WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:03.120 Oh hey, it's that lady in the park just staring 2 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:06.400 at pigeons, trying to imagine what's on their minds. Ali 3 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:10.039 warred back with more ologies to gulp into your mouth 4 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:13.599 pouch as we explore and just get to love pelicans. 5 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:15.679 So I'm going to keep this intro swift as I can. 6 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:17.760 I just want to say thank you to everyone on 7 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:21.199 Patreon supporting this show. Thanks to everyone rating and subscribing, 8 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:25.800 sharing the show, leaving reviews like this week, Blaise Fowler says, 9 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:28.559 You're my kind of weirdo. I'm an introvert and with you, 10 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:32.560 I'm vicariously living my best extroverted life. Also, Joe Ron 11 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:36.159 thirty three, your review about your grandson launching off of 12 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:39.280 A the day was a special treat. Also, Bobby Gooling, 13 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:42.960 I swear I'm trying to swear less often sort of 14 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:47.079 but not really anyway. Okay, pelicanology. Others have used this 15 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:50.759 word before, so we're using it now. So pelican seems 16 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:54.359 to come from Pelicus, which is the Greek for acts 17 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:58.960 because of the bird's long axe. Handily, Bill, so is 18 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:01.320 there anything more badass than your name being ax face? 19 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:02.039 I don't know. 20 00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:05.680 I don't think So anyway, I started following this ologists 21 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:07.959 recently on Twitter because of a really, really wonderful movement 22 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:11.640 called Black Birders Week, and Blackbirder's Week officially kicked off 23 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.640 May thirty first. It runs through June fifth, with hashtags 24 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:19.640 like birding while black, ask a birder, post a bird, 25 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:23.319 black woman who bird? And It was launched in part 26 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:25.680 as a reaction to an event that occurred in Central 27 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:29.799 Park on Memorial Day. An Autobond board member and birdwatcher, 28 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:33.000 Christian Cooper, was threatened by a dog owner who tried 29 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:36.480 to use systemic racism as a weapon. Essentially, you likely 30 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:39.200 saw it on the news. It was a pretty painful 31 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:42.040 reminder of the realities that they face in the field. 32 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:46.640 Black biologists and naturalists face racism and threats and even 33 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:51.879 violence for just enjoying nature. Black lives matter, period, Black 34 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:56.560 scientists matter. This conversation matters, and this conversation has been 35 00:01:56.599 --> 00:01:59.680 really prevalent for so long among black naturalists, and a 36 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:02.359 lot of white folks just had no idea this was 37 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:04.480 even a thing. I had no idea how much privilege 38 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:07.640 plays into choosing a job that requires fieldwork or going 39 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:09.960 out to a park or on a hike or bird 40 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.280 watching like Christian was doing. So enter Blackbird's Week hashtag 41 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:15.319 Blackbirder's Week. 42 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:16.039 It's amazing. 43 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:20.599 It's opening eyes to birds and to systemic racism we 44 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:24.039 can continue to try to understand and dismantle. So Blackbird's 45 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:27.439 Week has already been a huge giant success. The group 46 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:31.319 who organized it is black af in Stem. They've gained 47 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:34.879 almost twenty thousand followers in a week. You can follow 48 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:38.719 them at black af in Stem follow everyone they follow. 49 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:42.680 There have been write ups and newspapers on Blackbird's Week. 50 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:46.759 Twitter feeds have been a buffet of bird photos and 51 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:49.879 facts and new faces to follow. So I started following 52 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:52.479 the ologies recently and her pinned tweet is a video 53 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:57.080 of what appears to be tiny plucked chickens that are dancing, 54 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:01.439 but they are actually squawking pelican ands, and I love them. 55 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:04.879 So I messaged her three words in all caps, let's 56 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:08.280 talk elegance, as one does in a professional correspondence, and 57 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:11.240 her response was I can talk about dinosaur f loofs 58 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:13.879 all day. So she grew up in La not far 59 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:16.360 from where I live now, and is currently getting her 60 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:20.919 PhD at the University of Louisiana. At Lafayette studying environmental 61 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:24.759 and evolutionary biology, looking at habitats and health of the 62 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.000 brown pelican. So we hopped on the horn to chat 63 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:32.280 about bird nerds and big bills and saggy sacks and 64 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:40.080 porcupine espionage, flags, limp flam sandals, ice cream, sandwiches, boats, wingspans, 65 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:43.960 spine illusions, dive bombs, and more. So open your ears 66 00:03:43.960 --> 00:04:07.639 and mouth pouches for pelicanologists, Jueta Martinez, have you ever 67 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:10.879 been like there needs to be a Pelicanology episode? 