Natural Environment Blog

According to this article by The Australian newspaper, research has found that global warming is directly responsible for declining seabird populations.

The research, compiled by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, was carried out in the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia. The research was then used for a report called Seabirds and Shorebirds in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area in a Changing Climate, which was commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Queensland Environment Protection Agency.

The reseach found that warmer water near the surface of the ocean, forces fish and plankton away from the surface of the water. This causes the seabirds and their young to go hungry, as it is more difficult to find prey. This in turn, means the seabirds are less likely to breed.

According to the report, the warmer water is being caused by more frequent and intense El Nino events.

In some areas, seabird populations have declined by up to 96 percent.

Also, the report found that, around Heron Island in 2003, a 1 degree increase in temperature reduced shearwaters’ feeding frequency from once every two nights, to once every five.

Another report, produced in December last year, identifies 31 bird species in Australia that are at “high risk of extinction”. 

The report, entitled The State of Australia’s Birds 2007 - Birds in a Changing Climate, says that a 2 to 5 percent rise in temperatures will lead to the extinction of many species. The urgency of the situation is highlighted when you consider that experts are forecasting that temperatures will rise to those levels within the next 60 years or so.  

The birds at most risk are those around the savannas and rainforests of northern Australia, where the climate is much warmer.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S. have developed a nanopaper that could be used to clean up future oil spills.

The paper-like membrane repels water but can absorb up to 20 times it’s weight in oil. Even better, the oil can be recovered and the nanopaper can be recycled many times over.

Research leader, Francesco Stellacci, an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, said:

Our material can be left in water a month or two, and when you take it out it’s still dry,

She continued:

But at the same time, if that water contains some hydrophobic contaminants, they will get absorbed.

Oil spills can cause a devastating range of problems for wildlife - most of which lead to death.  In fact, a single oil spill can kill thousands of sea birds and marine mammals.

At least 200,000 tons of oil has been spilled into the oceans since 2000, so if this nanotechnology results in faster clean ups, that’s welcome news for the natural environment.

Amazing stuff that nanotechnology!

Now, if only nanotechnology could be used to prevent oil spills altogether…