More sea lions falling ill in California in bad sign of what’s to come
- More than double the typical number of sick sea lions have washed ashore in California this year, stretching rescue teams to their limits as a toxic algae outbreak spreads along the West Coast.
- At the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, workers have taken in more than 150 sea lions suffering from domoic acid poisoning since the start of the year.
- The naturally-occurring neurotoxin stems from harmful algal blooms, multiplying through the marine food chain as forage fish eat the algae and are then consumed by larger predators.
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- More than double the typical number of sick sea lions have washed ashore in California this year, stretching rescue teams to their limits as a toxic algae outbreak spreads along the West Coast.
- At the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, workers have taken in more than 150 sea lions suffering from domoic acid poisoning since the start of the year.
- The naturally-occurring neurotoxin stems from harmful algal blooms, multiplying through the marine food chain as forage fish eat the algae and are then consumed by larger predators.
Sources: The Independent