Photography

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

This composite image shows the tight cove on Destruction Island where boats have to tie up with four lines in the center to avoid contact with rocks when moored overnight.

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Scott Pearson puts his arm up to his elbow into a Rhinoceros Auklut burrow, threading a cable with an infra-red camera probe to into the hole to check for any chicks in the nest.

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Scott Pearson, a scientist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, explains how he searches burrows for European rabbits, an invasive species, on Destruction Island.

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

This is one of the many European rabbits, an invasive species, that inhabit Destruction Island.

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

This is a close-up of a Rhinoceros Auklet, photographed at the Seattle Aquarium.

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Peter Hodum and Scott Pearson look into Auklet burrows on a hillside showing the stress from the rabbits eating the grasses that, in turn, causes erosion in the Auklet habitat. For more photos, visit the gallery