Along the Southern California coast, beachgoers are encountering marine animals in unusual places: stingrays are crowding the shallows, humpback whales are surfacing near the beach, and hammerhead sharks have been seen farther north than normal.
Researchers attribute these changes to unusually warm seawater associated with a strengthening El Niño, along with longer-term ocean warming influenced in part by human activity.
Here’s what to know
Coverage from The Associated Press and federal weather agencies, cited by FOX 11 Los Angeles, describes hotter seas as a factor bringing tropical and subtropical marine life into nearshore waters around Greater Los Angeles and Orange County.
One of the clearest examples has been an increase in stingray stings from Seal Beach to Huntington Beach, as the animals have moved into shallow surf zones…