Seabird Populations Reduced 70% Since 1950

A comparison of seabird populations from the 1950s to 2010 showed a loss of 230 million birds during that time.  The decline can be attributed to a number of causes, including human over-fishing of prey fish, plastic and oil pollution, invasive species introduced to nesting sites, habitat destruction, and climate change affecting the environment.  Seabirds can be an important indicator of the health of marine and coastal ecosystems, so such a steep population decline indicates that there are major problems within these environments which need to be addressed.

Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) by Forest and Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org

Source Article: Global trends show seabird populations dropped 70 percent since 1950s