Scientists have made alarming discovery about what kinds of pollution are most harmful to seabirds. study led by Australia's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies discovered that balloons were deadliest kind of plastic for seabirds. research team said balloons were 32 times more likely to kill seabirds than hard plastics. They found that while balloons and other soft plastics accounted for only 5 per cent of plastics ingested, they were responsible for more than 40 per cent of deaths among seabirds. Lead researcher Lauren Roman said: "Hard plastic fragments may pass quickly through gut, but soft plastics are more likely to become compacted and cause fatal obstructions."
study examined 1,733 dead seabirds and found that more than quarter of deaths were attributed to eating plastic. Ms Roman explained that plastic is becoming increasing threat to seabirds. She said: "Marine debris ingestion is now globally recognized threat....We suggest that reducing presence of balloons and balloon fragments in ocean would directly reduce seabird mortalities." LiveScience.com said: "With estimated 280,000 tons of floating marine debris worldwide, about half of all seabird species are thought to ingest plastic on daily basis. Birds are especially likely to swallow dangerous balloons because they closely resemble squid, according to study."