68 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:14.680 I mean on the inside, like very deep. 69 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:17.839 Maybe you would know that you're going to know this 70 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:21.360 better than I would. Are you a pelicanologist? Have you 71 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:22.240 ever used that word? 72 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:27.160 I actually have never used that word, But starting from today, 73 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:29.560 I'm actually going to change my Twitter bio. 74 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:32.399 I checked and she changed her Twitter bio to read 75 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:38.160 PhD student hashtag dinosaur flops equals brown pelicans plus Pelicanology. 76 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:40.160 I was so excited to talk about pelicans with you, 77 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:42.079 and I went to go look to see, like what 78 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.199 the genus was of pelicans. 79 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:54.639 Yeah, actually the genus is Pelicanus. Okay, yeah, Pelicanus Pelicanus. 80 00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:00.279 I mean it has a ring to it, doesn't it though, Yeah, how. 81 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:04.199 Have you been studying pelicans? So this year would be 82 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:06.839 my third year, and how did you how did you 83 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:07.319 get into it? 84 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:10.319 Have you always been into birds or has it been 85 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:12.000 wildlife in general? 86 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:16.600 Yeah, so it's always been wildlife, And I'm actually like 87 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:19.240 prettying you into the bird world. I would say. 88 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:23.560 I worked with quite a few different species, from like 89 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:28.360 shrimp to microbes, and then I switched to frogs, went 90 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:32.639 back to porcupines what and then worked with butterflies for 91 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:35.839 a summer, and then I worked with fifth to sixth 92 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:40.079 graders with Samitteo outdoor Ed and then I. 93 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.680 Think if sixth graders is just like a like another 94 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:44.240 kind of creature. 95 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:46.279 Sorry, I did not see. 96 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:49.839 And then I ended up working for Richardson Bay Audubon 97 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:54.360 in the Bay Area, and that's what really got. 98 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:55.199 Me into birds. I knew. 99 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:57.639 I went to go to grad school and I was 100 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:01.839 pretty set on getting my PhD. And my advisor which 101 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:06.240 he's my advisor now, had made this post about brown. 102 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:09.040 Pelicans and it just clicked, and I was like, I 103 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:09.800 have to apply. 104 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:14.199 Honestly, I feel like it was luck because we both clicked, 105 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:16.959 and then I was really interested in the project and 106 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:20.879 everything that he sought out to do with the pelicans 107 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:22.199 I had already done prior. 108 00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:26.199 Oh well that's handy. So what was the post that 109 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:26.600 she saw? 110 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:32.000 So it started off talking about restoration, and what restoration 111 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:37.399 means is we're trying to create habitat in a way 112 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:40.959 that it was in the past. And I was currently 113 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:43.319 working on a restoration project and I had worked on 114 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:48.279 restoration projects prior to that, and it was also using 115 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:52.120 something called camera traps, and camera traps are basically motion 116 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:56.079 censored camera is that normally hunters would use, but we're 117 00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:59.120 now using it to basically. 118 00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:01.959 Spy on brown pelicans and their babies. 119 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:06.000 And I had used camera traps to also spy on 120 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:16.040 porcupines two years earlier. I like, I know, so nowadays, 121 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:18.839 like all these things are so like common to me. 122 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:22.079 It's my everyday life. So I love telling my people, like, wait, 123 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:24.120 that's not normal, Jumita. 124 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:26.639 I just love the idea that there's a porcupine who's like, 125 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:29.439 I swear someone's spying on us, and their partner's like, 126 00:07:29.560 --> 00:07:30.879 no one's spying on us. 127 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:32.120 You need to calm down. 128 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:35.560 And meanwhile, you're there like in a bush, just like 129 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:37.959 looking at what they're doing, being like we are spying 130 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:38.399 on you. 131 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:41.319 Yeah, we get some pretty cool shots of them just 132 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:44.040 looking really weird at the camera, like what is that 133 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:46.319 thing doing there? 