Last week I read an article about rats and bird poop. This article was saying that on islands without rats, the surrounding reefs were healthy. On the islands infested with rats, the nearby reefs were dying. The reason why this was happening was because of the bird poop. When the birds pooped, the rain washed the poop into the sea. The bird poop helps the reefs because it has a lot of nitrogen in it. Nitrogen helps keep the reefs healthy. On islands with lots of rats, the rats were eating the seabirds. The rats ate the eggs, chicks, and even the adult birds. Less birds means less poop. Less poop means dying reefs.
I chose this article because I wanted to know more about why coral reefs are dying. I knew that reefs were dying because of pollution. I didn’t know that they were dying because of rats. When I read the article, I was surprised. I was surprised by how much damage rats can cause. This article is important for society because it tells us that there are other things that damage reefs. It’s not solely pollution’s fault. The more people that know about the rats the better. If a lot of people are aware of this problem, then we can do something to try and fix it. We could introduce a new species the islands that doesn’t harm the birds, we could set up a bunch of rat traps, etc. Getting rid of the rats would be a lot easier to do with more people to help.
What would be the best way to get rid of the rats without damaging anything else? Do some birds have more nitrogen in their poop than others? Why or why not?
