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How Connected Systems, Nutrients, and Toxins Led to Sea Lion Deaths in 2025

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Solving the Mystery

You’ve followed water: From the sky. Across the land. Through rivers and cities. Into the ocean. Now we return to the animals at the center of this mystery: sea lions. Here is the most important idea: Ecosystems don’t collapse randomly. They respond to physical and chemical changes. And water carries those changes through the system.

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You will be able to answer:‍

• What is domoic acid and how does it enter the food web?
• Why is upwelling important for both ocean health and harmful algal blooms?
• How did strong upwelling in 2025 contribute to the sea lion deaths?
• Why is it important that scientists tested the wildfire hypothesis before drawing conclusions?