Source: Allen Press Date: August 28, 2007

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Pollution, Wild Animals, Air Pollution, Environmental Issues, Air Quality, Environmental Science

Science Daily — A new study provides some of the first evidence that albatrosses in the North Pacific may be affected by environmental contamination. Alterations in the immune function of the black-footed albatross were associated with elevated blood levels of nonpoint source contaminants.

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Nonpoint source pollution comes from a wide variety of sources such as farms, cars, roads and highways, and lawns. This kind of pollution is ubiquitous and can pose a significant threat to wildlife.At particular risk are higher trophic level species such as albatrosses, which are at the top of the food chain. These long-lived seabirds travel and forage over vast ranges and therefore accumulate chemicals distributed over large oceanographic regions. The black-footed species, however, breeds mainly on the Hawaiian archipelago. Read more