Hanging Out With An Albatross

This video will introduce you to the incredible Albatross sea bird and how they are being directly affected by plastic pollution. Stop motion animation created by Trina Miller.

Why are Albatrosses important?

Collection of plastic waste items in a colorful mural

A Lysan Albatross stretching their wings. Photo credit: Algalita

Albatrosses are predators that cover great distances across oceans. Their health can be used as a direct indicator of the ocean’s health because of this [2]. Aside from their ecological importance, Albatrosses hold significant cultural importance as well. They are symbols of wisdom, power, and everlasting love [3].

How is plastic pollution affecting Albatrosses?

A jar containing an ocean water sample including microplastics.

Albatross adults and baby chicks on their nesting site at Midway Atoll, surrounded by plastic pollution. Photo credit: Algalita

Large amounts of plastic pollution can be found floating in the open oceans where Albatrosses spend most of their lives. It can also be found on the only remote oceanic islands that Albatrosses breed on. For example, Laysan Albatross solely breed on the Hawaiian Laysan island, and skim the ocean’s surface in the middle of the Great pacific Garbage Patch. These birds are often entangled in plastics and ingest plastics to the point of filling their stomachs, leaving no room for actual food.

Albatross Stomach Contents

This video shows the dissection of an Albatross bolus, aka the regurgitated stomach contents of a bird. Similar to owl pellets, Albatrosses will regurgitate- throw up- indigestible material, such as squid beaks, rocks, and now plastics. Analyzing these dried boluses is an important insight into how much plastics have infiltrated even the most remote portions of our oceans. This bolus from 2013 was provided by Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge and Kur Atoll Conservancy. Follow along with these discussion questions!

Sources:

[1] Written By Kris Pacheco and Katrina Liebich (2020) Albatross: Lifetime at sea: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, FWS.gov. Available at: https://www.fws.gov/story/albatross-lifetime-sea#:~:text=It’s%20estimated%20that%20adult%20albatrosses,rivers%20and%20eventually%20to%20sea

[2] World albatross day: Conserving albatrosses and the oceans they roam IAATO. Available at: https://iaato.org/blog/world-albatross-day-conserving-albatrosses-and-the-oceans-they-roam

[3] Baranyi, C. (2023) Albatrosses: Inspiring legends & myths, BirdLife International. Available at: https://www.birdlife.org/news/2023/06/19/albatrosses-inspiring-legends-myths/

Want to get Involved?

It’s important to understand that there are thousands of people and hundreds of organizations working to bring awareness to this issue, and to find ways to reduce human reliance on plastics. There are also many ways that you can get involved. Check out our Actions and Solution Set pages to find a way to get involved that fits for you.

If you are interested in receiving an Albatross bolus to dissect or just want to learn more about this initiative check out Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge.