In today's newscast:
Unusually warm water causes trouble for marine life
The UC Santa Cruz Marine Mammal Stranding Network recently necropsied two young humpback whales. They washed up at Lovers Point Beach in Pacific Grove and Sunset State Beach in Watsonville within a few days of each other.
Stranding network director Robin Dunkin says researchers confirmed a neurotoxin from algae blooms to be the cause of death in one. They saw signs the poison may also have killed the other.
"The harmful algal blooms, or HABs, that produce this kind of toxin, we know have been increasing in their frequency and in their toxicity over the past couple of decades," she said.
She says warmer water and runoff affect the blooms. The neurotoxin—called domoic acid—is produced by algae and moves up through the food web. It can accumulate in the bodies of larger predators like whales, sea lions and people.
The California Department of Public Health monitors for domoic acid in seafood.
Fungi aid Joshua tree recovery
A new study finds fungi in the Mojave Desert could help Joshua trees recover from a 2020 fire that burned more than a million of them.
Scientists thought the damage from the Dome Fire extended beyond the Joshua trees, and into underground networks of fungi.
But a recent study led by a UC Riverside ecologist finds that the fungi are thriving. This is important because fungi help Joshua trees absorb water and nutrients. Restoration efforts after the fire have faced challenges, but the fungi’s presence is a promising sign, researchers say.
That reporting from our California Newsroom partner LAist.
