Prion Dissection

Plastic is one of the biggest threats to seabirds the whole world over, and Gough is no exception. Sadly, we recently found a Broad-Billed Prion which had died close to the Base. Usually when birds die on Gough they are eaten within a few hours by Brown Skuas or Giant Petrels, so all we ever find are a few left-over feathers. This time though, we found the Prion's body before anybody else, and we used the opportunity to dissect the bird to see if it had any plastic in its stomach and to better understand these fascinating 'Whalebirds'. This proved to be worth doing, as there was a piece of plastic about a third of the size of the poor bird’s stomach sat inside it. This really hit home just how much of a problem plastic in the sea is. Seabirds eat pieces of plastic floating on the surface of the sea, mistaking it for food. They can’t digest it, so it sits in their stomach for years and inhibits the amount of food the bird can absorb. Some birds’ stomachs become so full of plastic that they eventually die. In fact, thousands die each year. Very good motivation to recycle properly, and never litter!!

Some of the images below are quite graphic so please don't scroll down if you don't wish to see...

A Prion faring better than that below (David Kinchin-Smith)

Stunning blue birds

Prion alongside Tristan Albatross skull for size comparison

Filtering lamellae for feeding, hence 'Whalebirds'

Opening the abdominal cavity

The Prion's heart

The digestive system removed

A large piece of plastic removed from the stomach

Em & David