US EditionBirds on Isolated Island Found with Stomachs Full of Plastic
- Scientists from Adrift Lab found that sable shearwater chicks on Lord Howe Island contain record-high amounts of plastic in 2023.
- This remote island, about 370 miles off Australia, hosts tens of thousands of these seabirds whose plastic ingestion has sharply increased this year.
- Researchers collect data every April and May during the shearwaters' fledging period and believe parents mistakenly feed plastic pieces to chicks amid multiple threats to seabird health.
- One chick had 778 plastic pieces inside, nearly doubling the previous 403-record, with plastics causing brain damage and reduced chick body mass over the last decade.
- Experts warn the crisis is worsening rapidly, signaling broader marine ecosystem harm and calling for urgent collective action to address plastic pollution impacts.
80 Articles
80 Articles
Several hundred plastic residus have been found in the digestive system of the birds of Lord Howe Island. Some fragments produce sounds from the inside of their bowels.
Researchers make disturbing discovery inside seabirds' stomachs after coastal survey: 'What’s been seen can’t be unseen'
A researcher has offered up her harrowing experience while studying the impacts of plastic pollution on birds in Australia — perhaps to some political effect. What's happening? Lord Howe Island, off the East coast of the Australian mainland, offers a world-renowned sanctuary known for its unique ecosystem and its rich biodiversity. The region boasts the planet's southernmost coral reef and a range of flora and fauna, including endemic and threat…
These Island Birds Are So Full of Plastic They Crunch When You Touch Them
On Lord Howe Island—a remote volcanic outpost with fewer than 500 residents—tens of thousands of seabirds are filling up with plastic. So much, in fact, that their bellies literally crunch when touched. “There is now so much plastic inside the birds that you can feel it on the outside of the animal when it is still alive,” said Dr. Jen Lavers, a marine biologist who has studied the island’s mutton birds, or shearwaters, for nearly two decades. “…
In Pictures: Every week a remarkable image of a scientific event. This week: the consequences of plastic pollution for seabirds. The…
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