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Adrift Lab (Marine Science)

@adriftlab.bsky.social
1.7K followers 202 following 272 posts

Our brilliant & diverse team of Marine & Health Scientists study #plastic in our #oceans & #wildlife 🐦🌊🏝🌈 We feature in BBC’s #drowninginplastic. We also have projects on #ClimateChange, #Bushfires, #MarineHeatwaves & #ArtSci collaboration

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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Big thanks to Ocean Protect #Podcast for giving our team a platform to talk about #plastics #seabirds and the value of #LongTermMonitoring podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/o...
podcasts.apple.com
Dr Jennifer Lavers on what long-term data shows about population impacts of ocean plastic pollution
Podcast Episode · Ocean Protect Podcast · 27 September · 48min
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Matt Round @mattround.com · 02/10/2026
You need to be REALLY careful about casually assuming things are AI-generated & reacting strongly, recently I’ve seen people on here get it wrong with both artwork & tech
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
How odd, does this work? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The final paragraph is important, in it we state: “It is important not to discount conclusions drawn in the past based on the knowledge available at the time, as effects may only become apparent as evidence accumulates.” It is also important to #BeKind. And call out bad behavior, respectfully.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
It’s important to confront toxicity with evidence, not more toxicity. That is what our newest paper does doi.org/10.1016/j.ha...
doi.org
Redirecting
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Over the years, our team has been subjected to academic #bullying. Sometimes in the form of rebuttal papers, written by the same group of people. Rife with grammatical, statistical & plotting errors, the tone invariably personal & offensive. We have never responded. Until now.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
At present, most translocation plans don’t consider future cyclone activity. Using 2 case studies, we highlight storm frequency & the subsequent ecological recovery interval as critical to developing suitable actions #ClimateAdaptation doi.org/10.1038/s441...
doi.org
Blown away: cyclone threats to tropical island biodiversity in a changing climate - npj Biodiversity
npj Biodiversity - Blown away: cyclone threats to tropical island biodiversity in a changing climate
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
#Translocation is increasingly used to relocate vulnerable species away from high-risk sites. But as ocean temperatures rise, storm activity is shifting. Islands once considered safe from #cyclones are being pushed into the danger zone #Conservation #ornithology #OceanWarming #birds #ClimateChange
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
These birds are about to fly 10,000 km to the Sea of Japan; **every gram of extra mass counts** KEY MESSAGE: Chronic plastic exposure disrupts stomach function with consequences for #migration efficiency, nutrient absorption & chick growth #ornithology #SeabirdSaturday @ingridpollet.bsky.social
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Stomachs exposed to #plastic contracted more strongly and were heavier. This was unexpected, so…what’s going on? Chronic irritation from the plastic caused inflammation & ‘smooth muscle hypertrophy’: the bird’s stomachs became stiffer & didn’t undergo normal mass reduction This is a problem!
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
We focused on the stomach because this is the site of initial exposure; for many species, plastic gets ‘stuck’ here for months. Andrew, a local tradie, built our experimental setup for $10. We used it to perform tensile tests on #seabird stomachs exposed to plastic
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Exposure to #plastic is increasing rapidly, but few consequences have been described in detail. Does this mean we’re worrying about nothing? Nope! Our #NewPaper highlights the bio-mechanical consequences of #PlasticIngestion on the stomach. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Read the paper (open access) here 🔗 doi.org/10.1029/2026...
doi.org
Abrupt Recent Increases in Plastic Ingestion by Sable Shearwaters (<i>Ardenna carneipes</i>)
Plastic exposure in Sable Shearwaters has increased rapidly in recent years Plastic pellets and lids were commonly consumed, especially during 2023–2026 Patterns in ingested plastic depend on st...
