A study from the University of Washington is revealing a threat to Pacific seabirds that is already in motion and may have heartbreaking consequences.
Called,"marine heatwaves," the threat to birds is giant blobs of warm water that form in the Pacific Ocean. Alison Hermance with WildCare rehabilitation hospital in San Rafael said the heated water can have catastrophic effects on seabirds.
''We normally get maybe 150 of the common murres every year, but we had more than 500 of them over a three-month period in 2015," said Dr. Rebecca Duerr, IBR's Veterinary Science Director. "They were stranding with signs of serious nutritional stress. Their feathers were bleached. They didn't have the energy to molt their feathers normally. Yeah, they were essentially starving to death.
Dr. James Harvey, a marine biology researcher with San Jose State participated in the study and said the marine heatwaves are occurring more often and over larger areas. And he said the consequences may make our worst fears a reality. "Watching these bird populations plummet because of these hot water, marine heatwave events is really, really scary," she said."And it says a lot about what's happening to our environment."
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