Seals get serious about resting

Adult females join youngsters to molt 

May actually brings more elephant seals to the Piedras Blancas beach than the winter breeding season. Lots of seals, doing a lot of sleeping.

That’s because all the adult females and the not-yet-mature juveniles begin arriving in April and linger on the beach through June. The females left the beach after giving birth and mating to get next year’s pup started in February and March. They’ve been regaining weight lost to their nursing pups, so that they are physically strong enough to support another pregnancy.

The juveniles left the beach to the breeding adults during the winter. They return to the calmer beach of spring.

All will molt their skin during their stay.

Molting

The old brown skin and hair peels off in chunks, exposing new skin and hair underneath. Look for pearly gray seals next to brown and tan seals. Check out the ones with skin curling off around eyes and nose. Old scars also start peeling back the molted skin. You may see a marked seal. Check with a docent or contact elephantseal.org to report a marked seal. All marks are temporary, since they come off with the molted skin.

Female migration

Unseen, the egg fertilized in mating two months ago has suspended development during the short post-breeding migration. After molting it implants in the uterine wall and begins developing into a pup.

After resting and molting in May and June, the juveniles go to sea until they return for the fall haul-out. The pregnant females will leave on their long migration, to return in January to give birth to their pups.

Seals and Floating Offshore Wind turbines

Elephant seals are one of the many marine mammal, sea turtle, fish and marine bird species that are the subject of research efforts to investigate ocean conditions relative to Floating Offshore Wind projects.

The Coastal Commission was briefed at its May 11 meeting by energy company representatives, scientists, state agency representatives, fishermen and others. Watch the video recording of that briefing here. Slides and videos are in the Presentations drop-down menu.

Ben Ruttenberg, director of Cal Poly’s Center for Coastal Marine Sciences, gave a presentation on knowledge gaps in the deep ocean, at 57:23 into the video. At 4,000 feet, the depth off the Central Coast 20 miles offshore where wind turbines will be located, little is known. He proposes using Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to assist in the research.

Oceanography consultant Grace Chang gave a presentation on Upwelling at 1:13:54. Brandon Southall of UC Santa Cruz, Duke University, and his own company, Southall Environmental Associates, presented background on the effects of sound on marine mammals and sea turtles at 1:31:28. Josh Adams of the US Geological Survey is leading a team studying the effects on marine birds, at 1:53:25.

The entire briefing is of interest, but these presentations are especially significant for elephant seals and other wildlife. 

Ports

The Offshore Wind projects will also require substantial onshore support infrastructure. Morro Bay is being considered for Operations and Maintenance, but larger ports, such as Humboldt, Los Angeles and Long Beach, are needed for manufacturing and fabrication of the 1,100-foot turbines and for staging and integration, assembling the turbines and towing them out to sea.

They’ll also need waterfront and onshore upgrades for fueling, warehouses, offices, parking, and crew support services.

See port reports from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, California Floating Offshore WindRegional Ports Assessment;

the California State Lands Commission, “Alternative Port Assessment to Support OffshoreWind;”

and REACH Central Coast.

 

 https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/environment/article275712876.html