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Another key finding: study duration matters! Had our study been only 3 years (a typical PhD), we could have concluded ingestion was rising, falling, or flat, purely by chance. 🔵 = plastic decrease ⚪️ = no change 🟠 = plastic increase
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Each year “the record” is broken, despite our team thinking “surely the birds can’t possibly fit anymore plastics in their stomachs!” But then, in 2025, we found 894 plastics inside a single chick that was only 90 days old 💔 📸 caption: worst chicks in 2010, 2015, 2021, 2025
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
One of the most important plots we’ve ever made helped us answer a question we’re constantly asked: “is the amount of ingested plastic increasing?” Answer: yes, there’s been a sustained and rapid increase in #plastics in Sable #Shearwaters since 2021
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
@jackauty.bsky.social 🤩
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Liam U. Taylor @liamtaylor.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I asked undergrad field techs to do a simple task, which was record when storm-petrels in our long-term study site had damage. The following is a partial list of the codes they used to indicate 'no damage'
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Dr. Holly P Jones @dochpjones.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Killer talk by Drs Lavers and de jersey of @adriftlab.bsky.social. They did a meta-analysis of plastic impacts to Sable shearwaters on Lord Howe. They used data from 20+ datasets collected over 15 years on 90-day old chicks. They found at low plastic levels there are major impacts. #wsc4 🧪
Surviving as a scientist 
• 61% experience distress due to climate change
• 74% of students/postdocs experience academic bullying add
• 40% of university lecturers are bullied at work easy
• **Odds are, these issues are affecting the person sitting next to you right now**
• Yet, dedicated conference program slots on bullying/ecogrief are rare Posed.
- So, let's talk about it (2031 WSC program)
Take-home messages:
Progression: local physical damage to whole-body physiological disruption
Exposure: many changes detectable at small plastic loads
-Long before visual signs appear!
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Chip is a long-haired #dachshund and a tiny terror. At the moment, he’s not contributing to the Lab much because he’s too busy chewing everything & sleeping as if he’s had a hard day.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Our newest team member has arrived: meet Chip (short for Chipolata). After the sudden loss of Ms Vienna Sausage, our remaining dog, Farley Mowat, was feeling rather lonely.
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World Seabird Union @worldseabirdunion.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Each year, @bou.org.uk presents awards to recognise individuals who have made an outstanding contribution within ornithology. Nominations for the 2026 awards close on 15 September 2026. It is not necessary to be a BOU member to submit a nomination bou.org.uk/about-the-bo...
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Appreciate you sharing our research 🙏🐦♻️
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
This project would not have been possible without support from the @bou.org.uk Gibbs Award; we are grateful for their patience and generosity. #MarineScience #Tracking #ornithology #seabirds
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Read more about the amazing travels undertaken by 90 day-old Australian #seabird chicks here adriftlab.org/news/fledgli...
adriftlab.org
Fledgling shearwaters, failed tags, and a hidden hotspot: what we learned in the Solomon Sea
A Sable Shearwater chick leaves Lord Howe Island only once as a fledgling. It has never flown further than the burrow entrance, never fed itself, and never seen the open ocean. Within days it has to…
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Over the past 2 yr, we worked hard to salvage what data we could & we're glad we did. What it revealed is the #SolomonSea is an important stop over for young #birds undertaking their first long-distance #migration 🌕 = the bird's starting point (Lord Howe Island), 🔴 = end point (Solomon Sea)
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
During 2022, we attempted to deploy GPS tracking devices on Sable #Shearwaters from #LordHoweIsland. Most of the tags failed to transmit. After 2-years of negotiation with the manufacturer, we re-deployed a new set of tags in 2024. Sadly, most of these also failed.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
While #AdriftLab's research primarily focuses on the effects of #PlasticPollution, sometimes our projects dont go according to plan. Adapting to changing situations is an important skill in science, and so...that's precisely what we did for our newest project
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Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Our @adriftlab.bsky.social blog post for our latest paper is now up: The Birds That Never Came Home: Long-Term Data Reveal Population-Level Impacts of Ocean Plastic Pollution adriftlab.org/news/the-bir... #ornithology #PlasticPollution
adriftlab.org
The Birds That Never Came Home: Long-Term Data Reveal Population-Level Impacts of Ocean Plastic Pollution
For decades, scientists have documented plastic inside the stomachs of seabirds. We have measured it, weighed it, counted it, photographed it, and described the damage it causes.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Long-term datasets are often difficult to fund, difficult to maintain & slow to produce results. But sometimes they answer questions the world has been asking for 45 years #MarineScience #LongTermMonitoring #Demography #OceanHealth #shearwaters
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The message from the birds is clear: plastic pollution is not just something animals survive with. It is affecting who lives long enough to come home and breed. Read the Open Access paper in PNAS >> doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Since 2010, we’ve banded chicks & measured their plastic exposure. We then follow them through to adulthood. No other wildlife study anywhere in the world can directly connect a juveniles’ plastic burden to its eventual recruitment into a breeding population
