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April 15, 2006
Toxic algae off W Coast US is killing off brown pelicans
April 2006-- San Pedro, CA -- Pelicans are falling victim of the same toxic bloom of ocean algae that's sickening sea lions and also making shellfish unfit for human consumption, wildlife rescuers said Wednesday.
More than forty Brown Pelicans have been taken to the International Bird Rescue Research Center in San Pedro in the past week, 18 of those dead on arrival and the rest receiving treatment. Many more are dying in the wild, either at sea or on inaccessible jetties, center officials said.
A neurotoxin produced by the algae makes its way up the food chain to the pelicans and marine mammals and can result in seizures and death for the wildlife. Meanwhile, the state Department of Health Services issued a warning against the consumption of certain sport-harvested mussels, and parts of anchovies, sardines, lobsters and crabs. The shellfish and fish are unfit for people and their pets due to the toxic algae bloom.
Brown Pelican, Mexico, Acapolco January 2002 © Terry Lunn from the Surfbirds Galleries
The poisoning has misdirected some pelicans to places like Commerce and Hollywood, farther inland than they would normally go. Others are just dropping from the sky. "They become very disoriented, they fly in different directions, they even fall out of the sky," said IBRRC Executive Director Jay Holcomb. "Yesterday we got one out of a parking lot in San Pedro."
The first signs of "domoic acid" poisoning started showing up in February among sea lions. Where possible, the animals are taken to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro. Now that center's next-door neighbor at Fort MacArthur, the bird center, is starting to take in sick pelicans exhibiting the head-bobbing, shaking symptoms characteristic of domoic acid poisoning.
Posted by Surfbirds at April 15, 2006 08:18 PM
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