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It’s
happened with predictable regularity,
every spring since International Bird
Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) opened
its center
in San Pedro in 2001. The
staff at the center, which specializes
in seabirds, and especially California
brown pelicans, calls it DA; short
for Domoic Acid. The staff
braces for the dead and dying birds
they know will come, every spring.
See: 2006
domoic acid outbreak
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IBRRC
staff treats domoic acid poisoned
endangered brown pelican at
bird center in San Pedro, CA. |
This spring is different.
It’s much worse, affecting more species
of birds, pinepeds and possibly even
whales. Beaches are littered
with dead birds, seals, dolphins,
otters, and in Santa Barbara a 29
foot sperm whale washed ashore. The
reasons for the deaths are not entirely
certain, however, many of the animals
tested were positive for domoic acid
poisoning.
See video: Pelicans
affected by domoic poisoning
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Many dead brown
pelicans litter California
beaches following the domoic
acid outbreak. (Photo: © Rebecca
Dmytryk Titus) |
Jay Holcomb, IBRRC’s
director has many questions, but
not enough answers. “I have
been doing this work for 35 years
and I have never seen anything like
this as far as the number of species
affected, other than an oil spill,” Holcomb
said. “We have very serious
concerns about what is happening
to seabirds, and how it may affect
populations, especially California
brown pelicans, who are heading into
breeding season. The loss of
breeding adults at this time may
impact the next generation as well,” Holcomb
said. (California brown pelicans
are still on the Endangered Species
List, but have been petitioned for
de-listing).
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After treatment
endangered brown pelicans recover
at IBRRC's San Pedro Bird Center.
(Photo: © Rebecca
Dmytryk Titus) |
Pelicans with domoic
acid poisoning, which affects the
brain, can have seizures while flying,
causing them to literally fall from
the sky. Some
have crashed into car windshields
or ended up in places they shouldn’t
be, like airport runways and freeways.
Holcomb believes many seabirds having
seizures out at sea drown, making
it virtually impossible to count
the bodies. More: Pelicans/Domoic
acid
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| Red areas
around Los Angeles harbor
shows super concentrated
areas of the toxic bloom.
Map is from the 2006 Pulitzer
Prize winning newspaper series
by the Los Angeles Times: "Altered
Oceans"
|
Although domoic acid
is a naturally occurring toxin
produced by microscopic algae,
something is making recent blooms
of the algae especially virulent.
IBRRC is working closely with the Caron
Laboratory at USC, providing
body fluids from suspect birds for
analysis. Professor
Dave Caron and Assistant Research
Professor Astrid Schnetzer test the
waters off Southern California and
alert the center when domoic acid
is present. The staff then
braces and prepares the ICU. The
only way to save the birds is to
flush the toxins out of their systems,
a labor intensive process. Also see: Caron
Laboratory/Domoic Acid
This spring dead birds
began littering beaches in March.
IBRRC rescue personnel walking
the beaches reported “dead
birds everywhere.” Species
included grebes, gulls, cormorants,
American avocets and loons. Not
all test positive for DA. But
other neurotoxins such as saxitoxin
which can cause paralytic shellfish
poisoning in humans, are also being
examined by Dave Caron and Astrid
Schnetzer. They are studying
the birds with the help of IBRRC
staff who provide fresh blood and
body fluids of all sick birds.
Long-time volunteer, Susan Kaveggia,
orchestrates the sampling and has
been instrumental in forging the
relationship with USC. See: LA Times
story: Marine deaths linked to
toxin
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Treatment
includes flushing domoic
acid toxins from pelican's
system. (Photo: Jay Holcomb/IBRRC) |
The Marine Mammal Care
Center, which is next door to IBRRC
in Fort MacArthur, has been overwhelmed
with sick seals and sea lions who
eat the same fish as pelicans;
anchovies and sardines. The
fish eat the affected algae, which
don’t kill them, but the
animals that eat the fish get concentrated
amounts, depending on how many
affected fish they eat. Whether
they live or die depends how much
of the poison they ingest. Many
of these sick animals have been
tested by Caron and Schnetzer.
More than half of those tested
have been positive for DA over
the past few days.
Humans have died from
eating contaminated mussels. Many
times people don’t know what
made them sick so they don’t
report it to health authorities. In
humans, domoic acid poisoning can
cause vomiting, nausea, diarrhea,
abdominal cramps, headache, dizziness,
confusion, disorientation, loss
of short-term memory, motor weakness,
seizures, cardiac arrhythmias,
coma and possibly death. Short
term memory loss is permanent,
thus the name Amnesic Shellfish
Poisoning. Birds
and pinepeds exhibit similar symptoms.
Because the toxin affects the brain,
the long term effects of DA poisoning
aren’t known, something that
concerns Holcomb.
“In my opinion, domoic acid is
the new DDT,” Holcomb
said. “If the effects of DA poisoning are
cumulative in the brain, and we don’t know
that yet, it could have serious consequences on the
population of California Brown Pelicans. As
of this point, we just don’t know.”
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Scientific info:
Nasty
neurotoxin
Pseudo-nitzschia,
the diatom that produces domoic
acid.
Harmful
algae
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution site discusses
algaes' effect on our environment
News
reports:
Marine deaths
Algae bloom that
sickens birds and
mammals is 'especially
virulent' this
spring. (LA Times)
Domoic
bloom
Birds and animals washing
up on shores from San Diego to
San Francisco (MSNBC)
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to Pelican Project
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