Oil spill and climate change increase the mortality rate of seabirds in the UK

Scientists from Sheffied University in the UK announced that oil spills and climate change are the two main causes of increased mortality of British seabirds.

Research by Professor Tim Biskhead of the Department of Plant and Animal Science, for the first time, shows that oil spill is the main reason for doubling the mortality rate of adult Urian aalge seabirds, even though oil pollution is far away. The breeding ground for this bird is hundreds of kilometers.

The researchers also found a direct correlation between Arctic warming and a higher incidence of mortality in the UK bird U.aalge.

Biskhead's U.aalge seabird research was carried out on Skomer Island, Wales, since 1972.

'Previously our investigation of the U.aalge bird population on Skomer Island, the impact of oil pollution on the mortality rate of seabirds in a particular area is difficult to quantify,' said Biskhead. So, by monitoring the marked birds allows us to know the direct correlation between the oil spills and the death rate of the U.aalge birds doubled.

(Science & Nature)