![]() ![]() ![]() One of the animals to wash up in alarming numbers was sturgeon: large dragon-looking bottom-feeders that can weigh hundreds of pounds and stretch longer than a Honda Civic.įortunately for us in the Bay Area, we have not one, but two native sturgeon species that call our waters home - the green sturgeon ( Acipenser medirostris ) and white sturgeon ( Acipenser transmontanus). And as their numbers grew unchecked, so did the amount of oxygen they consumed.Īlas, aquatic life that relies on oxygenated water, like bat rays and striped bass, suffocated amid low levels of oxygen and high concentrations of carbon dioxide. ![]() Multiple factors created this red tide - warmer than usual ocean temperatures, increased amounts of sunshine, plastic pollution, literal feces and urine runoff fueling explosive microbe growth - all of which created fertile water for Heterosigma akashiwo, the species of toxic algae responsible for the bloom, to produce. And by September, the algae boom had reached unprecedented levels, causing a region-wide fish die-off not seen in nearly twenty years. As it grew - and, thus, became more dangerous - somewhat alarming fish die-offs started being reported in mid and early August. This “red tide” actually began taking shape in July, causing otherwise blue water to turn a murky, opaque shade of orange. The massive Bay Area algae bloom that claimed tens of thousands of native fish earlier this month was the largest of its kind since 2004. Not-so-fun fact: Sturgeon are the ‘most endangered group of animals - on earth.’ ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |