Surge of Dead Seabirds Alarms Scientists
Pastor Dale Morgan
Jul 3, 8:10 PM EDT
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Surge of Dead Seabirds Alarms Scientists*
By BRUCE SMITH
Associated Press Writer
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Hundreds of dead seabirds that washed up along
the Southeast coast in recent weeks apparently starved to death, but
experts don't know why.
The deaths of the birds - similar to gulls and called greater
shearwaters - have wildlife officials worried about possible changes in
the ocean that could have affected the fish that the birds usually eat.
"It's got a lot of folks talking and wondering," said Jennifer Koches, a
spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Is this a canary in
the coal mine issue? Is there something that serious going on out in the
ocean that it should be causing us serious alarm?"
An estimated 1,000 of the dead birds have been found from the Bahamas to
Florida and north to the Carolinas, said Craig Watson, a wildlife
biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service.
About 160 have been found along the South Carolina coast from Hilton
Head to Murrells Inlet.
The birds, which feed on small fish, nest on islands off southern Africa
and then migrate north during the summer to the ocean off Canada. Most
of the dead birds are juveniles that were born this year.
"It does look like they are starving to death," Watson said. "They are
extremely malnourished."
The winds on the ocean could be pushing the birds off course where they
find less to eat, he said.
"The other thing is the forage fish they rely on may be unavailable to
them for some reason," Watson said. "Is it because there is less out
there? We don't know. We are hearing that off the coast of South
Carolina it could be one of the worst years on record for forage fish."
Initial tests on the dead birds do not seem to indicate bird flu or some
other disease. Al Segars, a state Department of Natural Resources
veterinarian, said that dehydration also was a factor because seabirds
get much of the water they need from the fish they eat.
There was a similar die-off two years ago when about 600 dead birds were
found, Watson said.
He said some other birds have also been found in recent weeks, but the
majority are the shearwaters. There is always mortality among the young
birds "but this appears to be a little more," Watson said.
"There are millions of these shearwaters out on the ocean. I'm not sure
an event like this would impact the population that greatly unless it
happens year after year," he said. "But the bigger question is, 'Why is
this happening?'"