More and more 'strange creatures' landed - this trend is more dangerous than you think

California coasts are embracing unprecedented creatures in the area. What is the reason, and why is this really bad news?

If you have to make a list of the most biodiversity rich waters, then the waters off California (USA) in the Pacific Ocean will certainly occupy one of the top levels. But that diversity seems to have been raised to a new height, when in recent years there have been many "strange creatures" drifting into this area.

Starbust anemone, originally native to Mexico, now swims to the north of California.

The purple sea slugs that never existed in the north, now suddenly come to Mong Hors Bay. Velella jelly also exposes herself to dozens of children every time the tide recedes. Elephant seals appear more frequently, while Mexico's Starbust blue anemones swim up to compete with native anemones.

Then the whale. It is noted that in recent years, San Francisco Bay has more whales than usual, up to 5-6 fish at the same time. While in previous years, it was rare to have 1-2 children walking around the Golden Gate Bridge.

Jellyfish Velella.

These "strange" whales now stay for months. Even for the first time in history, there were two whales recorded in the bay for a while, namely gray whales and humpback whales. Both species often swim straight north, heading for the Bering Sea to feed at this time of year. Now, they stay here.

But the problem is that there are also more cases of whale carcasses. In April, at least 3 gray whales died and washed up on the beach. Are their stomachs empty?

"They seem to be very hungry, wanting to find some pads before continuing to the North," said Bill Keener, a California oceanographer.

"But why do they stay so long, then die? We can't know what these bad guys have done."

Strange phenomenon

According to Keener, five years ago, the Gulf of Alaska recorded a record heat due to the ice melting in the Arctic. On the one hand, it makes temperatures in Alaska rise. On the other hand, this phenomenon creates a cold sea that faces south, towards California's waters.

El Niño then dragged in, warming the north currents. The two warm seas meet each other to create a strange environment, causing permanent disturbance effects on the California ecosystem.

"It's like a temporary gate to pick up southern creatures towards the north," said Eric Sanford, a professor of biology at the University of California, Davis.

"The longer the gate holds, the greater the chance for" Northern "creatures to advance".

Palegic red crab - a species of southern warm water is approaching the North.

Called "temporary", but this warm gate is gradually expanding over the years. At the present time, there are still bizarre warm waters off California, beckoning tropical creatures to the often cold waters stretching over 1300km.

In 2018, it was found that the golden belly belly snake in Orange County. This is the first time this creature has appeared in California since the latest El Niño phenomenon occurred. An olive sea turtle was also found in March 2019. This turtle lives in warm waters, suddenly swimming quite far into the North.

In Santa Barbara County, people even see sunfish coming ashore. These are giant creatures, 2 meters long and weigh up to a ton. They die in a place that is not their favorite habitat.

"Such events are happening with increasing frequency," - Jacqueline Sones - ocean conservation expert commented.

Sones and Sanford jointly conducted a new study published in the March issue of Nature, which confirmed that at least 67 species are being pushed to the North Sea. In it, at least 37 species have never appeared here, and 21 species only appear in years of El Niño.

Research shows that these organisms seem to come here to settle down. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but according to Sanford, this effect can have serious consequences if it does not last long enough and is stable.

"The ocean has changed so quickly in a short time. If it is unstable, it is very disturbing." - Sanford said.

And this trend also confirms that the sea warming process is becoming more and more serious.

Follow the "food" ball

The consequences of this process seem to be most evident at the Marine Animal Center - a laboratory and the world's largest wildlife rescue facility - in San Francisco. In recent years, this center has been continuously placed in overload.

Within the last 2 weeks, the number of " patients" here has increased to 90 organisms. Most of them are elephant seals, most of them are seriously malnourished, only one third of their size. They live in large pools, are fed, treated, and then find ways to return to the ocean.

The seals will be trained to find food first so that they can survive in the wild.

Because they are quite weak and immature creatures, before going to the ocean, seals will be trained to find food first so that they can survive in the wild.

"We are on the front line to save marine animals that are very sensitive to even a small change in the environment," said hospital director Shawn Johnson.

In 2015, the sea temperature in the region peaked. In the same year, the center received a total of 1800 seals and sea seals. This is 3 times higher than the average. Currently, each year they receive 10,000 calls to rescue marine life along this sea.

And the reason for these mutants is for food.

Before this warm "gate" opened, the amount of anchovies and sardines - the main food of the sea creatures here - was greatly reduced in small quantities. When seals and sea masters arrive at the breeding season, they gather on a few islands and the demand for hunting fish surges. But as the number of fish decreases, they increasingly have to swim farther to get food, and as a result, adults mature, while the offspring are increasingly malnourished and have to resort to hospital admission.

An elephant seal on the Horseshoe Bay.

"There are many signs that the sea began to not have enough food to provide for seafood and seals," - quoted Elliott Hazen from NOAA Marine Fish Science Center (Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). America)

"This warm sea event becomes especially because it is unprecedented, so there is no data to compare."

Back with anchovies, they are the main prey of humpback whales. According to Hazen, the behavior of anchovies is also very strange, as they increasingly swim closer to the shore. As a consequence, whales must also approach the shore, leading to an increasing number of strands.

And those are skinny whales

Having to eat near shore makes whales encounter many risks. Of the 11 whale carcasses found in this area in 2018, most are due to being caught in nets, or hitting boats.

These risks seem to be getting more and more, creating an ominous phenomenon. However, according to Keener, the more disturbing thing is perhaps their behavior and appearance.

"We see a large number of whales that are thinner than usual."

Gray whales were originally listed as endangered, but had a spectacular resurgence in the past half century. But as the new numbers increase, unfortunately, their food fishes decrease, so now they are forced to put themselves in danger.

"This is really a bad sign," Keener said.