More intense, frequent tropical cyclones may devastate seabird colonies – study

A brown booby. One scientist said ‘basically all the brown boobies and practically all the masked boobies’ were killed by Cyclone Ilsa once it hit Bedout Island. Photograph: Sundra Nagai/Alamy

Increased tropical cyclones due to global heating could lead to dramatic declines in seabird populations, according to a new study.

Scientists found that after Cyclone Ilsa – a category-5 tropical cyclone – hit Bedout Island in Western Australia in April 2023, several seabird populations experienced a collapse of 80-90% due to the storm at the internationally important breeding site.