In 2013, scientists discovered a large area in the Pacific Ocean where the water was warmer than it should be according to location and season. They christened it The Blob and later determined that the phenomenon was due to climate change.
Now, a new study has found that the warm site has led to the death of a large population of the murre seabird.
Researchers from the University of Washington, the US Geological Survey and other agencies have determined that approximately 62,000 birds were washed ashore from Central California to Alaska between the summer of 2015 and the spring of 2016.
In some places, the number of carcasses was 1000 times the norm. In total, the researchers estimated that over the period of time they studied, a million individuals died, making this the largest mass mortality of seabirds in human history.
The experts found that it was the "Drop" that had such a significant impact on the ocean ecosystem that seabirds were left without a food source.
According to research team member John Pyatt, the food needs of large benthic fish such as cod, pollock, halibut and hake are increasing dramatically due to warming, and since they have much the same diet with birds, this competition led to mass deaths. feathered.
