Bring back seabirds
The remote Pacific Ocean has some of the most pristine coral reefs in the world.
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Ocean → bring → world
The corals themselves are bigger than cars, their delicate arms creating a dense underwater maze.
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arms → create → maze
Above them, the skies are filled with seabirds like red-footed boobies and white terns, searching for fish.
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skies → fill → fish
These species, separated by land and sea, are far more intertwined than once thought.
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species → separate → land
Their relationship is the backbone of an entire ecosystem — a hidden connection that's changing the way scientists think about conservation.
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scientists → hide → conservation
Coral reefs near seabird colonies are generally healthier, thanks to the nutrients that birds deposit in their guano.
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birds → deposit → guano
On some islands, this close-knit partnership has broken down.
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partnership → knit → islands
Seabird colonies have declined because of habitat loss and invasive species like rats.
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colonies → decline → rats
With fewer birds, fewer nutrients reach the ocean ecosystem.
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nutrients → reach → ecosystem
Now, as coral restoration projects work to bring back reefs, they're also focusing on bringing back seabird colonies, reestablishing a connection that helps both species.
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that → work → species
Coral reefs are increasingly vulnerable to rising ocean temperatures, and biologists say they need every advantage in a hotter world.
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they → rise → world
"If we can figure out ways to just stop the local threats to ecosystems, they will, in a lot of cases, find ways to repair themselves," says Alex Wegmann, lead scientist for The Nature Conservancy's island resilience strategy.
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Wegmann → figure → strategy
"They can reestablish their natural functions that will then allow them to adapt to the climate impacts that are coming."
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that → reestablish → impacts
In the rainforest there, a tiny chick the size of a fuzzy, white golf ball perches on a tree limb.
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chick → perch → limb
The parents hover nearby, chattering rhythmically.
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parents → hover → ?
"That's a white tern chick, and a young one at that," Paige Mino, manager of the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says as she looks up at the birds.
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she → say → birds
"I think that their call sounds like an electric rubber band snapping," she adds with a smile.
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she → think → smile
The forest echoes with the calls of seabirds, like red-footed boobies, large birds with bright blue beaks and signature red feet.
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forest → echo → beaks
Almost all of the birds on Palmyra Atoll rely on the ocean, flying out to sea daily to feed on fish or squid, bringing some back for their young.
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all → rely → young
While it was likely visited by Polynesians who crossed the Pacific on seafaring voyages, the atoll wasn't permanently inhabited.
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atoll → visit → voyages
In the 1800s, coconut plantations were developed.
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plantations → develop → 1800s
The U.S. military turned the atoll into a logistical station during World War II, building bunkers and roads.
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military → turn → bunkers
In 2000, The Nature Conservancy bought Palmyra Atoll from private owners and transferred the majority of it to the federal government.
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Conservancy → buy → government
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages it as a national wildlife refuge.
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Service → manage → refuge
"There's no human impact of pollution or overcapacity, so I think it really gives the wildlife and vegetation the space to thrive," Mino says.
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Mino → be → space
"It gives the wildlife a chance to do what they naturally do."
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they → give → what
An ocean mystery
Palmyra Atoll's thriving ecosystem has given scientists a window into the hidden processes that make it work, including some mysteries.
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it → thrive → mysteries
More than a decade ago, a team of scientists noticed something at Palmyra Atoll: Manta rays were more commonly seen in waters near seabird colonies.
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rays → notice → colonies
The massive mantas, some with a 9-foot wingspan, slowly glide through the water as they feed on tiny plankton.
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they → glide → plankton
That led them to uncover an efficient system of nutrient recycling that starts with the birds.
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that → lead → birds
When seabirds return to land after eating fish at sea, they roost in the trees.
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they → return → trees
There, they deposit a lot of nutrients in their guano.
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they → deposit → guano
One study of almost 200 atolls estimated that seabirds brought more than 100,000 pounds of nitrogen back to land.
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seabirds → estimate → land
That acts as a fertilizer, nourishing the trees and plants.
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That → act → trees
Those nutrients spread with Palmyra Atoll's frequent, heavy rains.
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nutrients → spread → rains
They get washed into the ocean, where they help the entire marine food web.
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they → wash → web
Tiny, microscopic plankton grow, feeding larger plankton that are eaten by many species, including fish and manta rays.
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that → grow → fish
Though it's not their primary food source, even corals eat plankton.
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corals → eat → plankton
"Studies show that those marine nutrients from seabird guano are really valuable and important for the whole reef ecosystem," says Katie Franklin, who works on Palmyra Atoll conservation strategy for The Nature Conservancy.
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who → show → Conservancy
"Guano will help nourish the ecosystem from the rainforest to the reef, so we really just want to bring on more guano.
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we → help → guano
…and 48 more, not listed.
The Aporia
