Meteorologists are saying that a mass of abnormally warm surface water that began in the Gulf of Alaska is responsible for the death of thousands of sea lion pups along the West Coast.
The Blob — a mass of warm, nutrient-poor water – overwhelmed much of the northeastern Pacific Ocean between 2013 and 2016.
A study from a Mexican University recently concluded that small oily forage fish supplies were decimated, sending ripples throughout the Pacific – seabirds failed to breed, kelp forests died off, toxin-producing algae bloomed, and entanglement rates rose dramatically as whales moved closer to shore to feed, and then became snared in fishing gear.
Seward’s Alaska Sealife Center has been studying sea lions population drops since it opened. Without the nutritional punch of forage fish, lactating sea lions are unable to provide adequate nutrition for their pups.
This had a devastating effect on an entire generation of sea lions – an indicator species—a biomonitor of what’s happening in the whole ecosystem.
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| Sleeper shark with rings from octopus attack |
ASLC is currently gearing up to investigate sleeper sharks, who may be a key predator of young Steller sea lions. T
he juvenile sharks they intend on capturing in Resurrection Bay will actually be 50 to 70 years old, some SeaLife Center scientists think they may live to be 300.
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