Latest news with #AlexBond
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Birds on a Remote Island Make 'Gut-Wrenching Crunching Sounds' Because They Are Full of Littered Plastics
Researchers in Australia have discovered excessive amounts of plastic in birds on the remote Lord Howe Island The birds have plastic making up about 20% of their body mass, which can cause the birds to crunch when both dead and alive Scientists say they found one bird with 778 individual pieces of plastic inside its bodyScientists in Australia have discovered a disturbing new feature of the birds found around the remote Lord Howe Island in New South Wales: they crunch. The picturesque landscape, located about a two-hour flight from Sydney, is home to a variety of wildlife. Unfortunately, this far-flung location doesn't protect the island's animals from the increase in discarded plastics. Ecologist Alex Bond, principal curator at Britain's Natural History Museum, shared with The Washington Post that during a recent trip to Lord Howe Island, he and a team of researchers found a bird with 778 pieces of plastic packed in its stomach "like a brick." "We're talking items up to and including the size of bottle caps and tetra pack lids, cutlery, clothes pegs, the takeaway soy sauce fish bottle that you get from restaurants," Bond noted. "That's the sort of thing that we're finding in the stomachs of these 80-day-old chicks." Bond works with Adrift Labs, an organization that studies the impact of plastic pollution on the world's oceans. Some of the birds the organization discovered on Lord Howe Island — both alive and dead — had so much plastic in their bodies that it amounted to 20% of the birds' total mass. Many birds made what Bond described as a "gut-wrenching crunching sound" when pressed on their sternum. "In the most severely impacted birds, you can hear that while they are still alive," he added. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Dr. Jennifer Lavers, a marine scientist working with Adrift Labs, told ABC News Australia, "There is now so much plastic inside of the birds you can feel it on the outside of the animal when it is still alive." She brought Peter Whish-Wilson, a senator for Tasmania, to see the affected animals on the island. "We are poisoning this planet and killing nature by the way we are living and the decisions we are making," Whish-Wilson told ABC News Australia of what he learned. Bond believes the birds on the island are a sign of what's coming. "The things that we're seeing now in sable shearwaters are things that we're absolutely going to see in a lot more species in the years and decades to come," Bond told The Washington Post. According to Recycle Track Systems, an additional 33 billion tons of plastic enter marine environments annually. In April, a new sculpture of a whale made entirely out of recycled plastics found in the ocean was unveiled in London's Canary Wharf. The piece, titled Whale on the Wharf (Skyscraper), was created to highlight the impact of plastic pollution. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Birds on a Remote Island Make 'Gut-Wrenching Crunching Sounds' Because They Are Full of Littered Plastics
Researchers in Australia have discovered excessive amounts of plastic in birds on the remote Lord Howe Island The birds have plastic making up about 20% of their body mass, which can cause the birds to crunch when both dead and alive Scientists say they found one bird with 778 individual pieces of plastic inside its bodyScientists in Australia have discovered a disturbing new feature of the birds found around the remote Lord Howe Island in New South Wales: they crunch. The picturesque landscape, located about a two-hour flight from Sydney, is home to a variety of wildlife. Unfortunately, this far-flung location doesn't protect the island's animals from the increase in discarded plastics. Ecologist Alex Bond, principal curator at Britain's Natural History Museum, shared with The Washington Post that during a recent trip to Lord Howe Island, he and a team of researchers found a bird with 778 pieces of plastic packed in its stomach "like a brick." "We're talking items up to and including the size of bottle caps and tetra pack lids, cutlery, clothes pegs, the takeaway soy sauce fish bottle that you get from restaurants," Bond noted. "That's the sort of thing that we're finding in the stomachs of these 80-day-old chicks." Bond works with Adrift Labs, an organization that studies the impact of plastic pollution on the world's oceans. Some of the birds the organization discovered on Lord Howe Island — both alive and dead — had so much plastic in their bodies that it amounted to 20% of the birds' total mass. Many birds made what Bond described as a "gut-wrenching crunching sound" when pressed on their sternum. "In the most severely impacted birds, you can hear that while they are still alive," he added. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Dr. Jennifer Lavers, a marine scientist working with Adrift Labs, told ABC News Australia, "There is now so much plastic inside of the birds you can feel it on the outside of the animal when it is still alive." She brought Peter Whish-Wilson, a senator for Tasmania, to see the affected animals on the island. "We are poisoning this planet and killing nature by the way we are living and the decisions we are making," Whish-Wilson told ABC News Australia of what he learned. Bond believes the birds on the island are a sign of what's coming. "The things that we're seeing now in sable shearwaters are things that we're absolutely going to see in a lot more species in the years and decades to come," Bond told The Washington Post. According to Recycle Track Systems, an additional 33 billion tons of plastic enter marine environments annually. In April, a new sculpture of a whale made entirely out of recycled plastics found in the ocean was unveiled in London's Canary Wharf. The piece, titled Whale on the Wharf (Skyscraper), was created to highlight the impact of plastic pollution. Read the original article on People
Washington Post
16-05-2025
- Science
- Washington Post
On a remote island Australian island, the birds are so full of plastic they crunch
On a remote Australian island renowned for its natural beauty, researchers have made a grisly discovery: Seabirds have ingested so much plastic they crunch when touched. The 'harrowing' finding of plastic in the stomach of birds including chicks less than 3 months old is a stark warning for the health of other species in the marine environment, said ecologist Alex Bond, principal curator at Britain's Natural History Museum.
