On the coast of Chile, bird nests show how plastic pollution has hammered ocean and coastal ecosystems. “This could be the most contaminated nesting colony in the world,” says a biology professor in Chile.
Sept. 29, 2020, 7:41 PM UTCSANTIAGO, Chile — The red-legged cormorants that make their nests along the coast of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile normally use a mixture of seaweed, feathers and guano to build their homes.
“Other studies have found maybe 80 percent of nests in a colony had some plastic content, but all 100 percent of the 151 nests we counted contained plastic," García-Cegarra said.The Marine Fauna and Whale-Watching Center “It’s only really in the last five years or so that we have seen a surge in studies revealing the true scale of the amount of plastic contamination on our planet, with most of its detrimental effects reported in our oceans,” said Mauricio Urbino, a zoologist at Chile’s University of Concepcion. “The worrying thing is that, if we don’t reduce plastic use now, it is only going to get worse.”
Due to the bay’s calm waters, nine large port terminals have been installed since 2003, serving local mines for lead, carbon, lithium, oil and copper. While cormorants normally choose cliffs and caves for their nests, underhangs on the piers at three of the terminals were chosen by cormorants as nesting sites.
“What you are seeing with these cormorants is sadly something that’s happening in every part of the ocean, and a threat to all species of marine fauna,” she said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Selena Gomez Is 'Confident' While Showing Off Her Scar in Chic SwimsuitIt&39;s been three years since Selena Gomez received a kidney transplant from her friend Francia Raisa after she suffered organ damage caused by lupus.
Read more »
Selena Gomez Proudly Showed Off Her Kidney Transplant Scar in a Swimsuit Pic“I feel confident in who I am and what I went through.”
Read more »
How a narrow gap of land brought another fire nightmare to California wine countryThe Shady fire erupted and quickly moved toward Santa Rosa, barreling between the Northern California burn scars of 2017's Tubbs and Nuns fires.
Read more »
Check Out Toots & the Maytals’ Animated Video for 'Three Little Birds' With Ziggy Marley & Ringo StarrToots & the Maytals, Ziggy Marley and Ringo Starr take center stage in the animated video for their take on the Bob Marley classic &34;Three Little Birds.&34;
Read more »
Parrots in wildlife park moved after swearing at visitorsThe foul-mouthed birds were split up after they launched a number of different expletives at visitors and staff just days after being donated to Lincolnshire Wildlife Park.
Read more »
Report: Khloe Kardashian's Friends Worry Her 'Plastic Surgery Obsession' Will Leave Her Looking Like Michael JacksonAre Khloé Kardashian’s friends worried that the reality star will end up like the late Michael Jackson if she doesn’t stop getting nose jobs? A tabloid recently published an article claiming this to be the case. Gossip Cop looked into the claims and came to a different conclusion.
Read more »