Scientists hope to gain an accurate picture of global emissions Colonies of seabirds are adding to environmental pollution - simply by doing what comes naturally. The birds are releasing large amounts of ammonia into the atmosphere through their droppings.
Researchers say some species, such as gannets and guillemots, are guiltier than others.
Very large emissions of ammonia could have a detrimental impact on the local ecology, and may be just as problematic as intensive farming. Scientists studying a seabird colony on Bass Rock off the east coast of Scotland have already measured ammonia concentrations 20 times higher than those on chicken farms. Penguin colonies may shed some light Researchers are using a range of techniques to record the amount of ammonia produced by different species. From there, the next step is to build up a database of global seabird colony distributions and use this to calculate the total ammonia emissions. Seabird emissions will have an impact in remote areas where these are the main source of ammonia in the absence of agricultural sources.