Alaska scientists continue researching seabird death mystery

The 3-inch-long stomach was empty, and the pectoral muscles that powered its wings, allowing it to "fly" underwater after forage fish, were emaciated.

Schoen, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, and Rob Kaler, a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, on Friday performed necropsies on common murres, part of an effort by dozens of scientists to explain the massive die-off of common murres that began one year ago.

Common murres routinely live 20-25 years but have a metabolism rate so high that they can use up fat reserves and drop to a critical threshold for starvation, 65 percent of normal body rate, in three days of not eating.

New common murre carcasses continue to be recorded, most recently on Kodiak, Alaska Peninsula communities and the Pribilof Islands.

If they were eating at one level of the food web, and a regular food source became unavailable, it could provide insight into the deaths, Schoen said.

Female deaths are significant because of the possible effect on the overall population.

Federal agencies don't have dedicated funding to solve the common murre mystery but will continue investigating as time allows.