Animals affected by climate change are showing us how fragile our ecosystems have become. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean, host Andrew Lewin speaks with Dr. Helen Killeen, a marine ecologist whose research connects seabird reproduction to shifting ocean temperatures, prey diversity, and climate pressures across the northern hemisphere.

Animals affected by climate change, from seabirds in the Arctic to those in the Pacific, serve as living indicators of ocean health. Helen explains how changes in prey diversity and warming oceans disrupt seabird breeding success, what this means for food webs, and why protecting biodiversity can help stabilize marine ecosystems. She also shares her journey from high-school science teacher to marine researcher, revealing how curiosity and adaptability are essential traits for anyone working to protect our planet.

Link to study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02717-z

Link to Farallone Institute: https://www.faralloninstitute.org/

Link to seabird page: https://seabirds.faralloninstitute.org/

In this episode of the How to Protect the Ocean podcast, host Andrew Luan discusses the significant decline in the population of common murres, a seabird species in Alaska, which has seen about half of its population die off—approximately 4 million individuals—since the marine heat wave known as "the blob" occurred from 2014 to 2016.

The primary reason for this drastic decline is linked to the effects of the heat wave on the marine food web rather than direct thermal stress on the birds themselves. The heat wave caused shifts in the availability of food sources, leading to starvation among the murres. The study highlighted that the murres rely heavily on oceanic food supplies, and disruptions in these supplies can have devastating impacts on their populations.

Research conducted by the University of Washington and the U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife Service revealed that the murre population in the Gulf of Alaska dropped by half, while in the eastern Bering Sea, the decline was even steeper at 75%. The study emphasized that without a recovery in the prey populations, the murres are unlikely to rebound, indicating a potential tipping point in the ecosystem that could prevent recovery for this species and others reliant on the same food sources.

Overall, the episode underscores the importance of understanding and funding research on marine ecosystems to address the long-term impacts of climate change and marine heat waves on wildlife populations.

Link to article: https://www.livescience.com/animals/birds/worst-die-off-of-a-single-species-in-the-modern-era-discovered-and-the-blob-was-to-blame

Alain Clavette, a CBC Radio host and avid birder, joins me on the podcast today to talk all about seabirds. We don't talk a lot about seabirds on this podcast because I don't know much about them; however, Alain does know about them and he passionately talks with me about his excursions with other birders on the Bay of Fundy to search for pelagic birds.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

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