Figure 1 - Eiders in the Hudson Bay
This blog is in response to a documentary that I haven’t yet seen, but have been researching ever since I heard about it. The documentary is called, “People of a Feather” by Dr. Joel Heath. It is about the Eider Ducks which live in the Hudson Bay and what the dams going into the Hudson Bay are doing to their environment.
Figure 2 - Eider skin parka - Eiders in flight - Scientists working with the Inuit of the Hudson Bay
What is an Eider Duck?
The Eider ducks in the Hudson Bay belong to a specific epithet of eiders as they do not migrate but instead live their whole life in the comfort of this particular bay. They are important and necessary factors to the local environment and to the Inuit of the area. Eiderdown has been collected for coats and blankets along with being used in cottage insulation making it a large portion of the local economy. In the past, there has been a problem with the over-harvesting of this down that hinders the eggs from hatching. The Sanikiluaq hunters of the Hudson Bay noticed the eiders’ changes in behaviour even before their population started decreasing. The Inuit contacted Canadian organizations and scientists to get help to find out what was causing such a high mortality rate of the eider populations.
The Documentary and its Results?
Dr. Joel Heath, a graduate from UBC, went to live with the Inuit to study and monitor changes in
> the eiders behaviours
> sea ice dynamics (formation and depletion)
> local oceanography
> the velocities of currents
Like all air-breathing, diving animals, eiders have to find the correct balance of air before they dive to allow them to make it all the way to their food source. This balance cannot be too high else they will be too buoyant to dive down far enough. With the dams along the Hudson Bay releasing more water in the winter to provide New York (New York is where all the energy generated by the dams of the Hudson Bay goes) with its power demands, the velocity of water flow drastically changes. When the eider dives from a specific patch where there is no ice, the current carries the duck further than it has air to bet back. This, and the instability of the environment due to the new unnatural balance of salt and fresh water, is the main reason why the eider population is in decline.
> the eiders behaviours
> sea ice dynamics (formation and depletion)
> local oceanography
> the velocities of currents
Like all air-breathing, diving animals, eiders have to find the correct balance of air before they dive to allow them to make it all the way to their food source. This balance cannot be too high else they will be too buoyant to dive down far enough. With the dams along the Hudson Bay releasing more water in the winter to provide New York (New York is where all the energy generated by the dams of the Hudson Bay goes) with its power demands, the velocity of water flow drastically changes. When the eider dives from a specific patch where there is no ice, the current carries the duck further than it has air to bet back. This, and the instability of the environment due to the new unnatural balance of salt and fresh water, is the main reason why the eider population is in decline.
What can YOU do?
A very simple thing that everyone can do is: turn off your lights. Even though dams are considered to be a “green” way to retrieve power, the downsides and problems with them are not portrayed to the public at all. If you lived in New York, turning off your lights would be in direct relation to the Eiders of the Hudson Bay, but even if you don’t, turning off the lights will definitely have other positive environmental impacts no matter where you are.
Lights
There is a misconception that each time you turn on the lights there is power surge to activate that light. Although this is true, the "power-surge" only lasts for a fraction of a second. I don't want to go too much into this topic, but basically, it is always beneficial to turn off your lights, no matter how short the time. The amount of energy you save with this one action has a much greater impact that just reducing your electricity bill, so don't just turn off the lights in your own interest, do it for the environment!
Lights
There is a misconception that each time you turn on the lights there is power surge to activate that light. Although this is true, the "power-surge" only lasts for a fraction of a second. I don't want to go too much into this topic, but basically, it is always beneficial to turn off your lights, no matter how short the time. The amount of energy you save with this one action has a much greater impact that just reducing your electricity bill, so don't just turn off the lights in your own interest, do it for the environment!
If you want more information, this is the documentary’s website: http://www.arcticeider.com/research/ I believe the documentary is being released on dvd sometime in January 2012 and I would be happy to give you the information to you for it when I know more :)
I emailed Dr. Joel Heath and he gave me a few other sites that were just full of information about this topic:
- www.arcticeider.com/icy/
- http://www.sfu.ca/~jpheath/Eider%20Research/index.html
Dr. Joel Heath’s website is: www.joelheath.ca
I hope you found this topic as interesting as I did, and please, remember to turn off your lights!
Eleanor
(All my photos came from Dr. Joel Heath's Documentary website)
Its interesting to learn how dependent a group of birds can be on one area. It's also a shame of whats happening to them. There should be stricter regulations regarding the impact these damns have on the environment, expecially when it effects such a localized species. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and I hope people will continue to support Mr. Heaths work.
ReplyDeleteI find this topic very interesting and would love to see the documentary, "People of Feather". There is still so much that people don't know about these magnificent creatures, and how their light being on have effect on them!
ReplyDeleteTurning the lights off will be one of my priorities, since I heard about this.
Great job on your blog.