Editing Midway Atoll (section)

===Pollution===
[[File:Starr 080603-5640 Tournefortia argentea.jpg|thumb|upright|Marine debris with Laysan albatross chicks]]

Midway Atoll, in common with all the Hawaiian Islands, receives substantial amounts of [[marine debris]] from the [[Great Pacific Garbage Patch]]. Consisting of 90 percent plastic, approximately 20 tons of this debris accumulates on the beaches of Midway every year. The garbage is hazardous to the island's bird population: approximately 5 tons of debris is fed to albatross chicks by their parents, but the parents often collect the debris while they are out at sea.<ref>[https://www.wired.com/rawfile/2012/08/albatross-midway-chris-jordan/ Plastic-Filled Albatrosses Are Pollution Canaries in New Doc] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209234442/http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2012/08/albatross-midway-chris-jordan/ |date=February 9, 2014 }} Wired. June 29, 2012. Accessed 6-11-13</ref> The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates at least {{cvt|100|lb|kg}} of plastic washes up every week.<ref name="usfishandwildlife">{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/midway/Midway_Atoll_NWR_Cigarette_Lighters.pdf |title=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Marine Debris: Cigarette Lighters and the Plastic Problem on Midway Atoll |access-date=June 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521190459/http://www.fws.gov/midway/Midway_Atoll_NWR_Cigarette_Lighters.pdf |archive-date=May 21, 2013}}</ref>

Of the 1.5 million Laysan albatrosses that inhabit Midway during the winter breeding season, nearly all are found to have plastic in their [[digestive system]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.nybooks.com/post/240609421/chris-jordan |title=Midway: Message from the Gyre |author=Chris Jordan |date=November 11, 2009 |access-date=November 13, 2009 |archive-date=March 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330214936/http://blogs.nybooks.com/post/240609421/chris-jordan |url-status=live }}</ref> Approximately one-third of the chicks die.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/7318837.stm |work=BBC News |title=Q&A: Your Midway questions answered |date=March 28, 2008 |access-date=April 5, 2010 |archive-date=February 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206180627/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/7318837.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> These deaths are attributed to the albatrosses confusing brightly colored plastic with marine animals (such as squid and fish) for food.<ref name="mcdonald">{{cite web |url=http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/the-fatal-shore-awash-in-plastic/?_r=0 |title=The Fatal Shore Awash in Plastic |access-date=June 28, 2013 |last=McDonald |first=Mark |date=August 23, 2012 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525212616/https://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/the-fatal-shore-awash-in-plastic/?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> Recent results suggest that oceanic plastic develops a chemical olfactory signature that is normally used by seabirds to locate food items.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Savoca |first1=M. S. |last2=Wohlfeil |first2=M. E. |last3=Ebeler |first3=S. E. |last4=Nevitt |first4=G. A. |date=November 2016 |title=Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds |journal=Science Advances |volume=2 |issue=11 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1600395 |page=e1600395 |bibcode=2016SciA....2E0395S |pmc=5569953 |pmid=28861463}}</ref>

Because albatross chicks do not develop the reflex to regurgitate until they are four months old, they cannot expel the plastic pieces. Albatrosses are not the only species to suffer from the [[plastic pollution]]; [[sea turtles]] and [[Hawaiian monk seal|monk seals]] also consume the debris.<ref name="mcdonald"/> Various plastic items wash upon the shores, from cigarette lighters to toothbrushes and toys. An albatross on Midway can have up to 50 percent of its intestinal tract filled with plastic.<ref name="usfishandwildlife"/>