Reports of dead, emaciated seabirds washing up on the shores of the Bering Strait region have raised concerns of another die-off. While the exact cause of the deaths is not known, recent years have seen a number of disturbing marine changes that some scientists warn could indicate a lasting ecological shift, with huge implications for marine life and the people that rely on it. The North Bering Sea has historically been one of the most productive marine environments on the planet, but warmer water temperatures in recent years and the accompanying absence of sea ice have major implications for the marine ecosystem. Seabird die-offs can be the result of a mix of factors, but the scale of recent die-offs suggests the chilling possibility that they could be the result of ecosystem changes at a much larger scale. The most pressing aspect of the story is the human dimension, as subsistence communities rely on seabirds and their eggs for food.