Land Threats
Yet Another Human-Caused Problem
By now, it is well known that human waste and trash hurt the environment in one way or another. But trash and food waste in Marbled murrelet territory are especially calamitous, it attracts other birds, such as Blue Jays and Ravens, that actually seek out and eat the Marbled Murrelet eggs and babies. So indirectly, human trash (which is seriously easy to prevent) is killing baby Marbled Murrelets. (“Marbled Murrelet,” 2020)
Forests are Dying
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Marbled Murrelets practice “natal homing”. (“Marbled Murrelet | Birds of North America Online,” 2020) Meaning that they return, year after year, to the same tree (or even the same branch) to lay eggs. But when forests are mangled for logging, and other lumber necessities, the birds can’t return home to find a partner and have chicks. Also, these birds live exclusively in old-growth forests and when the acreage decreases, so do their population numbers. Additionally, the gutting of coastal forests can sometimes be for human recreation. With this comes excess man-made pollution, physical disturbances, coastal erosion, and numerous other adverse impacts.
Murrelets are Up in Flames
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Climate change has an indirect, but just as detrimental impact on the poor Murrelet species. In recent years, as we all know, there have been countless destructive crown fires in California. These fires don’t spare the Marbled Murrelets. As they run through coastal forests, the super-hot fires can incinerate nests and natural habitat for the birds. Additionally, some of the chicks don’t know how to fly yet, or just aren’t fast enough and tragically don’t make it out in time. All in all, these fires wreak havoc on the marbled Murrelets one way or another, and climate change is to blame. (Fish, Service, Fish, & Lacey, 2019)
One in Five
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This threat to the Marbled Murrelet isn't as external and controllable but just as dangerous. A single pair of Marbled Murrelets only have one egg per year and a small amount during their lifetime. Furthermore, the probability of a Marbled Murrelet egg grows to even become a chick is a mere 28%. And the odds that it will make to adulthood and reproduce are even lower. This low biotic potential is why it is so easy for the birds to become endangered and so hard for the species to recover from population deficits like the ones they are experiencing now. (“Marbled Murrelet | Birds of North America Online,” 2020)
Invasives, Invasives, Invasives
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While not foreign, the Redwood Bark Beetle is dangerous to the Marbled Murrelet population. The beetles make their way inside a Coastal Redwood Tree and eat from the inside, eventually killing the tree. They are currently infesting a large part of the Coastal Redwood population which is indirectly impacting the Marbled Murrelets by killing their homes. (Bark Beetles in CA Conifers, 2016)
Similarly, the Western Hemlock is another crucial nesting tree for the Marbled Murrelets. And right now, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (an insect native to Japan and Eastern Asia) is killing the trees. The insect attaches itself to small branches and sucks the sap out of the tree to feed. This eventually kills the tree, leaving no space for the Murrelets to nest in. (“Hemlock Wooly Adelgid - US Forest Service Research & Development,” 2014)
