We've underrated what these birds can do: the secret life of Skomer’s guillemots
For those who really care about nature and biodiversity, adopting a vegan lifestyle is a clear choice.<p>&gt; Globally, seabird numbers have fallen by 70% since the 1950s, and in northern Britain most seabird populations have had significant declines in recent years.<p>&gt; It doesn’t look great for any wildlife. Human-made factors are eating into our natural ecology, it’s just so sad<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pnas.org&#x2F;doi&#x2F;full&#x2F;10.1073&#x2F;pnas.2216573120" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pnas.org&#x2F;doi&#x2F;full&#x2F;10.1073&#x2F;pnas.2216573120</a><p>Farmland practices are driving bird population decline across Europe<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.iucn.org&#x2F;content&#x2F;worrying-declines-worlds-seabirds" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.iucn.org&#x2F;content&#x2F;worrying-declines-worlds-seabir...</a><p>The review reveals that seabirds are now more threatened than any other group of birds. Of the 346 seabird species, 97 (28%) are globally threatened, and a further 10% are listed as Near Threatened. Almost half of all seabird species are known or suspected to be experiencing population declines. The albatross family is especially imperiled, with 17 of the 22 species currently threatened with extinction.<p>At sea, commercial fisheries have depleted fish stocks, an important food source for seabirds, and caused the death of innumerable seabirds through accidental bycatch. On land, the introduction of invasive species has destroyed many breeding colonies.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theguardian.com&#x2F;global-development&#x2F;2022&#x2F;sep&#x2F;05&#x2F;dead-in-their-nests-or-washed-ashore-why-thousands-of-seabirds-are-dying-en-masse" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theguardian.com&#x2F;global-development&#x2F;2022&#x2F;sep&#x2F;05&#x2F;d...</a><p>Between 1950 and 2010, globally monitored populations plummeted by 70%. In the UK alone, nesting seabirds have declined by 30% since 2001. Seabirds are now counted as one of the most threatened groups of birds in the world.<p>Their numbers have been cut down by invasive species, overfishing, entanglements in fishing gear (bycatch), plastic pollution, oil spills and decades of habitat destruction.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nationalgeographic.com&#x2F;magazine&#x2F;article&#x2F;seabird-crisis-conservation-birds-oceans" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nationalgeographic.com&#x2F;magazine&#x2F;article&#x2F;seabird-...</a><p>Lost at Sea: Why the Birds You Don’t See Are Fading Away<p>The problem was the indiscriminate fishing method known as gillnetting. Hauling a huge net to the surface of the ocean sweeps up not only the target fish but also porpoises, otters, turtles, and diving seabirds. Today at least 400,000 seabirds are killed worldwide every year in gill nets—murres and puffins and diving ducks in northern waters, penguins and diving petrels off the coast of South America. The annual toll on murres alone may equal the 146,000 killed in the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.