MSGID: 1:317/3 64a794f0   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Marine heat waves caused mass seabird die-offs, beach surveys show   
      
      
     Date:   
         July 6, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Washington   
     Summary:   
         New research uses data collected by coastal residents along beaches   
         from central California to Alaska to understand how seabirds have   
         fared in recent decades. The paper shows that persistent marine   
         heat waves lead to massive seabird die-offs months later.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Seabirds, from cormorants to puffins, spend most of their lives at   
   sea. Beloved by birdwatchers, these animals can be hard to study because   
   they spend so much time far from shore.   
      
   New research led by the University of Washington uses data collected   
   by coastal residents along beaches from central California to Alaska to   
   understand how seabirds have fared in recent decades. The paper, published   
   July 6 in the journalMarine Ecology Progress Series, shows that persistent   
   marine heat waves lead to massive seabird die-offs months later.   
      
   "This is truly a global data set that asked a global-sized question:   
   Does a warming world significantly impact marine birds, among the top   
   predators in the nearshore marine environment?" said co-author Julia   
   Parrish, a professor of aquatic and fishery sciences at the UW and   
   executive director of the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team,   
   known as COASST.   
      
   "We find a dramatic delayed effect," she said. "A warmer ocean, and   
   certainly a suddenly warmer ocean as happens during an El Nin~o or a   
   marine heat wave, will result in the death of hundreds of thousands   
   to millions of marine birds within one to 6 months of the temperature   
   increase."  Marine heat waves have only recently gained attention. They   
   include the unusually warm ocean surface off the Pacific Northwest   
   nicknamed "the blob" that persisted from 2014-2016, as well as prolonged   
   El Nin~o events and warmer oceans in Alaska associated with retreating   
   sea ice.   
      
   The UW team's previous research linked recent ocean warming to individual   
   die- offs among seabirds, including common murres, Cassin's auklets and   
   tufted puffins. This study takes a broader approach.   
      
   "Rather than track the specific numbers of any one species, this study   
   measures the magnitude of mortality events, regardless of seabird   
   species, above long- term normal," Parrish said. "We asked: What rate   
   are carcasses washing in, over what portion of coastline, and for how   
   many months? Larger-magnitude events are those that push up all these   
   measures."  The study used surveys of beach-cast birds from 1993 to 2021   
   between central California and Alaska. Truly massive mortality events,   
   with death tolls most likely exceeding a quarter million birds, occurred   
   roughly once per decade. But between 2014 and 2019, five events met this   
   mortality threshold.   
      
   "This is unprecedented. This type of massive die-off can be compared   
   to a catastrophic storm that we would usually expect once per decade;   
   they happen, causing massive damage, but usually there is enough time   
   for areas to recover," said lead author Timothy Jones, a UW research   
   scientist in aquatic and fishery sciences. "From 2014 to 2019, the   
   die-offs were not only some of the largest ever documented, but they kept   
   happening year after year -- like a catastrophic storm hitting without   
   fail every year."  Analysis shows that these extraordinary die-offs were   
   statistically linked to persistently warmer conditions in the Northeast   
   Pacific in the preceding months. Some birds, including murres, puffins,   
   auklets and shearwaters, suffered much more than others.   
      
   The study included more than 90,000 surveys of 106 seabird species on   
   more than 1,000 beaches, collected by four citizen science projects. The   
   largest area was covered by the UW-based COASST program, spanning northern   
   California to Alaska.   
      
   Additional data came from BeachCOMBERS and Beach Watch, both in central   
   California, and the British Columbia Beached Bird Survey, in Canada. These   
   organizations train participants to search local beaches for dead birds   
   and submit their findings.   
      
   Additional data for remote northwest Alaska beaches came from community   
   members' reports to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Alaska   
   Sea Grant.   
      
   The data show that carcasses began to wash up a few months after the   
   warming began and followed a roughly three-year pattern. The exact cause   
   of each die- off is different, but all are related to warming. Warmer   
   water can promote harmful algal blooms and increase the likelihood of   
   disease outbreaks, both of which provoked seabird mortality events during   
   the study period. Most notably, prolonged ocean warming changed the type,   
   abundance and nutritional value of seabirds' prey, leading to widespread   
   starvation, the authors said.   
      
