Seabirds Create ‘Circular Economy’ That Nourishes Land and Sea

Scientists have coined a powerful new term to describe seabirds’ critical role in sustaining life across our planet: the “circular seabird economy.” This concept, detailed in a recent Nature review, reveals how these ocean-dwelling birds serve as nature’s ultimate delivery system, transporting vital nutrients between marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

The process is elegantly simple yet profoundly impactful. Seabirds spend most of their lives feeding in the ocean, but when they return to land in massive breeding colonies—sometimes numbering in the thousands—they bring the sea with them. Through their droppings, feathers, and eggshells, these feathered migrants transfer ocean-derived nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, and calcium to land-based ecosystems. The scale is staggering: researchers estimate seabirds move as much nitrogen and phosphorus from sea to land as the entire global commercial fishing industry combined.

This nutrient influx transforms landscapes, enriching soils and shaping plant communities that support diverse populations of insects, birds, and reptiles. In harsh environments like Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, seabirds contribute over 80% of available nutrients, making them the primary drivers of ecosystem productivity. When new islands emerge from the ocean, seabirds are often the first colonizers, bringing both seeds and the nutrients needed to jumpstart life.

The circular nature of this system becomes complete as significant amounts of these nutrients wash back into the ocean, fueling marine food webs and creating a continuous cycle that sustains life both on land and at sea.