Heat Dome's Toll: Moose Survive, Tidepool Life Devastated

0:00A new study out of British Columbia drops some real talk on the 2021 heat dome that scorched the west. While most folks figure extreme heat just wipes everything out, turns out mobile critters like moose held steady. They dipped into shady spots and showed up on trail cams just as often after as before. But a mobile tide pooled well as got hammered hard with barnacles losing half their numbers and 92% of bay muscles biting the dust. Cooler, wetter zones actually sucked up 30% more carbon during the dome, like a greenhouse boost for plants there, while hotter, drier. Spots absorbed 75% less. Sea lettuce exploded across beaches, covering 65% more ground, but only because its neighbors in the ecosystem straight up died off. Entertidal life took the worst hit, overlapping with super low tides right at peak heat, killing over a billion sea creatures total. Salmon cooked in shallow creeks upstream, and wildfires exploded nearly 400% the week after, fueled by bone-dried debris.

1:04Scientists piece this together with models, satellite data, and field reports, and experts like those from UBC and UVXA, there's no real. Winners kelp forests that shelter species and fight ocean acid got decimated, leaving gaps no single survivor can fill. With heat dome shifting from one in a thousand year freaks to every five to ten years by mid-century, it's time for policymakers to level up, maybe. Renew that expiring Canada nature strategy to protect lands and seas before the next one drops. This has been Vancouver News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.