California beaches are choked with hundreds of dead sea lions and at least 100 dolphins, all of whom stranded themselves after consuming an acid produced by algae that gave them brain damage, according to wildlife specialists.
The algae, Pseudo-nitzschia, produces a neurotoxin called domoic acid. The acid, concentrated in shellfish and other marine foodstuffs, can poison humans as well as animals if ingested.
In the first weeks of June, sea lions close to the California coast and dolphins farther offshore have been eating things that have been eating the algae, causing mass neurological problems for affected animals. The algae blooms are caused by nutrients being flushed into the ocean by rain and raised up from the deep by wind-driven currents. In turn, major prey animals like anchovies and shellfish feed on the algae, further spreading the domoic acid.
“And it’s my understanding that we have a lot of anchovies out there right now. I think we just have this perfect storm condition going on right now,” Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit Director Michelle Kowalewski told The Associated Press.Symptoms of affected sea lions include head bobbing and foaming at the mouth. Animals are stranding themselves on California beaches daily before dying.
“We are managing more than 200 reports of marine mammals in distress each day. We are doing the best we can to keep up with the intense pace,” Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute Managing Director Ruth Dover said in a statement published by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
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