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A new study out of Studies by a team of
scientists
at the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium (http://www.marinemammal.org/)
revealed
that a sudden ocean climate change 30 years ago changed
today’s Theories why the
Steller sea lion
population declined by more than 80 percent during the 1980s include
pollution,
commercial fishing, and subsistence harvesting. The new study points
instead to
a climate regime shift—a natural event in the
ocean’s climatic cycle—in the
late 1970s that may be responsible for current regional population of
about
40,000, compared with 235,000 in the 1970s. The publication,
entitled
"Bottom-Up Forcing and the Decline of Steller Sea Lions in Alaska:
Assessing the Ocean Climate Hypothesis" found that climate change
affected
water temperatures and ocean currents determining the abundance of
available
fish for the sea lion’s to eat. Changes in prey led to a
decline in the sea
lion population. Using interdisciplinary research methods was key in
determining the root cause of the sea lion decline. The need for such
research is
echoed in a related report: "Conserving Alaska’s Oceans,"
prepared by
Natural Resources Consultants. The report outlines 30 years of improved
ocean
conservation in the waters off
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