134 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:49.920 Just admiring you. So before heading to Louisiana to become 135 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:53.399 a doctoral fellow, Juta got her bachelor's in zoology with 136 00:07:53.399 --> 00:07:56.399 a minor in wildlife management from Humboldt State University. 137 00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:59.040 I was very adamant that I was going to become 138 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:03.040 a veterinarian up until I really learned what it took 139 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:05.240 to be a veterinarian and how much blood was involved 140 00:08:05.399 --> 00:08:08.120 mm hmm, and I realized I'm too screamish for it. 141 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:09.560 So I was like, oh, I have to go down 142 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:10.759 the research route now. 143 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:15.199 And the NSFREU program was the first experience that I 144 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:19.240 had with any kind of science ever, and that really 145 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:20.680 was like my foundation. 146 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:25.879 Okay, if you're like huh. NSFRU is a National Science 147 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:32.039 Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program which pairs undergrads with 148 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:35.000 different research programs, and it also gives the undergrads a 149 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:38.480 stipend and in some cases assistance with travel or housing. 150 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:42.480 So that is the NSFREU. 151 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:46.200 Program and with the NSFRU program, which all undergrads, I 152 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:50.480 highly recommend out there for you guys to apply, and 153 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:55.840 I was basically doing environmental toxicology work. So that was 154 00:08:55.879 --> 00:09:00.720 my beginning, but it gave me a really good foot 155 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:02.919 in the door and understanding like what I really liked 156 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:06.000 about science and what I wasn't so interested in but 157 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:09.080 was still really important, such as lab work. I definitely 158 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:11.960 enjoyed the field aspect a little more than I did 159 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:12.639 the lab work. 160 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:16.120 As a field tech, she gathered data and samples and 161 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:20.480 studied everything from frog calls to those porcupines to what 162 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:24.799 lives in shrimp cuts, which in one case included antibiotic 163 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:28.440 resistant bacteria as she discovered in her junior year. 164 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:31.559 Which actually landed me my first publication, which was wild 165 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:35.159 because never in a million years if anyone told me 166 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:37.519 that would happen, I'd be like, no, there's no way. 167 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:39.759 That's amazing. How did you celebrate? 168 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:42.120 I actually, I'm pretty sure I worked like a full 169 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:45.840 shift that so I don't think I actually celebrated, Like 170 00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:47.440 now that I'm looking back, I don't think I ever 171 00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:51.799 like I internally celebrated, even though I knew it. 172 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:52.360 Was a big deal. 173 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:58.080 Yeah you can still there's like no statute of limitations 174 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:00.360 on celebrating. You can get a piece of cake tonight 175 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:00.960 if you want to. 176 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.360 Well, I guess I have to do it now. 177 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:05.919 Yeah, okay, I looked it up in this first paper 178 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:10.080 published remember still as an undergrad, is called Exposure of 179 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:14.399 the grass shrimp Palao Monetes pugio to anti microbial compounds, 180 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:19.039 Effects associated vibryobacterial density and development of antibatic resistance. It 181 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:22.039 was published in October twenty fourteen. It is never too 182 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:22.679 late for cake. 183 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:25.720 Yeah, it was a very proud moment for sure. That 184 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:29.440 was what I knew. I definitely wanted to pursue this path. 185 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:34.600 And I ended up working with porcupines right after that 186 00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:36.919 for two years. And then I ended up working with 187 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.879 my first like restoration project after graduating from my undergrad 188 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:44.159 and that was with the island marble butterfly. And they're 189 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:47.320 endemic to this one little island off the coast of 190 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:51.039 Washington called San Juan and I got to spend a 191 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:54.799 whole summer on that island basically rearing butterfly. A. 192 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:59.080 Oh my gosh, that's a dream, like an actual dream. 193 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:00.639 It was. It was pretty great. 194 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:02.279 What were you like as a kid, were you like 195 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:06.320 an indoor bookworm. Were you outside trumping around getting your 196 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:07.960 feet money? 