How poor ocean conditions can harm threatened marbled murrelets

Scientists at Oregon State University set up cameras and recorded 12,000 hours of video footage to track changes in how marbled murrelets feed their chicks across four years of varying ocean conditions. Poor ocean conditions, for example, are generally associated with warmer marine temperatures that can affect the availability of fish like Pacific sand lance the small, stocky seabirds catch to feed their chicks. 

The scientists found that not only did the chicks receive fewer fish per day during poor ocean conditions, they also took 25% longer to leave the nest, which made them more vulnerable to being eaten by predators like ravens and hawks. That raises concerns for the future of a species that’s listed as threatened in California, Oregon and Washington under the Endangered Species Act. Climate change is affecting marbled murrelets’ population recovery by making marine temperatures warmer and El Niño events stronger, and harming the old-growth conifer forests where the birds nest. 

Jim Rivers is an associate professor of wildlife ecology and the director of the Forest Animal Ecology Lab at OSU. He joins us for more details.

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