Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
peter ryanlatest news & developments
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Environmental efforts pay off: study shows plastic loads in petrels remain stable over decades

New research uncovers surprising stability in plastic ingestion among seabirds on Inaccessible Island

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
Canisters and bottles collected for the study at a remote stretch of beach in De Hoop Nature Reserve. (Peter Ryan)
ARTICLE

New study finds brightly coloured plastics may contribute more to microplastic pollution

Red, blue and green plastics degrade to form microplastics quicker than those that aren’t as bright

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
Feedstock: Peter Ryan of the University of Cape Town found this great shearwater dead at its breeding colony at Tristan da Cunha. It had ingested 194 bits of plastic. (Peter Ryan)
CHEMICAL COMPONENTS

Diet of plastic their harmful chemicals is killing seabirds

An international team of researchers has found plastic chemicals in seabirds, including flame retardants and UV stabilisers, as well as banned pollutants

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read