Scientists have recorded the largest death of a single species in modern history
The future looks bleak for coastal birds, as declining numbers make them more vulnerable to predators and environmental stress.
In Alaska, about four million guillemots have disappeared from colonies across the state. It's the largest single species die-off in modern history caused by “The Blob,” a mass of warm water in the North Pacific that has had a lasting and devastating impact on marine and coastal species, according to a new study.
Slender-billed guillemots are a conspicuous species, living in huge colonies where the birds gather shoulder to shoulder along coastal cliffs. They are noisy and a sight to behold when in their prime, which made the bird's sharp decline between 2014 and 2016 very noticeable, writes IFLScience.
“At first we thought…
