Ocean Sentry
A study conducted by US researchers determined the high numbers of remains found by volunteer beach combers were just the tip of the iceberg, representing a massive mortality event of up to 8,800 birds.
May, 2019
-
22 May
Plastics study finds age, size does matter for marine life
That’s small enough to make it into a petrel’s stomach but too large to make it out of the small intestine, which can cause a blockage resulting in death.
-
17 May
Around 18 little penguins mauled to death
The carcasses have been taken to Launceston for an autopsy but it’s understood the deaths are consistent with a dog attack.
-
13 May
The disturbing story behind this seemingly innocent image
At first glance, it appears to be an innocuous photo of dozens of pieces of plastic neatly aligned on a tray. Accompanying the image was another photo of himself removing the plastics from a dead seabird, just three months old.
April, 2019
-
26 April
World’s second largest emperor penguin colony ‘disappeared overnight’ with thousands of chicks wiped out
The world’s second largest emperor penguin colony is believed to have been effectively wiped out overnight, with thousands of chicks drowning after an ice shelf in Antarctica collapsed.
March, 2019
-
11 March
Seabirds on remote islands are contaminated with lead and selenium
New research, published in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research, has found that seabirds are being exposed to elements such as lead and selenium at potentially high enough concentrations to start causing problems.
-
5 March
Balloons the number 1 marine debris risk of mortality for seabirds
A new study has found that balloons are the highest-risk plastic debris item for seabirds — 32 times more likely to kill than ingesting hard plastics. Researchers looked at the cause of death of 1733 seabirds from 51 species and found that one in three of the birds had ingested …
February, 2019
-
21 February
Hungry mice are attacking and killing adult albatrosses
Years ago, unsettling news emerged from the subantarctic: supersized mice were killing and eating chicks in one of the most important seabird colonies in the region. Now, researchers have documented mice eating adult seabirds, a discovery with potentially huge ramifications for the seabird populations.
-
19 February
Marine pollution by plastics represents a “serious threat” to seabirds in the Canary Islands
83% of the gray shearwater chickens analyzed in the Canary Islands in recent studies by Canarian scientists had plastic inside. A study finds microplastics in all corpses of whales, seals and dolphins analyzed.
-
18 February
Plastic chemicals discovered inside bird eggs from remote Arctic
‘Chemicals from plastics have been found inside the eggs of seabirds living in remote Arctic colonies, in the latest sign of pollution contaminating the furthest reaches of the planet.
-
12 February
Fishing industry under fire for killing endangered albatrosses
About 3700 breeding pairs of the albatross live on the Antipodean Islands south-east of New Zealand, but the giant seabird is under threat.
-
6 February
Mass seabird deaths baffle researchers, thousands wash up on Dutch beaches
As many as 20,000 guillemots have died in Dutch waters in the past few weeks, baffling researchers, broadcaster NOS said on Tuesday. The sea birds, which breed on cliffs and live on fish and crustaceans, are being washed up dead on Dutch shores from the Wadden Islands to Zeeland.