It seems to be a bad twelvemonth when it comes to fauna dying en - mickle , from theancient horseshoe crabsin Japan to the300 inauspicious deerwho died from a lightning storm . The latest victim of 2016 ’s apocalyptically bad run of luck is the dear puffin in Alaska , and scientist are pointing the finger at mood change .
Since October , hundreds of puffins have died or been gravely emaciate on the Pribilof Islands , a group of volcanic island off the coast of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea .
" In 10 class of monitoring , we ’ve only seen six puffin lavation in – entire . Now we ’ve seen closely 250 in 20 day , " University of Washington Professor Julia Parrish , who leads a West Coast military volunteer bird - monitoring internet , toldNational Geographic .
Daily surveys have establish 247 deadened birds on four disjoined beach on the north and east side of the island , accord to community - base monitoring programBering Watch . The trend is specially worrying as the rate of carcase is around200 times the normal rate .
puffin photographed on St Pauls Island in mid - late October . Paul Melovidov / Aleut Community of St. Paul Ecosystem Conservation Office
The absolute majority of the birds ' bodies were fully intact , suggesting they were not attack . The investigator have also try out the birds for contaminants and disease , although they conceive a much wider issue is underway .
It ’s believe the cause was “ overwhelmingly severe starvation ” . The scientist believe it ’s likely to be tied to a string of affectionate weather that has dispatch the waters of the Bering Sea . TheNOAA explainthat the Bering Sea came out of a 7 - year - long cold spell in 2014 , bestow considerably warm temperatures to the ecosystem . This year ’s late summertime was peculiarly balmy for the typically chilly subarctic sea . September ’s average temperature on Saint Paul island was4.6 degreeshigher than normal and August ’s was4.1 degree higher . In turn , that ’s created a half mask effect that has seen less fish for these seabirds to exhaust .
