Santa Barbara, California’s animal rehabilitation center has reported hundreds of cases of ill sea lions exhibiting symptoms of domoic acid poisoning in the last several days.
When sea lions in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties began exhibiting symptoms like disorientation, head weaving, and mouth foaming on Sunday, the non-profit Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) announced on its Facebook page that it had already been “inundated” with reports of the animals. Domoic acid toxicity, which can strike sea lions when they consume tainted seafood, is the likely cause of these symptoms, according to the institute.
The sick sea lions have been discovered throughout a 155-mile stretch of the Central California coastline. As of Tuesday, CIMWI stated that its volunteers were managing about 100 reports about these animals each day.
According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), crustaceans, fish, and shellfish ingest domoic acid, a naturally occurring poisonous algae. These “filter-feeders” are unaffected by the toxin. However, sea lions, dolphins, and birds can suffer harmful effects from consuming excessive amounts of domoic acid that have accumulated in their prey.
If the animals do not receive treatment for the poisoning, brain damage can be irreversible.
The present algal bloom is the worst one that Samuel Dover, director of the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute, has seen in his tenure.
Commonly known as kelp or pond scum, algae are mostly harmless plants. However, if left unchecked, they have the potential to produce poisonous byproducts. A bloom is the term used to describe this phenomenon. States in the U.S. located near the Great Lakes and the coast often experience it. The contamination of drinking water supplies, closure of beaches, discoloration of coastal seas, and deaths of innumerable species have all been caused by algal blooms.
Researchers from the NOAA Fisheries West Coast office found no evidence that this mechanism is connected to global warming, though they did not rule it out either.
Sea creatures can have seizures and irrational behavior as a result of domoic acid poisoning, which impacts the brain. Tourists should keep a distance of at least fifty feet from ill animals in case they become violent.
