Seabirds feed on the abundant life associated with the oceans and estuaries and thus are susceptible to the effects of HABs. One example was in 1991 when more than 100 pelicans and cormorants were found dead or suffering from unusual neurological symptoms in Monterey Bay, CA. This event was attributed to a bloom of the diatom, Psuedo-nitzcschia australis, which produce the toxin domoic acid. The toxin was transmitted to the seabirds via Northern anchovies. Anchovies are also consumed by marine mammals, several species of finfish, and are occaisonally eaten by humans. Photo by T. Work

Likewise, these emaciated loons that were washed ashore in North Carolina may have been victims of algal toxins in their food. Exposures that are not initially lethal may still cause mortality in wildfowl, during and after stresses such as migration. Because ecosystem impacts are difficult to document, their true extent or significance is not known. Photo by P. Spitzer