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