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Scientists have made an [alarm / alarming] discovery about what kinds of pollution are most [harmful / harmed] to seabirds. A study led by Australia's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies discovered that balloons were the deadliest kind of plastic [to / for] seabirds. The research team said balloons were 32 times more [likelihood / likely] to kill seabirds than hard plastics. They found that [while / thorough] balloons and other soft plastics accounted [to / for] only 5 per cent of plastics ingested, they were [responsibility / responsible] for more than 40 per cent of deaths [between / among] seabirds. Lead researcher Lauren Roman said: "Hard plastic fragments may [pass / meander] quickly through the gut, but soft plastics are more likely to become compacted and cause [fatal / vital] obstructions."

The study [contained / examined] 1,733 dead seabirds and found that more than a [quartile / quarter] of the deaths were [attributed / tribute] to eating plastic. Ms Roman explained that plastic [is / are] becoming an increasing threat to seabirds. She said: "Marine debris [congestion / ingestion] is now a globally recognized threat....We suggest that reducing the [presents / presence] of balloons and balloon fragments in the ocean would directly reduce seabird [mortals / mortalities] ." LiveScience.com said: "With an estimated 280,000 tons of floating [praline / marine] debris worldwide, about half of all seabird species are thought to ingest plastic on a [date / daily] basis. Birds are especially likely to swallow dangerous balloons because they closely resemble [squid / squidgy] , according to the study."