The Broomfield Bird Club is scheduling Assistant Professor Scott Taylor to speak on the fragile play between economy and ecology as he speaks about the guano of Peru and Chile which comes from the millions of water fowl in the area.
Taylor said, “I spent two field seasons working on the guano islands of Peru and Chile during my Ph.D. at Queen’s University. During those field trips I was collecting blood samples from nesting blue-footed and Peruvian boobies, as well as using satellite tracking to document differences between the species in terms of foraging.”
He continued, “What do the guano islands off the coast of Peru and Chile, meters deep in the excrement of sea birds, reveal to us? The nutrient rich Humboldt flows along these coasts, supporting huge concentrations of schooling fish, such as the anchovy, which provide food for millions of seabirds that form the largest colonies in the world. At least 1,500 years ago the Inca used the nitrogen rich guano from these islands for soil amendment and its value as fertilizer continues today, particularly among organic farmers. For a significant period of history, also because of that nitrogen boon, guano was used to produce gun powder. Astoundingly, at its peak, the value of the guano industry exceeded $13 billion USD.”
Taylor is a member of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder. He spent time on the guano islands of both Peru and Chile during his Ph.D. and will trace for us the history of the use and misuse of their precious resource and its ecological and economic significance. Initially mismanaged, the unique guano islands are now under strict protection by the Peruvian government. Still, competition with contemporary fishing fleets threatens the long-term persistence of the seabird and marine mammal populations that these islands support.
Members and the public can go to broomfieldbird.club/p/welcome.html (and scroll down the home page) to copy or click on the ZOOM link and join us at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The presentation is free. BBC is a social, nonprofit club for people who are interested in wild birds seen in the Broomfield area, as well as attracting wild birds to birdfeeders. Dues are $20/family and can be paid via credit card, through PayPal, or check. Please visit our web page for more information about our monthly walks, suggestions and upcoming events.
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February 19, 2021 at 10:50AM
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Broomfield Bird Club sponsors a live ZOOM presentation - Broomfield Enterprise
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