The global warming known as the ‘blob’ is responsible for many of the deadliest species in modern history.
The ‘Blob’ is a mass of unusually warm water off the coast of North America in the Pacific Ocean – and scientists say it killed half of the water. Alaska‘s population of the common murre, a small sea bird that resembles a flying penguin.
These birds are short and stiff with tuxedo feathers, and they live in large groups on islands or on the coast, which are close to the sea where they hunt for fish, squid, octopus and crustaceans.
The blob heat between 2014 and 2016 appears to have been the worst water temperature in history, scientists say, raising the temperature of the sea by seven degrees Fahrenheit.
This unstable climate and coastal ecosystems from California in Alaska, reducing the food supply of seabirds such as common murres and causing high mortality.
Their loss has a significant impact on Alaska’s native communities, as murres have been preying on meat and eggs. Population decline is now threatening traditional harvests and cultural cohesion, experts say.
Before the warming, about 8 million murres lived in Alaska – about a quarter of the animal population in the world.
But now, scientists estimate that the number of people decreased to about 4 million based on the analysis of the data collected after the heat. Furthermore, the murres show no signs of recovery.
A warming ocean known as the ‘blob’ has killed half of Alaska’s murre population, marking the deadliest single species death in modern history.
In 2020, researchers examining common murre carcasses found that the cause of death was starvation due to the warming of the water.
In 2020, researchers studying common murre carcasses concluded that the cause of death is starvation due to ocean warming. At the time, they estimated that the number of people who died was between 62,000 and 1 million.
A new study has shown the total number of deaths, emphasis the dire effects of sea warming on animals.
Study co-author Julia Parrish, professor of marine and fish biology and biology, said: ‘This research shows clearly and dramatically the long-term effects of ocean warming on top predators.’
He added: ‘Most importantly, the effect of the heat was not due to the heat of the birds, but a change in the food and left sudden and fatal wounds without sufficient food.’
Parrish was part of a team of researchers led by the US Fish and Wildlife Service that analyzed years of common murre colony surveys to estimate total mortality.
They analyzed 13 areas surveyed between 2008 and 2022, and found area growth in the Gulf of Alaska dropped by nearly 50 percent after the ‘blob.’
Cities east of the Bering Sea experienced a sharp decline of 75 percent.
Together, this kills about 4 million common murres in Alaska due to the warming of the waters. The researchers said they found no ‘evidence of recovery,’ since death occurred.
A new study has revealed the extent of these deaths, estimating that four million murres – nearly half of Alaska’s population – have died following the warming waters.
The researchers said they found no ‘evidence of recovery,’ since death occurred
They published their findings earlier this month in a journal Science.
The common murre population has fluctuated in the past, experiencing little to no recovery, the study authors said.
But this unprecedented decline may be too much for Alaskans to recover from, he said. And with ocean heat waves becoming more frequent as a result of climate change, this may not be the last time these species are hit like this.
A 2023 study led by the same authors showed an increase in ocean temperatures of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit over six months would result in the death of several seabirds.
The study also found that seabirds can take up to three years to recover from warmer seas.
“Whether the warming is from warming, El Niño, the loss of Arctic sea ice or other forces, the message is clear: Warming water means major changes in ecosystems and the spread of seabirds,” Parrish said. words.
‘More and more seabird deaths are going hand in hand with warming seas.’
It has been seven years since the ‘blob’ destroyed the murre population in Alaska. The fact that he has yet to show signs of a comeback is concerning, according to Parrish.
Although it is difficult to pinpoint the reasons for these people’s failure to recover, it is possible that the warming of the water changed the resources that ordinary people depend on, and then affected the entire ecosystem.
For example, aquatic animals that produce their own food have a hard time recovering from the heat. Or maybe the loss of four million common murres affected their social interactions, which help them survive and thrive.
“We may now be on the cusp of an ecological restoration that cannot go back to what it was before,” Parrish said.
