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P. CHILTON/Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team

Foam from ocean algae bloom killing thousands of birds

A slimy foam churning up from the ocean has killed thousands seabirds and washed many others ashore, stripped of their waterproofing and struggling for life.

The birds have been clobbered by an unusual algae bloom stretching from the northern Oregon coast to the tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.

The culprit is a single-cell algae or phytoplankton called Akashiwo sanguinea.  Though the algae has multiplied off the coast of California before, killing hundreds of seabirds, the phenomenon has not been seen in Oregon and Washington, and has never occurred on the West Coast to this extent, Parrish said.

Marine biologists said it is not clear why the algae are multiplying, though they do flourish in warm weather.

The foam can be deadly to seabirds because it washes off the natural oils that keep them waterproofed.  Without that protection, they get cold, wet, eventually dying of hypothermia… Read Full Article by Lynne Terry

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