California Brown Pelican. Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife
The sudden die-off of West Coast Brown Pelicans last winter was big enough to make national news. At first, wildlife officials thought a combination of climate change and bad luck was to blame. The theory, back then, is that the Pelicans delayed migrating south from the Oregon Coast because of the gradually warming winters. So when the nasty storm hit in December, it caught the Pelicans off guard and hundreds were killed.
But an article in the Metro Santa Cruz newspaper raises questions about what really caused the die-off. Could it be that a naturally occurring toxin called saxitoxin also played a role in the deaths? The die-off happened when the entire Oregon Coast was closed to mussel harvesting because of elevated levels of saxitoxin. Some of the highest levels were recorded near the mouth of the Columbia River, which is also a major roost for the Pelicans.
Because the dead Pelicans weren’t tested at the time for saxitoxin, the connection is impossible to prove. But the story is a fascinating read of detective work and science.
