Marine Debris Ingestion By Birds Plastics do not biodegrade or mineralize go away but they do photodegrade when exposed to sunlight breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces that can be consumed by birds and other animals ID: 205665
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Slide1
Effects of Marine Debris:Ingestion By BirdsSlide2
Plastics do not biodegrade or mineralize (go away), but they do photo-degrade when exposed to sunlight, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces that can be consumed by birds and other animals.
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide3
Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide4
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide5
Laysan Albatross on Midway Atoll
An estimated 479,526 breeding pairs in 2012
An additional 500,000 estimated on island – non breeders
75% of the world’s
Laysan Albatross
population inhabit the
Midway Atoll colonies
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide6
Black-footed Albatross on Midway Atoll
An estimated 27,498 breeding pairs in 2012
35% of world’s breeding population
The largest colony of Black-footed Albatross in the world
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide7
Short-tailed AlbatrossEndangered – only about 1,200 remaining in the world
A breeding pair successfully bred and raised a chick on Eastern Island of Midway Atoll in the spring of 2012
Two observed on Sand Island of Midway Atoll in 2012
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide8
Albatross carcass filled with plastics
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide9
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide10
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide11
Albatross bolus, measuring about 4 inches long and full of plastic.
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide12
Albatross chick at Midway Atoll National Wildlife RefugePhoto by: Chris Jordan
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide13
Volunteers collected more than 1000 plastic lighters on Midway Atoll in less than 3 months.
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide14
Plastic lighters in the ocean can
look a lot like the
Albatross’s favorite prey.
Photo by Pete Leary, USFWS
Can you tell which of these is a squid?
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide15
Cigarette lighters in the stomach of a dead AlbatrossPhoto by: B. Mayer
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide16
Northern Fulmars Forage exclusively at sea
Retain
ingested plastics for a long period of
timeIdeal indicators for marine debris
(Photo: Ashok
Khosla
, www.seabirds.com)
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide17
Non-food stomach content found in a
Northern Fulmar in a recent study
.
(Photo: Stephanie Avery
-Gomm, UBC)
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide18
What can you do?Dispose of plastic materials properly.
Participate in a marine debris clean up.
Reduce, reuse, recycle! Find
out about recycling plastics in our area.
Be a wise consumer - pay attention to your use of disposable plastic products.
Show your support, financial and otherwise, for organizations and
companies that address pollution issuesEducate your friends and family about plastic pollution.Write your local, state, and federal elected officials
about proper plastic disposal, enforcement
of
illegal ocean dumping, and the need to recycle.
Center for Alaskan Coastal StudiesSlide19
Information from:
Michelle Michaud
United States Fish and Wildlife Service. “Marine Debris: Cigarette Lighters and the Plastic Problem on Midway Atoll.”
http://www.fws.gov/midway/Midway_Atoll_NWR_Cigarette_Lighters.pdf
Photos courtesy Michelle Michaud, unless otherwise noted.