Biologists at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore found 40 dead seagulls on beaches yesterday.
It's likely caused by botulism poisoning. The first indication was hundreds of dead fish called round gobies washing ashore with their bodies turned black.
Park staff collected some of the dead birds, wrapped them in plastic and froze them to ship to a lab in Wisconsin.
Bio-technician Chris Otto says, "All indications point toward being botulism related. But confirmation won't be available for two weeks."
Botulism is naturally occurring and grows in dense mats of algae on the lake bottom. Mussels eat the algae, gobies eat the mussels and then birds feast on the fish.
Three years ago more than 3,000 shorebirds succumbed to the toxin at Sleeping Bear.
The lake is safe for swimming, but park officials ask to be notified of any dead birds on the beach so they can first document and then bury them.
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