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Why has it taken so long? Studies like ours are difficult. #Seabirds spend years at sea before returning to breed. Thus, most mortality occurs far from land. Detecting the consequences of plastic ingestion therefore requires long-term #monitoring of individually marked birds across many years.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
For decades, researchers have documented the sub-lethal effects of #plastic (eg fibrosis, chemical exposure). What’s been missing is the demographic link Until now.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
For years, one of the most common criticisms of #PlasticPollution research was that we could show harm to individual animals, but not to populations. Today, after 15 years of fieldwork, we finally have an answer. #IngestedPlastic reduces #seabird survival, and thus, can drive POPULATION decline
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Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Big new @adriftlab.bsky.social paper - we show for the first time that plastics affects seabirds at the POPULATION level. Plastic ingested as a chick reduces recruitment of birds to the breeding population. And the story is pretty grim. 🧵 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
New @adriftlab.bsky.social study alert: we looked for plastic in the guts of 44 juvenile sharks and chimaera from the Bass Strait, gummy shark, southern saw shark, and elephant shark, all bycatch from 2018 trawl and longline fishing. 🦈 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
We should all be so fortunate to be surrounded by such resilient, forgiving people who want nothing more than to share food, culture, and a better world. #IndigenousLeadership #VancouverIsland
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Last night, we sat with this community, side by side with Elders who survived the forced relocation. Barely a generation has passed (this isn’t ancient history!), and yet they spoke only of peace making and invited two complete strangers to share bannock (traditional bread)
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Instead, the people arrived to find incomplete houses without running water or toilets, leading to loss of livelihood and decades of suffering. The houses they left behind (on their traditional homelands) were burned to the ground, meaning they could not return.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
In 1964, the Canadian federal government and Department of Indian Affairs forced the Gwa’sala and ’Nakwaxda’xw Nations to leave their vast traditional homelands on the central coast of BC. This forced relocation was made under extreme duress, and with many, many promises from the government.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Young children danced for the first time and it was amazing to head Elders teaching the young ones words to different songs. At the end of the night we joined them for the “Celebration Dance” Please keep reading, it’s important.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Last night #AdriftLab were fortunate to attend a T’ɬakwagilogwa Cultural Event on Comorant Island in a remote corner of western Canada. Afterwards, one of the Elders invited us to a private event where we witnessed a Welcome Ceremony between two neighboring tribes.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Creating safer, fairer spaces in #STEM means speaking up, even the conversation is hard 💪 Read more here adriftlab.org/news/equalit...
adriftlab.org
Equality is not equity: why we have withdrawn our manuscript from Marine Environmental Research
We are withdrawing a manuscript from the journal Marine Environmental Research, and we want to explain why, publicly, because the issue is bigger than one paper.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Marine Environmental Research gave us 3 weeks to revise a paper. We asked for a 1-month extension because the first author is overseas. They said no, the most they can give is 2 weeks. Otherwise it's considered withdrawn.
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World Seabird Union @worldseabirdunion.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
A very strong El Niño is under way, strengthening through 2026 and into 2027. This presents a unique opportunity to observe and document how seabirds are responding to a warming ocean. Researchers, monitoring programmes and citizen scientists worldwide are warmly invited. Register: bit.ly/45hEsWz
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Terribly sad news this morning. The loss of Bill Montevecch to the seabird community will be greatly felt 💔 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
World-renowned seabird biologist Bill Montevecchi has died | CBC News
Seabird biologist and Memorial University professor emeritus Bill Montevecchi died early Saturday morning. He was 80 years-old.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
This matters for conservation because Sable Shearwaters experience exceptionally high rates of #plastic ingestion. To understand how #plasticpollution affects their health, we first need to understand what healthy physiology looks like across life stages #baseline #WildlifeHealth
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Meanwhile, adults face a different set of challenges: ongoing demands of foraging, migration, body maintenance and repair, courtship, and breeding. We used #proteomics to compare blood plasma from fledgling & adult #shearwaters to gain insight into the physiology of each life-stage.
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Adrift Lab (Marine Science) @adriftlab.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Fledglings face an extraordinary transition. Within ~90 days of hatching, they must reach adult size, develop the capacity for flight, build energy reserves, & leave the colony for the first time. Their first flight is not a practice run either; it marks the beginning of a ~10,000 km migration
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