The California Least Tern is a crucial part of the environment and must be protected! California Least tern are a valuable species included in our beautiful Bay Area beaches. Without the birds that live among our beaches, the habitats would be bare and lifeless and the biodiversity levels would decrease. Biodiversity is crucial because diverse plants and animals make for a healthier and more beautiful ecosystem. The California Least Tern rely on wetlands and shallow waters of San Francisco, Oakland, Monterey and many other places, for their food source; wetlands are a crucial part of our ecosystems and economies (European Environment Agency, 2010).

           CA Least Tern are very important indicators of how healthy the marine environment is because they are affected by the trophic levels and the chemical changes in the oceans, for example pH levels (Parsons, 2008). Seabirds are on the top of the food chain, what they eat can detect how polluted the oceans are and the chemical levels accumulated in their stomach and blood (Parsons, 2008). The seabirds are used to show biological changes in sea-surface temperature [SST], salinity, depth of thermocline etc.(Diamond). Seabirds are also very affected by human pressures including: overexploitation of their food resources, and pollution from big industries (Parsons, 2008).  

         Much of this information detected by the California Least Tern population is used in making powerful decisions that saves our ecosystems and planet earth. It is important for Wetlands to be healthy due to the economic value they serve such as: flood control, providing food and freshwater and building materials (Ecosystem accounting and the cost of biodiversity losses, 2010). Seabirds help allow nutrient cycling in the ecosystem with their guano and ​clean up the beaches by feeding on washed up species (Importance of Birds, 2017).

            With the levels of pollution increasing day by day such environmental indicators are necessary to test the toxicity that shows accumulated in the CA Least Tern systems from feeding (Diamond). Our planet is at risk from climate change and CA Least Tern serve as important contributors to the research and fight against the destruction of our planet.

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