the zoo’s Education Department Supervisor, got her start here as a teen volunteer. “I had an appreciation for animals,” says Barbelay, “but I wasn’t very interested in science. But just the act of volunteering helped me break out of my shell and after being immersed in it, I realized that I really liked science and I liked sharing the information, which led me to a career in science education.”

Noelle Bidegainberry, the A.R.C. Intern and another former volunteer herself, takes us to meet one of the stars of the educational program, the San Francisco Zoo’s resident Peregrine Falcon, “Bella.” As we step into her aviary, Bella immediately becomes inquisitive, studying the new people who have entered her enclosure. For an animal that can claim to be the fastest in the world, I’m surprised at how calm and comfortable she is being handled. Bella is tasked with going out and representing her species as an ambassador bird. And one gets the sense that she is very good at her job.

It was not long ago that Peregrine Falcons were precariously perched at the edge of extinction. The widespread use of the pesticide DDT rippled up and down the food chain. For some raptors such as Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons, the results were nearly catastrophic. DDT in their systems led to these birds laying thin shelled eggs. The chicks could not survive to hatching and without new generations replenishing the species, population numbers crashed. The falcon became the one of the first animals placed on the endangered species list.

Once DDT was banned in the 1970s, conservationists and bird lovers worked diligently to help save the falcon. And the work continues. Through captive breeding programs and other conservation efforts Peregrine Falcon numbers have rebounded in California and throughout much of the United States. In one of the great environmental success stories, the Peregrine Falcon was taken off the endangered species list in 1999.

“The story of the Peregrine Falcon helps us illustrate how conservation can work and have a direct influence and positive results,” says Bidegainberry, “Bella does a great job as an ambassador bird. Our hope is that when people meet Bella and hear her story, they are inspired to take conservation into their own hands.”

Watch our video segment "Science on the SPOT – Falcons Up Close" below:

QUEST on KQED Public Media.

37.7328068 -122.5020502

Producer Chris Bauer filming over the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in NOAA's Twin Sea Otter plane.

Much of the ocean waters off the coast of California, from Bodega Head to Cambria, have been set aside as national marine sanctuaries. The primary objective of the sanctuaries is to protect our delicate ocean resources while allowing people to use the areas in a sustainable way. While most recreation, commercial fishing, and shipping are still allowed within sanctuary waters, some activities are now strictly regulated or prohibited.

But how do you manage such an enormous area? And how do you keep tabs on what is going on out there? QUEST producers Lauren Sommer, Jenny Oh and I hitched a ride to find out.

On the windswept tarmac of the Sonoma County Airport, a team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration takes to the skies to patrol large portions of the Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries.

The mission of our Twin Otter flight crew, pilots Bradley Fritzler and Jason Mansour from NOAA Corps, along with sanctuary observers Sage Tezak and Michael Carver, is to conduct abundance surveys of users in the sanctuaries, counting boats and recording what they are doing and where.

We start out crossing Bodega Bay, flying multiple transects, back and forth, across the rolling seas of Cordell Bank. The engine noise is deafening in the unpressurized cabin. We scan the whitecaps from a mere 1000 feet, going only about 90 knots. The rugged aircraft bucks in the turbulent wind coming off the water. Flying this low and slow would give some pilots the jitters but for the Twin Otter flight crew it’s just a walk in the park. As we reach the Farallon Islands, I pop the back window to get a better camera angle of the “Devil’s Teeth,” and in the process pray our camera doesn’t get sucked out into the abyss. From the Farallones we bank south and head to Ana Nuevo Island. From there we’ll circle back up the coast, past Half Moon Bay and San Francisco, over Pt Reyes National Seashore and return to Sonoma County. Total flight time: 3 hours. In addition to surveying boat use in the sanctuaries, the observers and flight crew will document any other sightings, such as whales and keep a look out for maritime violations.

