Seabird poop says it’s worth millions, says scientists are trying to save the bird

But some valuable products are less obvious-and much more offensive.

New research reveals that the waste produced by seabirds, gulls, pelicans, and penguin dung, is worth nearly $500 million per year.

This is because seabird dung, also known as guano, can be used as a commercial fertilizer and is essential for nourishing marine ecosystems.

It is not a small amount of cash. Its value is estimated to be over $473 million annually. New paper published today Journal ecology and evolution trends.

“Guano production is a free ecosystem service made by seabirds. I can go to the island to collect guano and sell it as fertilizer at market prices,” said co-author Marcus V. Brazil. Federal University of Goias said in a press release.

“This scientific and biological importance allows us to quantify seabird ecosystem services in a language that the public and policy makers can begin to understand.”

Not just commercial value

Only a small number of seabird species produce guano, which is currently commercialized in Peru, Chile and other countries, but other bird excretions provide important nutrients to the marine ecosystem and also to the coastal economy. It is important.

Cianciaruso and co-author Daniel Plazas-Jiménez, a PhD student at the Federal University of Goiás, wrote in the paper that seabirds are a natural way to pump nutrients back and forth through physical function.

“They release high levels of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) through their faeces, causing important environmental changes in these ecosystems,” the study said.

Studies show that nutrients deposited from guano increase coral reef fish biomass (number and size of coral reef fish) by up to 48% in coral reef ecosystems. This is important for fishing and tourism in locations such as the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

The researchers estimated the annual value of nitrogen and phosphorus deposited in these ecosystems from seabird poop by calculating the cost of replacing them with artificial nutrients. After all, failure to protect seabirds can be costly.

“We made a very conservative estimate that 10% of coral reef fish resources depend on nutrients in seabirds,” said Plaza-Jimenes. “According to the United Nations and the Australian Government, the annual economic benefits of coral reef commercial fisheries exceed $6 billion, so 10% of this value is about $600 million per year.”

Combining this with nearly $474 million of commercialized Guano figures increases the value of seabird droppings to an estimated $1 billion.

In these words, conservation of seabirds does not sound like a cheap investment at all.

“But seabird species are so threatened that this feature [nutrient deposition] Plaza Jimenez also told CNN in an email, “To face these threats, the public, the economic sector, and policy makers need to be involved in protecting seabirds.”

The importance of seabird conservation

Seabirds also affect well beyond their direct habitat. Some species, such as the Antarctic penguin, have significant effects on nitrogen and phosphorus levels on both local and global scales. This is another reason to protect habitats that appear to be separated from human life.

“The coral reef example is for a small group of seabirds,” said Plaza-Jimenes.

“Large amounts of nutrient deposition occur in Antarctic ecosystems: Penguins bring about half of the nitrogen and phosphorus that seabirds deposit every year,” added Plaza-Jimenes. “But 60% of this contribution comes from penguin species with declining populations, and these contributions will decline in the future if conservation efforts are not undertaken.”

Seabirds face a threat From climate change, overfishing, invasive species, and “bycatch”, they are often accidentally killed as by-products of commercial fishing.

“We found that the main threats to seabirds—climate change, bycatch, and overfishing—were more important in nutrient deposition than in the number of seabird species. It threatens 80%, but only 44% of seabird species,” Plaza Jimenez told CNN. “Potentially, the impact of these threats on the contribution of nutrient accumulation in seabirds to our well-being is greater than previously thought,” he said.

Almost half of seabird species are declining in population, and one-third of seabird species are at risk of extinction, according to the report. Bird Life InternationalGlobal partnership of conservation organizations specializing in the protection of birds and global biodiversity.

“Overfishing and depletion of fish due to climate change have led to the rapid decline of widely-loved seabirds, such as the Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica and the Croagrokitti weicristridactilla. Both are currently vulnerable to extinction. Is believed to be,” BirdLife International said. 2018 report.

“Seabirds are one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates in the world,” BirdLife said.

Researchers at Goias Federal University have also pointed out that seabirds provide more than physical function.

Tourism and Bird watching As it becomes an increasingly important industry in many parts of the world, the value of seabird contributions to the marine ecosystem will be further enhanced if all other functions in our ecosystem are quantified. ..

“In some areas, fishermen are chasing seabirds to find fishing spots,” says Plaza Jimenez. “For that fisherman, seabirds are everything.”

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