Seabirds have been found dead or behaving strangely on beaches in Western Alaska since May, prompting scientists to investigate the cause. Large-scale die-offs of seabirds and other marine animals have been occurring around the state for several years, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking to understand why. Factors contributing to bird deaths could include neurotoxin poisoning from algal blooms, increased storminess, or shifts in the type of fish available to birds to eat, and many of the factors could be connected to warming sea surface temperatures off the coast of Alaska.