California has recently established new marine protected areas along the coast. These MPAs will have strict restrictions and some will essentially be closed off to all major use, including fishing. While the State is in charge of enforcing the new regulations, coordination between government agencies may provide additional help with an eye in the sky.

As much as the folks at NOAA might chafe at this description, it’s easy to think of these Twin Otter Survey Flights over the marine sanctuaries as a kind of “cop on the beat.” They’re not out there actively tracking down bad guys as much as they are a presence, keeping an eye on things and making sure everybody is on the up and up. And in that role, they don’t need to be flying everyday combing the ocean, monitoring everyone and every thing, every minute of every day. They may only survey the sanctuaries once every couple weeks. But knowing that today might be the day they are flying over, may help keep users of the marine sanctuaries in line. “Nothing to see here, move along.”

We’ve crossed these waters many times before for QUEST, but always traveling out into the deep blue on small, sea-sick inducing boats. I can tell you for certain, flying over the rough seas and into the wild blue, is a lot more pleasant and efficient. And seeing the Farallones from the birds eye view was clearly inspiring.

Watch the Marine Sanctuary Patrol Flight television story online.

38.015305 -123.441445

The Bush Administration has recently passed dozens of so-called "midnight regulations" – last-minute rules and amendments. Many of those new laws affect the environment, including a change to the Endangered Species Act that has California environmentalists deeply worried.

Listen to the Last Minute Rules radio report online.

37.721420 -122.38405

But even though it's in our own backyard, this place remains mostly unknown… probably due to its chilly temperatures. Let's face it, most of us are not donning our masks and snorkels and swimming in the hypothermic Pacific Ocean off our coast.

Lucky for us, some intrepid scientists and students are diving into this amazing place. Their job is to monitor how the ecosystems are responding to the new restrictions and protections taking place in the Marine Protected Areas. They gave us an amazing opportunity to see the natural world beneath the surface. And the world they shared with QUEST is truly inspiring. Playful harbor seals tease the divers while they weave through the gently swaying kelp forests. Fish dart through the rays of sunshine that cascades down to where starfish slowly go about their day. Through the eyes of these scientists, we witness the undersea life in bloom. They clearly have one of the best offices to go to work to each day.

Watch the Underwater Wilderness: Creating Marine Protected Areas television story report online.

36.609058 -121.893622

This surprised me. By now, I am used to the usual suspects of species degradation: urban sprawl, loss of habitat, pollution, shrinking resources. Those are almost always given as the explanation for why a particular species is threatened or endangered.

Not so with the California condor. Those factors certainly put pressure on the condor to survive in California, but surprisingly, there is one factor that trumps all of those, according to wildlife biologists.

Lead bullets.

Not because condors are shot by guns with lead bullets – no, lead bullets are dangerous to condors because they eat them.

Condors are like vultures; they feed on carrion. Dead animals. And many animals in the wild die when they're shot by hunters. So when an animal is shot, and then gets away from the hunter before it dies, or when a hunter guts an animal in the field and leaves the remains behind, that meat has lead fragments in it. So it's easy for California condors to ingest lead, and that can be fatal.

Lead has been shown to be hazardous to humans in even small amounts. Condors weigh about 20 pounds, so it doesn't take much lead to harm them.

The state legislature passed a law in July that bans lead bullets from areas with condors, from the San Francisco Bay Area south to San Diego.

Hunters are reluctant to simply throw away all of their lead ammunition, though, to purchase copper bullets at a higher price. And many of them are unaware of the law – or unaware that the ammo they're using is lead. Many lead bullets are topped with copper, so they look like copper bullets. This not only makes it hard for hunters to identify which of their bullets are lead-based, but it makes it difficult for state parks rangers to identify them, as well.

Listen to the Condor Return radio report online.

36.4776 -121.185

Photo by: Melissa Batson

And how they put a snare in the plan for chimps and humans to live together.

