Seabird diets reveal ecosystem shift in Pacific Ocean

Seabirds in the North Pacific eat more squid than they did a century ago, a change of diet that has helped them maintain their willowy figures despite changes in the ocean ecosystem and humans’ steady depletion of their fishing grounds, a Monterey Bay Aquarium study found.

A chemical analysis of the feathers of eight seabird species — collected in museums over the past 127 years — determined that the avians had feasted on heartier fish in the late 19th century, but began settling for squid and other creatures lower in the food chain to cope with ecosystem shifts over the decades. Read more.