Shafaqna English– Large groups of seabirds that typically inhabit the frigid, plankton-rich coastal waters of Peru and Chile have now been observed in Panama Bay — a location situated well beyond their traditional migratory or feeding range.
This unusual displacement coincides with a particularly intense El Nino event, which is currently raising temperatures across the eastern Pacific Ocean and severely destabilizing the region’s intricate marine food web.
The unprecedented influx of seabirds into Panama Bay is a clear biological signal of distress within the eastern Pacific marine ecosystem.
As warming waters have pushed their typical prey species — including anchovies and sardines — into deeper or more southerly waters beyond their normal reach, the birds have been left with little choice but to follow.
This extended journey, driven by hunger and the collapse of local food availability, has resulted in Panama Bay becoming an impromptu refuge for thousands of these displaced marine predators.
Source: Reuters