Experts say there’s no end in sight
||| FROM PHYS.ORG |||
Spencer Parker has never seen so many dolphin strandings in his more than 20 years as an L.A. County lifeguard.
Since he started in 2002, only twice had he seen them come ashore before this year. But in just the last two weeks, there have been four.
Now, things have gotten so bad that L.A. County lifeguards have begun taking mental health days off to cope with the devastation as an algae bloom is poisoning and killing marine life from San Diego to Santa Barbara.
“We’re human beings and we have feelings and we care about marine life—that’s one of the reasons we chose this profession,” said Parker, a captain in the county Fire Department’s lifeguard division. “When these dolphins and sea lions come to shore and they’re still alive, we do our best to make them comfortable and sometimes it doesn’t work out and that takes a toll.”
The worst of the algae bloom’s damage appears to be in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, where some experts wonder if runoff from January’s firestorms has made the bloom worse. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the first effects of the bloom began to show up off the coast of Malibu around Feb. 20.
Since then, the bloom’s impact on wildlife, including sea lions and dolphins, has been “the worst thing we’ve ever seen and had to respond to … and there’s no end in sight,” said John Warner, chief executive of the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro.
Algal blooms can form due to low water circulation or after weather events like droughts, floods or hurricanes and can quickly proliferate in warm, nutrient-rich water, particularly if it’s loaded with phosphorus and nitrogen. As they grow, they can sap the water of oxygen, killing marine life and harming commercial fisheries, and poison the food chain for animals such as sea lions.
The bloom currently wreaking havoc off the coast produces a neurotoxin called domoic acid, which accumulates in small fish like sardines and anchovies. The small fish are then eaten in large quantities by marine life, including sea lions and dolphins, poisoning them.
Ingesting domoic acid from harmful algal blooms can cause animals to have seizures, crane their heads in a motion known as “stargazing,” or become comatose. Without warning, they can also become aggressive and lunge and bite.
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Sadly the media and officials are omitting one of the likely causes of marine life deaths. Chemical runoff after the So Cal fires from burnt plastics, chemicals , carpets etc along with fire retardant. And the City and State is doing very little to remove or protect the coast line from such challenges. The amount of sea life death is stunning and so sad.
Makes sense, JR! Many thanks for your insight, and your concern. Lots to be learning here, in many directions; But let’s hope we can stay focused!