hello everyone,

i read a very sad news story today that says brown pelicans are starving in oregon "because of storms and high winds" in the area. while i don't doubt that storms and high winds are hampering their movements, this sounds to me to be a proximal cause. based on having lived in the seattle-portland area for most of my life, i'd guess that the ultimate cause for these birds' horrible deaths is human in origin: the fisheries on the west coast are severely damaged by pollution, overfishing and habitat loss, which makes the pelicans more susceptible to storms and high winds (link to news story);

http://j.mp/bfmbBd

i am curious to know what your thoughts on this matter are.
GrrlScientist
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American Expat living in Frankfurt, Germany