Tetiaroa Provides UW Scientists with Rare Opportunity to Study how Seabirds are Impacted by Rat Removal

A team of scientists led by Drs. Beth Gardner and Sarah Converse from the University of Washington are studying the impact of rat removal on Tetiaroa Atoll’s seabird populations.

Seabirds play a critical role in the health of islands and oceans. They bring valuable nutrients from the marine environment onto the land by eating fish and distributing their guano (poop), which then also feeds the nearby coastal environment through run-off.

Globally, seabirds are one of the most imperiled groups of birds. 1 They face threats at sea – through entanglement in fisheries gear and climate-driven changes in ocean conditions – and on land – through human disturbance, habitat loss, and the introduction of invasive predators on breeding islands.

1 Boersma et al. 2001