The blob heat wave between 2014 and 2016 appears to have been the most intense marine heat wave in history, raising ocean temperatures by as much as seven degrees Fahrenheit.
Their loss has a particular impact on Alaskan Native communities, as murres have traditionally been an important source of meat and eggs. Population decline now threatens traditional harvesting practices and cultural connections.
Before the heat wave, roughly 8 million common murres lived in Alaska - about a quarter of the world's population of the animal. But now, scientists estimate that population shrunk to approximately 4 million.
A new study has now revealed the full scale of this die-off, underscoring the catastrophic effect that oceanic warming has on animal populations.
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