Seabird colonies as important global drivers in the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Otero, Xosé Luís, Peña Lastra, Saúl de la, Pérez Alberti, Augusto, Osório Ferreira, Tiago, Huerta-Diaz, Miguel Ángel
• Other Authors: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature
• Subjects: Element cycles; Environmental impact; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10347/16780; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02446-8

Seabirds drastically transform the environmental conditions of the sites where they establish their breeding colonies via soil, sediment, and water eutrophication (hereafter termed ornitheutrophication). Here, we report worldwide amounts of total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P) excreted by seabirds using an inventory of global seabird populations applied to a bioenergetics model. We estimate these fluxes to be 591 Gg N y−1 and 99 Gg P y−1, respectively, with the Antarctic and Southern coasts receiving the highest N and P inputs. We show that these inputs are of similar magnitude to others considered in global N and P cycles, with concentrations per unit of surface area in seabird colonies among the highest measured on the Earth’s surface. Finally, an important fraction of the total excreted N (72.5 Gg y−1) and P (21.8 Gg y−1) can be readily solubilized, increasing their short-term bioavailability in continental and coastal waters located near the seabird colonies This work was supported by a 2016 BBVA Foundation Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators, by the Autonomous National Parks Organization (Ref. 041/2010) of the Spanish Ministry for the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, and CRETUS strategic group (AGRUP2015/02). S. De La Peña-Lastra benefitted from a predoctoral fellowship from the FPU Programme of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Innovation SI