Ninety-eight percent of Laysan albatross nests are on low-lying atolls within the Hawaiian Islands that are increasingly vulnerable to sea-level rise and storm surges. Large storms in the past few years, along with the 2011 tsunami, have destroyed tens of thousands of eggs, and many of the islands may succumb to the ocean entirely in the next 20 years. With more than a million Laysan albatrosses worldwide, it may seem as though the population is strong and there’s little need for concern, but conservationists believe a clear threat to the birds’ nesting grounds lies ahead. The seabirds spend most of their lives away from land, laying only one egg a year in familiar territory—the island or atoll where they themselves hatched. ... Read More إقرأ المزيد | Share it now!