Muttonbird ‘wrecks’ are becoming more common. Despite speculation about many possible causes, the evidence points to changes in the Arctic ocean ecosystem from where the birds migrate to Australia.
A flock of puffins on a cliff in Northumberland, England.
Riska Parakeet/Shutterstock
Craig Stevens, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
Building offshore wind farms is complex and expensive. But with plenty of wind coming in from the sea, New Zealand could harness the renewable resource as it aims to decarbonise the energy sector.
Scientists have identified a condition they call plasticosis, caused by ingesting plastic waste, in flesh-footed shearwaters.
Patrick Kavanagh/Wikipedia
Macquarie Island isn’t just a windswept rock halfway to Antarctica. It’s a globally unique home to dozens of bird and marine mammal species, hence the government’s plans to give it greater protection.
Pam Longobardi amid a giant heap of fishing gear that she and volunteers from the Hawaii Wildlife Fund collected in 2008.
David Rothstein
Pam Longobardi collects and documents ocean plastic waste and transforms it into public art and photography. Her work makes statements about consumption, globalism and conservation.
Invasive rats can fundamentally alter the functioning of surrounding marine ecosystems.
Bluerain/Shutterstock
Sea lions, otters and birds were some of the many wildlife species that were hit hard by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. Oil spills like these expose the wildlife to new contaminants and can be fatal.
(AP Photo/Jack Smith, File)
ToxChips study the changes in the DNA of animals exposed to contaminants, like those found in oil spills.
A life reconstruction of one of the largest penguins that ever lived, Kumimanu biceae.
Illustration by Mark Witton (used with permission, all other rights reserved)
At night the centipede crawls through thick leaf litter, using two sensitive antennae to navigate a labyrinth of seabird burrows across the forest floor.
Seabirds journey vast distances across the Earth’s seascapes to find food and to breed. This means their biology, particularly their breeding success, can reveal what’s happening in our oceans.
Researcher and photographer Claire Greenwell explains why people are the biggest threat to nesting shorebirds, and the simple ways you can help keep them safe next time you’re at the beach.
Storm petrels are one of the world’s most abundant seabirds, but their numbers have plummeted in some places.
(Shutterstock)
Seabird colonies are thought to be in rapid decline. But knowing just how severe the loss is can be a challenge, so some scientists are turning to bird poop for the answer.