197 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:11.679 My parents thought there was something wrong with me because 198 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:16.679 all I wanted to do was watch snails, little suckers 199 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:20.799 like I had like a weird fascination with like snails, 200 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:23.440 and at one part of one point in my life, 201 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:27.879 I wanted an ant farm. I was basically outdoors all 202 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:32.559 the time, trying to basically observing wildlife as many as 203 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:37.000 I could in Silver Lake, which is not. 204 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:41.879 The most wildlife friendly area, as you know, so I 205 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:44.320 had to get really creative with what I could find 206 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:45.120 in the yard. 207 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:49.720 So from La to La Los Angeles to Louisiana, from 208 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:54.039 a childhood gazing its nails to getting a PhD. In 209 00:11:54.159 --> 00:12:00.200 pelicans and now what about brown pelicans? First off, stupidquestion, 210 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:03.639 what is a pelican? Is a pelican only the kind 211 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:05.600 that have the purse attached to their face. 212 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:10.120 I've never actually heard someone say that. That is awesome. 213 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:12.440 I love that description of it. 214 00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:17.759 So a handbag for a mouth they do, that is 215 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:18.919 a good one. I love it. 216 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:22.799 Yes, So all pelicans have a purse, which is better 217 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:27.559 known as a googl ar pouch, and that's what helps 218 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:28.159 them survive. 219 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:30.200 That is how they catch their food. 220 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:33.679 Gool art means throat in Latin. So what google ark 221 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.840 pouch is a pelican face purse, That's what it is. 222 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:43.000 Brown pelicans specifically actually plunge dive, so from about thirty 223 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:45.399 feet or so up in the air, they will spot 224 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:47.960 a school of fish and then just dive down and 225 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:50.559 use that pouch to basically scoop up all the fish. 226 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:51.639 It's in my purse. 227 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:53.879 And what do they do with all the water that 228 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:54.960 they also scoop up? 229 00:12:55.960 --> 00:12:59.679 So if there's other birds around, such as gulls that 230 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:02.600 try to steal the fish from their mouths, they will 231 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:07.039 just slightly open their build and let the water like 232 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:10.600 seep out until there's just fish in their pouch. 233 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:13.639 Why do they need so many fish? This is what 234 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:15.919 I can't understand because they're kind of big birds, right, 235 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:19.799 But other big birds they catch a fish, they catch 236 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:23.600 a thing at a time. But pelicans are like in it. 237 00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:27.320 I feel like they have the best equipment in the game. Like, 238 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:30.960 why do they need to catch so much fish? 239 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:34.320 I would think it depends on the season. So if 240 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:37.320 they're trying to feed their chicks, they have about a 241 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:40.879 maximum of three chicks. So if you think about a 242 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:44.759 pelican they're about sixteen pounds, which is quite a bit 243 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:47.679 of weight. And on top of that, they have to 244 00:13:47.720 --> 00:13:52.000 feed themselves have enough energy to fly around and catch 245 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:55.720 the fish, but then they also have one to three 246 00:13:55.799 --> 00:13:58.000 mouths to feed. They're going to need quite a bit 247 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:03.519 of fish for that. And these pelicans are born completely 248 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.360 naked and with their eyes shut. 249 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:06.440 I'm naked, aren't. 250 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:11.480 So they're completely reliant on their parents for quite a 251 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:12.120 few months. 252 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:16.279 And then what about their wingspan? Because the sixteen pound 253 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:18.639 bird's pretty big? How big are the wings to keep 254 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:19.200 it aloft? 255 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:24.559 It's about six feet, which is taller than me. Oh 256 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:27.159 that's huge. Yeah, that's like a condor size. 257 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:31.480 Right, Yeah, it's a good social distancing size. 258 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:35.000 Oh my god. That needs to be your new campaign. 259 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:38.919 Is everyone's stay one pelican wingspan away from each gends? 260 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:42.919 Oh my gosh, so sixteen pounds six feet? 261 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:45.559 Because are they all inland or I mean, are they 262 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:50.360 all golf or or coastal or are they inland too? 263 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:53.200 So we have two species in North America. We have 264 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:55.919 the brown pelican and the white pelican. And actually the 265 00:14:55.919 --> 00:15:00.679 brown pelican is smaller than the white pelican about ten 266 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:05.720 pounds or so. And the pelican stays on the coastline, 267 00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:09.720 like up and down the West coast and then throughout 268 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:12.600 the Gulf of Mexico and up to North Carolina Ish 269 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:15.360 and the white pelicans, on the other hand, you can't 270 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:17.639 see them on the coast, but they breed inland. 