WATCH: UBC researchers say the population of monitored seabirds has dropped by more than 70 per cent since the 1950’s, and that’s a sign of big problems in our oceans. Linda Aylesworth reports.
The figures UBC master’s student Michelle Paleczny has found in her research on the world’s seabird population are startling.
A 70 per cent population loss from 1950 to 2010, totalling an overall population loss of 230 million birds.
“Seabirds are particularly good indicators of the health of marine ecosystems,” says Paleczny. ”When we see this magnitude of seabird decline, we can see there is something wrong with marine ecosystems. It gives us an idea of the overall impact we’re having.”
The reasons for the decline are many, but global warming is among the biggest culprits.
“Climate change has a big impact on seabirds by redistributing and altering the quality of their prey,” says Paleczny.
But it doesn’t just impact what seabirds eat – it impacts what eats the seabirds.
“Rather than targeting their traditional food items, some polar bears are targeting seabirds as prey, and that has an effect on some seabird populations,” she says.
Overfishing is also a culprit.
“Fisheries also entangle seabirds in their gear, so seabirds get caught in hooks and on nets,” says Paleczny.
“This causes mortality of hundreds of thousands of seabirds every year, and we don’t even see it happening.”
The study, which Paleczny co-authored, was published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.
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