A mass mortality event involving thousands of seabirds along the US West Coast is being attributed to abnormal climate conditions. Seabird die-off events have seen thousands of bird carcasses piling up on beaches between San Francisco and Los Angeles over the past few months, according to the New York Times on the 10th (local time).
Rising Ocean Temperatures and Starvation
In a single coastal area alone, 1,900 dead seabirds and 750 birds requiring medical treatment have been found since September. This figure represents a 22-fold increase compared to the same period last year. JD Bergeron, CEO of International Bird Rescue, stated that they are seeing signs that something is truly wrong with the seabirds.
One of the primary suspected causes of the mass die-off is starvation driven by El Niño. El Niño is a phenomenon where sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific rise above normal, and this year’s event is reportedly one of the worst on the record. For instance, common murres feed on small fish in the water, but record-breaking ocean temperature increases have caused their prey to move deeper into colder waters, leading to widespread starvation among the birds.
Wildlife Centers Overwhelmed and State of Emergency
Pacific Wildlife Care, a wildlife hospital located in Morro Bay, reported treating the highest number of seabirds in its 40-year history this year. Since September, the facility has rescued 924 common murres, most of which were found in a severely weakened and starving condition.
The situation is expected to worsen moving forward. El Niño is projected to peak between October and December this year, prompting the California state government to proactively declare a state of emergency.
