Fewer Sick Sea Creatures Hint at Less Algae Toxin

Fewer sickened sea creatures are turning up along the Southern California coast, indicating the threat from a toxic algae bloom may have eased in the last week, according to marine wildlife rehabilitation centers.

Dolphins and California brown pelicans have been falling victim to an outbreak of poisonous plankton since the beginning of spring.

At least 70 dolphins died and 250 sea lions were sickened by eating anchovies, other small fish and shellfish such as crabs that fed on the plankton.

No one knows the reason for the proliferation of the plankton, which is naturally packed with a toxin called domoic acid. In the most severe cases, it causes seizures and respiratory arrest.