A recent study has revealed that an estimated 4 million common murres died from 2014 to 2016, making it the largest mortality event among non-fish vertebrates in the modern era. The heat wave, nicknamed “the blob,” had a devastating impact on the marine ecosystem.
Researchers analyzed data from 13 breeding colonies in Alaska and found that murre populations dropped by 52-78% between 2014 and 2016. Despite initial estimates suggesting around 1 million murres died, the new study suggests this number was likely an underestimate.
The researchers attribute the mass mortality to starvation due to reduced access to forage fish, which are a crucial food source for murres. The heat wave also affected predatory fish like Pacific cod and humpback whales.
This study highlights the swift and intense effects of climate change on marine ecosystems. Experts agree that this is just another tragic example of the decline of seabird populations worldwide.
The findings have far-reaching implications, with researchers warning that murre populations in the Gulf of Alaska and East Bering Sea will likely fail to recover before the next extreme warming event occurs.
Source: https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/pacifics-blob-heat-wave-killed-millions-more-seabirds-than-thought-study