Albatross Barf

Before albatross fledglings (the grown-up chicks) leave Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, they have to get rid of any stuff they have in their stomachs that can't be digested.  Their stomachs pack it all together into what's called a "bolus."  Then the bolus gets thrown up and out of the chick's wide-open beak.

Can you see the difference in the neck size between these two Laysan Albatross?  The left-hand albatross is trying to pass up a bolus.  Notice how much wider its neck is; it must be very uncomfortable!

For the first 5 months or so of their lives, albatross chicks are fed food which their parents bring them from the ocean.  Albatross especially like to eat flying fish eggs and squid; yum!  But the squid mouths, called beaks, can't be digested because they're made out of tough material, sort of like a finger nail.  Since flying fish eggs are usually attached to floating objects, the albatross often swallow floating volcanic rocks (called pumice) and sticks. which the fish eggs are attached to.  So, squid beaks, pumice and sticks are natural parts of bolus barf.

But there are also some man-made items in boluses.  This short video shows a Laysan Albatross chick throwing up a bolus, or maybe just part of one.  I think you'll be surprised to see what I found inside this bolus.

Albatross Barf from Barb Mayer on Vimeo.

What's a Bolus Burrito?

UPDATE, May 10, 2011:  

In response to a comment that accompanied this post last June, I gave a source for boluses for classroom dissections.  That source is no longer active.  The Fish and Wildlife Service currently has the bolus dissemination project on hold until further notice.  We all hope that one day FWS can start up the collection and dissemination of boluses again, after the Refuge has a chance to complete tsunami recovery projects and a Visitor Services position is filled for Midway Atoll.  Iʻll certainly add to this post as information becomes available.

In the meantime, as part of a collaborative education partnership, a non-profit organization Oikonos is distributing a limited number of boluses to school groups.  The Oikonos website has a wealth of educational activities!  Contact Michelle Hester who will connect you with the albatross bolus coordinator for more details.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

No...you wouldn't want to eat a bolus burrito!

As albatross grow up, they begin to be able to toss up out of their stomach any objects they can't digest.  (See FOAM's "Albatross Barf" video.)  These indigestible objects are tightly packed into what's called a bolus. You've probably heard of fur balls that cats make, and maybe you've known that owls get rid of mouse fur and bones in pellets; so a bolus is like a cat fur ball or owl pellet.

photo by Mike Neal

Albatross feed on flying fish eggs and squid. Squid are mostly digestible, except for their hard mouths, called beaks, that feel like your finger nail. Flying fish eggs are completely digestible, but they're often attached to natural objects -- like floating sticks or volcanic rocks called pumice -- which are definitely not digestible. So albatross come equipped to toss up boluses to get rid of these unwanted items.

Nowadays, many boluses have plastic in addition to squid beaks, sticks and pumice. The picture on the top left shows pieces of plastic, fishing line, a bottle cap, and even a toothbrush in a loosely packed bolus! The bolus on the right is much more tightly packed.

It is educational to see what a real bolus looks like; it helps people understand why they need to be more careful how they get rid of their trash. Many teachers ask Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge for boluses for their students to dissect, or take apart. Take a look at bolus dissection activities on the Oikonos website, or a recent dissection on FOAM's post "Marine Debris: Aunty Moana's Little, Green, Square Things.

photo by Mike Neal

That's why Marty and I are making "bolus burritos."  We put a bolus on a piece of scrap paper that's being reused as a paper tortilla. Then we roll up the bolus in the paper and fold in the paper ends --> a bolus burrito!  Now we label the burrito with the date when the bolus was collected and from which island of the Atoll it came.  How many bolus burritos are in the picture, not even counting the boluses in the plastic bag by my right foot?! Lots! -- all for teachers and their students!

Marine Debris: Auntie Moana's Little, Green, Square Thing

Kden, there's been FOAM posts about marine debris from Uncle Ulua, Barb and Kahiko Ladu.  Now listen to me.  We albatross have plenny problems with marine debris.

fresh bolus from a Laysan Albatross

In fact, my own family had a near-death because of the rubbish.  My brother's granddaughter's cousin's son, Junya (Junior) Kai, almost died of dehydration because of marine debris!  His dad Kawika (my cousin's...oh neva mind) didn't know how to tell the difference between da kine food and floating plastic.  So, Kawika brought back marine debris, instead of squid and fish eggs, to feed Junya.  Well, me and his wife, Mōlī, gave him a talking to.  Now Kawika knows, and everything's OK.  You can read about the family's story in "Auntie Moana (yup: dat's me!) Saves The Day", a readers theater script that Barb wrote.

dissected Laysan Albatross bolus

Anyway, guess what?  Today my neighbor coughed up a bolus.  (A bolus is sorta like what those birds, owls, cough up -- a pellet, which has lotsa mouse dem bones.  We albatross cough up a bolus that normally has squid beaks and maybe some pumice, floating volcanic rocks, in it.)  These 2 pictures show what the bolus our neighbor coughed up looked like, both fresh when it first came up, and den after Barb opened it up, what you call "dissected" it.  Notice any marine debris?  Duh, yeah!  But the good news is that our neighbor coughed it all up; no more in his stomach!

In the 2nd picture, all the plastic da kine is on the left, and all the squid beaks and natural stuff is on the right.  Plenny junk, huh?  But look at that little, greenish, square t'ing in the upper left corner.  Anybody know what that is? ............