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After massive marine bird die-off, Unalaska’s naturalist reflects on the historic change

Four common murres perch together on a cliff ledge in Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
BRIE DRUMMOND
/
USFWS
Four common murres perch together on a cliff ledge in Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

Four million common murres died in Alaska during a two-year marine heat wave that started in 2014, according to a new study. Scientists say it was the largest single species die-off in modern history and linked it to human-caused climate change.

The impact hit close to home in Unalaska, where the annual Christmas Bird Count saw a dramatic decline in these seabirds when the catastrophic heat wave began affecting the North Pacific Ocean.

In this episode of “Island Interviews,” naturalist Suzi Golodoff, who has studied Unalaska's birds for nearly 50 years, shares her initial reaction to the common murre population decline and what Unalaska residents can do to help birds adapt to global warming.

Sofia was born and raised in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. She’s reported around the U.S. for local public radio stations, NPR and National Native News. Sofia has a Master of Arts in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism from the University of Montana, a graduate certificate in Documentary Studies from the Salt Institute and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts from the University of Colorado Boulder. In between her studies, Sofia was a ski bum in Telluride, Colorado for a few years.
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