271 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:20.000 How many pelican species are there in the world. I 272 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:22.559 looked it up. There are eight, in case that ever 273 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:25.200 comes up in a game of pelican trivia. 274 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:29.279 And now you call them flute dinosaurs, dinosaur. 275 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:36.200 Fluff, dinosaur blues, aren't they really funzy? Okay? So there's 276 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:37.320 like this middle stage. 277 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:40.200 They're born naked and then they start getting these little 278 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:43.799 pin feathers and they get their down feathers first, and 279 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:49.679 that down feather is what sparked the hashtag. So down 280 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:54.399 feather is the insulating part of their body and it's 281 00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:58.279 really soft and fluty. And so when you're holding a 282 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:02.559 kind of ba repelican that just has down feathers, they're 283 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:04.679 pretty fluefy and I feel very lucky. 284 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:09.200 So you've gotten to hold them. Yes, So we have 285 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:11.440 a project because. 286 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:17.080 Louisiana is losing land at a very rapid rate because 287 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:22.879 it's sinking and the same level is rising. So these 288 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:27.360 islands that are perfect habitats for these pelicans to raise 289 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:31.519 their youngs are actually getting overtopped and just completely disappearing. 290 00:16:31.639 --> 00:16:35.879 We don't really understand what happens to pelicans once their 291 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:39.919 islands disappear, because their instinct is to come back to 292 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.159 the same islands that they were born on. And so 293 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:47.799 what I've been doing is I am putting leg bands 294 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:53.919 on these pelicans so that future grad students, which I'm graduated, 295 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:58.279 are able to go back and track these bands and 296 00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:01.720 hopefully we'll get a better understanding of where they moved to. 297 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:05.440 So apparently only thirty percent of pelicans survive their first 298 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:08.720 year of life. Only two percent make it to age ten, 299 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:12.599 but some some have been known to live until their forties. 300 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:13.839 So some are out there. 301 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:17.640 There's a gen X Pelican listening to britpop. But how 302 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:18.759 do they tell who's who? 303 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:22.359 So my lab does orange bands, and other labs that 304 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:27.039 study pelicans use different color bands, and these color bands 305 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:29.039 are really large, so we can see them from really 306 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:31.200 far away without having to disturb the birds. 307 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:32.559 Oh that's nice. 308 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:36.400 When I was looking at baby pelicans on your Twitter, 309 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:40.559 I myself had an impulse to want to give them 310 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:43.079 one tiny kiss on their heads. 311 00:17:43.319 --> 00:17:47.000 Is that a normal impulse for a person, I would 312 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:48.000 say yes. 313 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:51.359 But if you ever come down to Louisiana and come 314 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:54.079 out to the islands with me, I think you will 315 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:56.880 be satisfied just by holding them, because I will say, 316 00:17:56.920 --> 00:18:02.079 they might be flufy, but they're also very stinky. So 317 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.839 a hug a hug is as far as I usually 318 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:05.920 want to go with it. 319 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:06.839 That's good. 320 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:09.519 I know that it is like not a good idea 321 00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:12.960 to put my mouth on wildlife. For the wildlife's sake, 322 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:15.839 Do not put your mouth on wildlife. The wildlife does 323 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:18.640 not want you to. Also, I looked at the flufes 324 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:22.000 and they look like what would come out of the dryer, 325 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:25.400 like in the lint hatch after washing a load of 326 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:29.960 brand new fluey towels. So picture lintball but with big, clappy, 327 00:18:29.960 --> 00:18:33.839 flappy face parts. But when they're born, they are indeed featherless. 328 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:39.200 They look like little alive frozen chickens. Looks so cute, 329 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:41.839 so cute, I can't handle it. 330 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:44.759 And the gular pouch or the purse is so tiny 331 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:47.720 on the baby picks and they're just oh my gosh. 332 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:48.799 It gets me every. 333 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:52.319 Time when you're talking about doing restoration work to make 334 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:54.559 sure that they have a home that they can come 335 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:57.279 back to, or that they have habitat that they can inhabit. 