   "With this intensity of warming, like the looming El Nin~o in the Pacific   
   or the current marine heatwave in the North Atlantic, we are facing a   
   new ocean," Parrish said. "One with fewer birds."  Other co-authors on   
   the study are Jacqueline Lindsey and Charlie Wright at the UW, as well   
   as Hillary Burgess and Jane Dolliver, both former science coordinators   
   with COASST.   
      
   Additional co-authors are with the Aleut Community of St. Paul in   
   Alaska; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Bird Studies Canada; the   
   U.S. National Park Service; Moss Landing Marine Laboratories; NOAA;   
   and the Greater Farallones Association. Thousands of coastal residents   
   and undergraduate interns also contributed to collecting the data.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Marine_Biology # Fish # Sea_Life # Nature   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Oceanography # Global_Warming # Geography # Ecology   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Coastal_erosion o Coast o Fishery o Sea_Lion o   
             Temperature_record_of_the_past_1000_years o Underwater_explosion   
             o Krill o Polar_Bear   
      
   ==========================================================================   
      
    Print   
      
    Email   
      
    Share   
   ==========================================================================   
   ****** 1 ****** ***** 2 ***** **** 3 ****   
   *** 4 *** ** 5 ** Breaking this hour   
   ==========================================================================   
       * First_Snapshots_of_Fermion_Pairs *   
       Why_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali;_No_Tigers_in_Australia   
       * New_Route_for_Treating_Cancer:_Chromosomes *   
       Giant_Stone_Artefacts_Found:_Prehistoric_Tools   
       * Astonishing_Secrets_of_Tunicate_Origins *   
       Most_Distant_Active_Supermassive_Black_Hole *   
       Creative_People_Enjoy_Idle_Time_More_Than_Others   
       * Restoring_Fragile_X_Protein_Production *   
       Earth's_Solid_Metal_Sphere_Is_'Textured' *   
       Elephants_Vary_Their_Dinner_Menu_Day-To-Day   
      
   Trending Topics this week   
   ==========================================================================   
   PLANTS_&_ANIMALS Biochemistry_Research Insects_(including_Butterflies)   
   Wild_Animals EARTH_&_CLIMATE Air_Pollution Ice_Ages Pollution   
   FOSSILS_&_RUINS Ancient_Civilizations Cultures Early_Climate   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Strange & Offbeat   
   ==========================================================================   
   PLANTS_&_ANIMALS   
   Why_There_Are_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali_(and_No_Tigers_in_Australia)   
   Number_Cruncher_Calculates_Whether_Whales_Are_Acting_Weirdly   
   Fossils_Reveal_How_Ancient_Birds_Molted_Their_Feathers_--_Which_Could_Help   
   Explain_Why_Ancestors_of_Modern_Birds_Survived_When_All_the_Other_Dinosaurs   
   Died EARTH_&_CLIMATE   
   Why_There_Are_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali_(and_No_Tigers_in_Australia)   
   Turning_Old_Maps_Into_3D_Digital_Models_of_Lost_Neighborhoods   
   Squash_Bugs_Are_Attracted_to_and_Eat_Each_Other's_Poop_to_Stock_Their   
   Microbiome FOSSILS_&_RUINS   
   Giant_Stone_Artefacts_Found_on_Rare_Ice_Age_Site_in_Kent,_UK   
   How_Urea_May_Have_Been_the_Gateway_to_Life   
   Newly_Discovered_Jurassic_Fossils_in_Texas Story Source: Materials   
   provided by University_of_Washington. Original written by Hannah   
   Hickey. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. T Jones, JK Parrish, J Lindsey, C Wright, HK Burgess, J Dolliver, L   
         Divine, R Kaler, D Bradley, G Sorenson, R Torrenta, S Backensto,   
         H Coletti, JT Harvey, HM Nevins, E Donnelly-Greenan, DL Sherer,   
         J Roletto, K Lindquist. Marine bird mass mortality events as an   
         indicator of the impacts of ocean warming. Marine Ecology Progress   
         Series, 2023; HEAT DOI: 10.3354/meps14330   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230706124544.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 18 weeks, 3 days, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 218/700 226/30 227/114   
   SEEN-BY: 229/110 112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 291/111 292/854   
   SEEN-BY: 298/25 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45 5075/35   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426