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Ghost nets, plastics pose threat to seabirds
Why in news?
- The unprecedented August 2018 flood has washed out a huge amount of plastics from the land and rivers into the ocean.
- Threatening marine life and underwater ecosystems.
- Now, scientists have come across evidence that migratory birds are also victims of the discarded plastic.
More in news
Implications of plastics on seabirds:
- In the study documentation on the case of a Lesser Black-backed Gull or Heuglin’s Gull with a plastic bottle ring caught in its beak.
- The ring had pierced the bird’s beak and formed a ring around its eyes, obstructing its vision during flight.
- the ring could have become tangled with the bird’s beak while it was feeding on fish from the sea or picking worms from the beach.
Nylon fishing nets or ghost nets:
- nylon fishing nets thrown back into the ocean could also pose a serious hazard for marine life.
- Discarded gill net wrapped around BIRD’S beak, limbs and wings.
Affected their behavior:
- the plastics found on the body of the bird seemed to have affected their behaviour, as they have to feed on the discarded food from other birds in the flock.
- This seems to have forced them to depend on other members of the same species or even different species for food, and to escape from predators.
Source
The Hindu