In the Budongo Forests of Uganda, a large group of Chimpanzees, named by researchers The Sonso Group, attempt to thrive in their natural habitat, eating plants and small prey. At the same time, humans who live around the forest are also trying to survive, working at places like the local sugarcane plantation and living in straw and mud houses. For food, they set out into the forest with small snares and aim for duiker and or pig.

Most of these snares are made from wire. As chimpanzees walk through the forest, their hands or feet may become trapped in the snare. In two of the forests where chimpanzees are studied, researchers have observed up to 25 percent of chimpanzees are maimed due to snare injuries. More die.

This problem is typical all over the world. How do the chimps and people live together? How do elephants and people live together? Wolves and people? Mountain Lions and Bay Area people? Though solutions seem impossible at times, I am impressed by many of the solutions, one being that of the Budongo Snare Removal Project.

In January 2000, the Jane Goodall Institute in collaboration with the Budongo Forest Project initiated a snare removal program in the Budongo Forest Reserve. The objective is to reduce the number of snares set, reduce the number of animals caught in snares and traps, and increase the number of local people who obey wildlife laws and understand the need for protecting wildlife.

Teams of two men locate and remove snares. After the first year of operation, they found that the number of snares being set within the grid system of the research area dropped. The census teams found heavy poaching and illegal activities were being carried out in the southern end of the forest reserve, so the team near the research site extended their range.

A new education center reaches out to the local community and provides education around ecology, wildlife and the treasure that is the chimpanzees.

The Oakland Zoo adopted this project in 2001 and the support covers the salaries for four field assistants, two educators, two eco-guards, and allowances for transportation and bike repair, gum boots, rain gear, backpacks, and compasses.

Funds raised at an annual fall lecture and silent auction and on Primate Discovery Day go toward this project.This year’s Primate Day is September 27^th and the lecture, featuring Shirley McGreal, is on October 2^nd.

The Oakland Zoo also supports connection and awareness of this project by visiting the site in Uganda. Teens will be traveling there in July and adults will embark on the journey (including gorilla trecking) in October.

More spots are available on this once in a lifetime adventure. For details, email: amy@oaklandzoo.org.

37.7772 -122.166595

A Pacific Chorus Frog

I'm sad to say my daughter probably won't share those same experiences I had. I could say it's because we live in San Francisco and cities aren't as amphibian-friendly as the suburbs. But my parents still live in the same house where I grew up. Unfortunately, it has been years since we've seen toads in the garden there. And the quiet singing of the tree frogs seems much lonelier today.

Amphibian decline is happening all over the world. And as depressing as it is not to have those fun childhood experiences of catching, playing with and hearing frogs in the garden, there is a much more serious problem going on. This can have some serious consequences to local food webs. It is also an alarming sign that there is something really unusual happening with the world's environment.

There are many reasons for the decline in the world's amphibian populations. And it seems that each region of the globe, and maybe even each species, may have its own ticking time bomb. Some places may be experiencing rapid habitat decline. There is pollution in the rainwater and chemical run-off in lakes and streams. Some places are seeing a sharp increase in parasites and diseases. Scientists are even looking at increased UV radiation. Or maybe it's a combination of multiple factors. The result is part of what some scientists are now calling the "sixth wave of extinction."

That’s a lot of doom and gloom. Luckily, scientists are racing to understand this decline and hopefully may come up with a means of curbing it before it is too late. We were fortunate to meet some of the best. We joined herpetologists Karen Swaim and Vance Vredenburg out into the field to learn more about what is happening to our local California red-legged frogs. We also visited the laboratory of Professor Tyrone Hayes at UC Berkeley to learn what his team is discovering about the connection between agricultural pesticides and frog decline. (See our additional web-only interview with Professor Hayes) You can test your amphibian knowledge by taking our QUEST quiz. Do you know why my brother and I always put down those toads?

Watch the "Disappearing Frogs" TV Story online, as well as find additional links and resources.

Chris Bauer is a Segment Producer for television on QUEST.

37.621271 -122.492831