Plastic pollution is worsening, resulting in birds carrying excessive plastic quantities that can shatter them.
Article Rebuild - Sea-faring Avians' Fate: Plastic Predicament
Hear ye, hear ye! On the picturesque Lord Howe Island, avian lives are sounding the alarm bell for our planet's plastic crisis. Those tiny, innocent chirpers are choking on our discarded waste, and experts warn it's a grim omen for the health of marine ecosystems.
The UNESCO World Heritage site, located 580 kilometers off Australia's east coast, has become an unwilling stage for a horror show. Researchers from Adrift Lab, a global team tracking the oceanic impacts of plastic pollution, have found our winged friends sporting stomachs full of plastic. These feathery diners have consumed so much plastic that they snap under your touch, like a brittle twig. Yikes!
I'm talking about bottle caps, Tetra Pak lids, and even soy sauce fish packets – the kinds of stuff you'd find in your kitchen junk drawer. But this isn't some break-the-fast comedy, folks. This is a 3-month-old chick's breakfast.
"We're talking macroplastic here – items the size of bottle caps, not microplastic," Alex Bond, senior curator at the Natural History Museum, shared in a staggered voice.
Our newfound heroes are muttonbirds, who call this remote paradise island home. With about 44,000 of them residing on Lord Howe, you wouldn't think plastic could wreak such a cruel havoc. But here we are, watching chicks die from the inside out. Heartbreaking, right?
The sea's bounty is actually their downfall. Parents mistakes these plastic prizes for food while fishing in the Tasman Sea. The plastic emits a chemical signal that lures these unsuspecting fowl to their doom.
Researchers from the Association have been studying these birds for almost two decades and have described their recent findings as "heart-wrenching" and "shocking." One particular bird had a whopping 778 pieces of plastic in its stomach – a truly horrifying sight.
The problem extends beyond these chicks. Seabirds are often the "canary in the coal mine" for marine ecosystems. If plastic can crack their frail bodies, what's next for us?
As we drown our planet in over 170 trillion pieces of plastic, we're filling the oceans with a plastic smog that's doubling every six years. It's time we do something about it before it's too late!
Sources:
- Craw, Victoria. (2023, Mar 15). Seabirds on an Australian island are cracking as they swallow so much plastic. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/environment/2023/03/15/plastic-poisoning-seabirds-lord-howe-island/
- Enrichment data provided by the Assistant.
- Craw, Victoria. (2023, Mar 14). 778 pieces of plastic found in dead seabird's stomach, scientists say. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/14/778-pieces-of-plastic-found-in-dead-seabirds-stomach-scientists-say
- Bond, Alex. (2023, Mar 14). Personal interview.
- Rivers-Auty, Jack. (2023, Mar 14). Email interview.
- The grim reality of plastic pollution in our oceans is evident in the health and wellness of seabirds, as evidenced by the study of muttonbirds on Lord Howe Island, where medical-conditions like plastic poisoning have been observed.
- The global crisis of climate change intertwines with environmental-science issues such as plastic pollution, as demonstrated by the proliferation of plastic waste in our seas, harming marine ecosystems and threatening the health of numerous sea-faring avian species.
- In the realm of science, understanding and addressing the impacts of plastic pollution on seabirds serves as a crucial indicator of the overall health of our planet's ecosystems, highlighting the urgent need for extensive research and concerted action in the field of environmental-science and health-and-wellness to combat this pressing issue.
