The heartbreaking truth behind hundreds of seagulls symbolizing the dead Arctic drifted ashore

For people on St. Island Paul off Alaska, finding seabirds washed ashore isn't anything special . However, it is different if the puffin (the seagulls) . It is very rare to find bird corpses almost as a symbol of Alaska people here, especially during the winter months.

But in recent years, things have changed. In January 2017, the number of puffin corpses washed up to hundreds. And sadly, it seems that this coming is no longer a rare phenomenon.

The number of puffin corpses washed up to hundreds.

According to a recent study conducted by US experts, hundreds of bird carcasses are just the surface of the iceberg, a sign of a mass bird death event likely to reach nearly 9,000 .

This result was developed by the University of Washington's Marine Bird Tracking Survey (COASST), in conjunction with the island community. Each month, the team will survey the number of dead puffin birds on the island and debris ashore, to get information about the status of the ecosystem in the Bering Sea (Alaska).

As stated, in the past the number of dead puffin that washed ashore was not always so high. Proportionally, only about 1% of the body is theirs. But in the period of 10/2016 - 1/2017, there were 360 ​​bodies of puffin appeared, with the rate up to 80%.

These birds die because they do not have enough nutrients to grow.

The heartbreaking reason

Scientists find the answer quite easily. Autopsies do not show toxins or disease, but these depressed ancient seagulls have lost a large amount of muscle at the wing area. Meaning, they do not have enough nutrition to grow, or in other ways they have . starved to death.

Several hundred starving birds are serious, but they are not too big. However, experts recognize a more worrisome issue after analyzing the wind and sea currents. That is if this situation happens with other bird populations, there will be at least 3000 puffins dying because there is not enough food . Broader, the number could reach 8,800 individuals.

The number of seabirds remaining here may be evidence that half of the bird population on the neighboring islands has also died. Even if the situation is more serious, the whole may disappear.

In recent years, the number of storms has increased, making birds become exhausted and unable to survive.

The phenomenon of this series of dead seabirds has happened in the past. In 1997, there were also hundreds of short-tailed seagulls (Puffinus tenuirostris) disappearing in the Southeast of Bering Sea. The reason is that the number of zooplankton decreases sharply because the sea temperature rises, leading to the fact that the sea has fewer fish, and the birds have to pay more.

The event in Alaska this time also seems to come from the same cause. In addition, in recent years, the number of storms has increased, causing birds to become exhausted and unable to survive.

In addition, an increase in the temperature of the ocean in the northern oceans causes a domino effect. Not only the seabirds, the number of whales born is also reduced.

The study is published in the journal PLOS One.