No longer all at sea

by

The seabirds help our coasts to live and breathe,

Perched delicately across the food web.

But watching as they fly and gently wreathe,

Their numbers do not flow they only ebb;

For the past sixty years has seen loss seethe,

With seventy per cent caught in death’s web.

And now we cast our eyes as we agree,

The seabirds are no longer all at sea.

Population trend, 1950–2010, of the world’s monitored seabirds; dashed lines represent 95% confidence intervals (Credit: Paleczny et al.).
Population trend, 1950–2010, of the world’s monitored seabirds; dashed lines represent 95% confidence intervals (Credit: Paleczny et al.)

This is an ottava rima written about this study, which found the global seabird population to have declined by 69.7% between 1950 and 2010.

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2 thoughts on “No longer all at sea”

  1. Hi Sam
    Being an English major and teacher of literature, now immersed in science communication, I love what you are doing here – great idea. On a point of precision (and also because these are two of my favourite poets) in your header you refer to Keats and Yeats – please note the correct spelling of their names. ‘Keates’ and ‘Yates’ as you have them rather undermine your otherwise wonderful idea.
    Penny

    Reply

    • Thanks for your kind words Penny,

      I had originally spelled them correctly on my previous site, but then somehow when I migrated over to scienceblog.com I mangled them 🙂

      Thank you so much for pointing this out, and it has now been corrected.

      Sam

      Reply

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