Whats up with the Albatross Albatross

Why do 1/3 of the Laysan chicks die in Midway?

Discovery-Monterrey Bay Aquarium Meet Makana the Laysan AlbatrossMeet Makana

Questions??????????? –What is something that floats that these birds mistake for food? –Why is it a problem for the baby chicks to eat this material? –What plastic objects have been found in the stomach of dead albatross chicks? –Is this a problem? –What is the cause of the problem?

Im just a kid! Can I make a Difference?

Photos courtesy Captain Charles Moore - AMRF

Some Names For The New Buffalo Bayou Trash Boat By Brittanie Shey in Spaced CitySpaced City Fri., Oct. 9 8:58AM Last year, Buffalo Bayou Partnership's bubblegum-pink skimmer boat, the Mighty Tidy, capsized during Hurricane Ike. The Partnership recently purchased a a new "TrashCat" brand boat, a type of vessel specially designed to skim floating debris from the waters of Buffalo Bayou. It's bad luck to have a boat without a name, so to celebrate its arrival, they're asking for the public's help in choosing a fitting moniker. From BBP: The most environmentally and creatively inspired name for the skimmer boat will be selected as the winning name.The winner of the boat naming contest will receive a complimentary chartered pontoon boat trip aboard BBP's The Osprey, for you and your 20 guests.Six years ago, The Mighty Tidy was named by a second grader from Lamkin Elementary. Hair Balls thinks we're smarter than a second grader, so here are some of the names we've thought up: USS Dookie The Flying Sludgeman Maid of the Shist The Edmund Shitzgerald The Garbarge The Poop Sloop USS Detritus To enter the Name that Skimmer Boat Contest, send your suggested boat name, your name, mailing address and address to Readers, add your names in the comments.Mighty Tidyspecially designed Maid of the Shist The Edmund Shitzgerald

How plastic is recycled According to the Beverage Marketing Corp, the average American consumed 1.6 gallons of bottled water in In 2006 that number jumped to 28.3 gallons. Today, 80 percent of Americans have access to a plastics recycling program. More than 2.3 billion pounds of plastic bottles were recycled in Although the amount of plastic bottles recycled in the U.S. has grown every year since 1990, the actual recycling rate remains steady at around 24 percent. In 2007, more than 325 million pounds of wide-mouth plastic containers were recovered for recycling. (This included deli containers, yogurt cups, etc.) In recent years, the number of U.S. plastics recycling business has nearly tripled. More than 1,600 businesses are involved in recycling post-consumer plastics. Plastics in the U.S. are made primarily (70 percent) from domestic natural gas. Plastic bags and product wraps (known collectively as plastic film) are commonly recycled at the many collection programs offered through major grocery stores. Recycling one ton of plastic saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space. During Keep America Beautiful 2008 Great American Cleanup, volunteers recovered and recycled 189,000,000 PET (plastic) bottles that had been littered along highways, waterways and parks.

A Story About Albatross © Sophie Webb 2004 Tracking their Travels and Tracking Plastic Trash

If we didnt 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 J. Harvey

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? 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 Black-footed and Laysan Albatross Northern fulmar Webb

Photo credit: Kinnan

Should contain: 50% fish 32% squid 5% crustaceans 10% stomach oil (Harrison et al Fry 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 ( Where is marine debris found ?

90% of floating marine debris is plastic 2.5 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

Major Ocean Currents North Pacific Gyre Alaskan Gyre

1 Shoe Spill May 27, recovered, March 26, recovered, May 18, recovered, Jan-Feb recovered, Nov.-Dec recovered Feb.Mar recovered April recovered May Several recovered Jan-Mar Predicted Jan-July 1994

Drifting Tots Tub Toys!!! Twelve years and counting: ( January 10, 1992 Sitka AK, Aug.- Sept., ,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 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; its 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?

METHODS Captured 18 birds within Cordell Bank NMS in July - Aug & 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: 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 Foundations 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 didnt clean our beaches, 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 Commissions 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 Vanderlip K.Cousins, I. Kinan, Myra Finkelstein

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