Sea birds are important linking elements between oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems, and strengthening their protection can help combat climate change, the degradation of marine environments, and biodiversity loss.
This is stated by a team of scientists who, in an article published in the journal Nature Reviews Biodiversity, present the concept of the “circular economy of seabirds”. In simple terms, it refers to the natural processes by which seabirds transfer nutrients from the ocean to land and back again, shaping biodiversity and promoting the health of ecosystems at multiple scales.
“Seabirds function as biological bombs, consuming prey in the ocean and transferring large quantities of nutrients to their breeding sites on land,” explains, in a statement, Holly Jones of Northern Illinois University (United States) and the study’s lead author.
“They link the ocean and the islands in ways that are both powerful and measurable,” she asserts.
Based on decades of research, the authors describe seabirds as “critical” links between islands, the ocean and people and show how these animals, through their droppings (guano), fertilize the islands and the adjacent marine habitats, increasing their productivity and thus supporting the life networks that form there, for the benefit of all, including humans.
Although they may defecate on land, the guano of these birds can run off into the sea, carried, for example, by rainwater, promoting the growth of corals around the islands, increasing fish populations and even strengthening the resilience of marine ecosystems to the effects of climate change.
Despite this vital importance, it is estimated that about one third of seabird species are threatened with extinction and that the islands, where most of these animals reproduce, are among the planet’s most vulnerable hotspots of marine biodiversity.
The researchers draw attention to knowledge gaps that hinder the conservation of marine ecosystems, notably with regard to mangroves, seagrass meadows, and oyster reefs.
Therefore, they advocate more “integrated” approaches to the study and conservation of terrestrial and marine systems so that it is possible to “fully understand the scope and potential of the circular economy of seabirds”.
Highlighting these links between land and sea, the team of researchers suggests that restoring seabird populations—for example, through invasive species removal and chick translocation—is essential to “reestablish these crucial nutrient flows and to help protect ecosystems against the impacts of climate change”.
Laura-Li Jeannot of Lancaster University (United Kingdom), who also co-authors the article, further notes that Western science alone is not enough to protect seabirds and the ecosystems of which they are part.
“Seabirds are closely connected to many cultures around the world, but Indigenous ecological knowledge and traditional knowledge have often been sidelined by dominant forms of science. Future research should seek a more holistic approach that links Indigenous perspectives on the circular economy of seabirds,” she argues.
