A Story About

Albatross

© Sophie Webb 2004

Tracking their Travels and

Tracking Plastic Trash

“If we didn’t clean our shorelines, where

could the litter go?”

“How can your coastal clean-up efforts benefit these

unique birds?”

Seabird Diversity

Four main orders of seabirds: Sphenisciformes - Penguins

Procellariiformes – Albatrosses, Shearwaters, Fulmars, & Petrels

Pelecaniformes - Pelicans, Cormorants, Boobies, Frigate birds

Charadriiformes - Gulls, Terns, & Alcids

Penguin

Petrel

Pelican

Alcid

H. Nevins

H. Nevins

J. Harv

ey

WW

W.n

zbird

s.com

Seabird Feeding Methods

(Ashmole 1971)

Plunging

FEEDERS

What is a seabird?

© W.Henry

© J. Adams

Diagram credit: Lars Löfgren

Photo credit: P.Pyle

Black-footed albatross

Laysan albatross

Unique characteristic of Procellariiformes?

• Tubular nostrils – often called “tube-nosed seabirds”

Black-footed albatross

Sophie Webb

Hyrenbach

What makes seabirds vulnerable?What makes seabirds vulnerable?

• Long-line and other fishery interactions

• Oiling from oil spills

• Threats at colonies: introduced mammals, habitat destruction

Photo: W. Henry

Ebbert

• Marine debris

What are some threats to seabirds?

• entanglement

What makes seabirds vulnerable?

Photo: Cynthia Vanderlip

• Plastic ingestion

Seabirds most susceptible to plastic ingestion

Saenz

Saenz

• Black-footed and Laysan Albatross

• Northern fulmar

Webb

Photo credit: Kinnan

Photo credit: Kinnan

Should contain:•50% fish•32% squid•5% crustaceans•10% stomach oil(Harrison et al. 1983Fry 1987)

Analysis of Albatross Chick Boluses

• Kure Atoll, Hawaiian Island Chain (Kinan 2000)– Analyzed 144 boluses from Laysan and

Black-footed albatrosses– Plastic found in every single one (100%)

Photo: C. Vanderlip

Effects of plastic ingestion?

• Large plastic items – ulcerations, infection & obstruction

• Small plastic items – reduce meal size, dehydration

• Leaching of toxic chemicals from the plastic ?

• Lower breeding success ?

Long-term effects of plastic ingestion?

• everywhere - both marine and coastal environments

• floating

• water column • on the seabed

• on beaches and shores

(http://www.marine-litter.gpa.unep.org)

Where is marine debris found ?

90% of floating marine debris is plastic2.5 cm

1 inch

Photos: Kathy Cousins / Irene Kinan

How does plastic get into the sea?

1. Littering by beachgoers

2. Run-off from land e.g. rivers and storm drains

3. Direct dumping into the ocean

4. Accidental loss from ships

2. Run-off from land e.g. rivers and storm drains

http://geosci.sfsu.edu/courses/geol102/ex6.html

Major Ocean Currents

North Pacific GyreAlaskan Gyre

1 Shoe Spill May 27, 19902 250 recovered, March 26, 19913 200 recovered, May 18, 19914 100 recovered, Jan-Feb 19915 200 recovered, Nov.-Dec.1991

6 200 recovered Feb.Mar 19917 150 recovered April 19918 200 recovered May 19919 Several recovered Jan-Mar 199310 Predicted Jan-July 1994

Drifting Tots Tub Toys!!!

Twelve years and counting: (http://www.beachcombers.org/)

January 10, 1992

Sitka AK, Aug.- Sept., 1992

2,200 miles adrift

Dean Orbison

2004 – still finding them!!

Algalita Marine Research Foundation

Learn more about studies of the Eastern / Western garbage patches conducted by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation http://www.alguita.com/

“Eastern garbage patch”

Facts about Plastic in the Gyre(Algalita Marine Research Foundation)

• 6 lbs of plastic for each pound of surface zooplankton in the North Pacific central Gyre

• Plastic does not biodegrade; it’s broken down by sunlight into smaller pieces

Studying Albatrosses in California…………..

Do seabirds venture into this plastic zone?

Danzenbacher

Why research is needed?

What will satellite tracking and remote sensing allow us to do?

www.seaturtle.orgwww.signalsofspring.net/

METHODSMETHODS

Captured 18 birds within Cordell Bank NMS in July - Aug. 2004 & 2005

Equipped birds with Sirtrack Kiwisat 202 transmitters (54 g)

Ready for release……..

Size: 7 x 4 x 2 cm Weight: 54 g Antenna: 18 cm

Danzenbacher

RESULTS OF 2004 TRACKING:RESULTS OF 2004 TRACKING:

Tracked albatrosses ventured outside of U.S. EEZ, with 61% locations in the high seas

Three birds ranged into the western north Pacific Ocean, west of the dateline (180 o W)

Unpublished data Hyrenbach et al. 2004

Black-footed Albatross tracks overlap with Algalita Marine Research Foundation’s

“Eastern Garbage Patch”

Unpublished data Hyrenbach et al. 2004

Pop Quiz !!!!!

1. What do albatross regurgitate? A bolus

2. How much of floating debris is plastic? 50% 90% 20%

3. Most marine debris comes from land sources. True or False

4. How is marine debris moved around bays and oceans?

Winds & Currents

5. What seabird feeding method can result in eating lots of plastic?

Diving for food Picking food from the ocean surface

6. Why?

“If we didn’t clean ourbeaches, where could

the litter go?”

“How can your coastal clean-up efforts benefit these

unique birds?”

Solutions…..

How can you be part of the solution?

Photos courtesy Captain Charles Moore - AMRF

Trash Monster!!

Artist: Keary Sorenson

Beach litter collected October-March 2003 Fort Ross to Rodeo Beach, California

Acknowledgements & Credits

Primary author: Carol Keiper, Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge This presentation is adapted from presentations funded by the California Coastal Commission’s Whale Tail Grant Program Contributing authors: Dr. David Hyrenbach, PhD, Duke University; Hannah Nevins & Michelle Hester, Oikonos-Ecosystem Knowledge; Cheryl Baduini, PhD, Claremont Colleges; Josh Adams, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories & USGS Jennifer Stock, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary; William Henry, University of California Santa Cruz; Captain Charles Moore, Algalita Marine Research Foundation Funding for Black-footed Albatross conservation research provided by National Fish & Wildlife Foundation

Photos and Slides: P.Pyle, B.Saenz, B.Henry, S.Webb, D.Hyrenbach, M.Danzenbacher, J.Stock, H. Nevins, J. Adams, J. Harvey, C VanderlipK.Cousins, I. Kinan, Myra Finkelstein

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