Scientists fear seabird die-off as El Niño looms: ‘We don’t know how bad this is will get’

Marine ornithologist Tammy Russell looks at a dead seabird near a beachgoer during a survey along Blacks Beach in San Diego. Photograph: Gregory Bull/AP View image in fullscreen Marine ornithologist Tammy Russell looks at a dead seabird near a beachgoer during a survey along Blacks Beach in San Diego. Photograph: Gregory Bull/AP Scientists fear seabird die-off as El Niño looms: ‘We don’t know how bad this is will get’ Many seabirds are starving to death as a marine heat wave lingers off California and fish seek deeper, cooler waters Within minutes of walking on a San Diego beach, marine ornithologist Tammy Russell found the feathered carcasses – one after another. Some were mixed in with washed up kelp. Others were under rocks. Each month, scientists and volunteers conduct surveys of dead seabirds and find what Russell describes as a grim assessment of the impact of a massive marine heat wave that has lingered for months off parts of the California coast. The surveys that have been carried out by various organizations for decades help build a baseline of information on beached sea life to detect threats and their impact. Many seabirds, including California brown pelicans, loons and grebes, starved to death in recent months as record-setting ocean temperatures decreased the band of cold, nutrient-rich surface water where krill, anchovies and sardines thrive near the shore, said Russell, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. El Niño is back with a vengeance – and fears of ‘Godzilla’ strength may be the least of our worries Read more “We’ve been seeing cormorants walk to shore and then just die within the hour. I mean one time it happened within 15 minutes, and I’ve never seen that before,” Russell said. “That has been heartbreaking for me and we’re seeing this happening across the whole coast.” Scientists fear the die-off could worsen with the recently formed El Niño , the natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather worldwide and spikes global temperatures. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in June confirmed an El Niño formed and it is expected to grow to historic strength. Die-offs of seabirds occur periodically, and not all the seabird deaths off California this year are tied to the marine heat wave, scientists and wildlife officials say. But such die-offs are becoming more frequent as the planet warms and oceans heat up. ‘We don’t know how bad this is going to get’ Already a marine heat wave has persisted off parts of the west coast for the past year, marking only the third time on record that such a large section of coastal waters stayed warm for so long, according to Noaa. Why an immense marine heatwave off the US west coast has alarmed scientists Read more Scripps measures daily ocean temperatures at 10 coastal stations along the California coast, where their records stretch back over a century. This year, saw three stations break re