336 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:01.559 How do you do that if you're up against things 337 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:04.720 like sea levels rising and like land sinking? 338 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:07.599 What do you do? So right now Louisiana's being restored, 339 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:08.759 but not by me. 340 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:14.200 They actually have agencies such as the Coastal Protection and 341 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:19.279 Restoration Act and different groups of people that come out 342 00:19:19.319 --> 00:19:24.200 here and basically perform something called dredging. So they put 343 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:30.039 in these pipes basically under the ocean level, and what 344 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:33.279 they do is they pump a bunch of sediments from 345 00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:34.599 the ocean floor. 346 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:35.920 Onto these islands. 347 00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:42.240 WHOA, So we're basically just building land from the ocean floor. 348 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:45.400 We're just putting it up. And these pipes go for miles. 349 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:49.920 And the latest restoration project, I believe, took about five 350 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:54.839 months to complete. Five months. Yes, they started in yeah, right, 351 00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:58.759 But there's other restoration projects that took two years, so 352 00:19:58.839 --> 00:20:01.400 this was a pretty quick one. Five months. 353 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.640 Man, I have laundry that I haven't done in five months, 354 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:06.400 Like I have home projects that I have not done 355 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:10.400 in five months. To build whole islands when you are 356 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:13.920 tracking then I mean, can you see on a year 357 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:17.519 to year basis any any change or improvement. 358 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:22.480 Yes, So some islands have been restored and some have not. 359 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:26.880 And what my research aims to do is to compare 360 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:31.119 the Pelican populations on these two different sets of islands 361 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:36.480 across coastal Louisiana. And our preliminary data is telling us 362 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:40.400 that there is a larger population on restored island, which 363 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:45.160 means the restoration is working and the billions. 364 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:47.480 Of dollars is not being wasted. Yeah. 365 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:51.200 And we also found that chicks are more likely to 366 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:55.319 reach that age where they can fly away and fend 367 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:59.599 for themselves on restored islands versus those that are born 368 00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:04.359 on restored islands, which is really helpful because no one's 369 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:05.880 actually looked at that yet. 370 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:08.160 How did you kind of start to discover that. Was 371 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:10.160 there a moment when you were crunching data where you 372 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:12.079 started to say, like, oh wait a second, I'm seeing 373 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:12.680 a difference here. 374 00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:14.640 Yeah, So that was just one of my questions that 375 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:17.039 I had because I thought it would be interesting to 376 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:22.119 see how restoration affects these populations, because when you're restoring 377 00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:28.160 an island, you're changing the habitat completely from all the 378 00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:31.599 different insects I might be on it, and the different plants, 379 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:35.839 because when they deposit all this sediment from the seafloor, 380 00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:41.119 you're burying any vegetation that was there priorca This vegetation 381 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:45.039 is very important for the pelicans to build a nest on. 382 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:49.279 My hypothesis was that restored islands would be a better 383 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:53.160 nesting ground for these pelicans, and so far the data 384 00:21:53.240 --> 00:21:54.160 shows that. 385 00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:56.920 That must have been an amazing discovery. Yeah, I'm really 386 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:00.400 excited about it. I'm excited for the pelicans too, Okay, 387 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:03.799 with good reason. This blew my mind. 388 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:07.079 Because this potentially gives them a fighting chance in the future. 389 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:09.519 We know how to save their nesting habitats. 390 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:11.839 How are their numbers like? When? 391 00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:15.240 When did they start to maybe take a dip? 392 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:21.480 So by nineteen sixty three, brown pelicans were completely extinct 393 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:22.880 from the state of Louisiana. 394 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:29.880 Yes, due to DDT. So if they're if they keep 395 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:32.599 laying eggs and the eggs keep getting crushed, or if 396 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:36.640 the nest keeps failing, they'll actually leave the area. That's it. 397 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:38.799 I'm out of here, oh man. 398 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:41.720 And a brown pelican is a state bird. So for 399 00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:45.079 the state to not have brown pelicans. Did it really 400 00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:45.680 make sense? 401 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:47.839