Leading Bolus Dissections

           In a recent partnership with marine biologists from the Hawaii Wildlife Reserve, the Enviros received samples of Albatross bolus in order to examine it for the types and quantities of pollutants that they contained. On January 24, 2014, the Enviros team and student volunteers from mentor Ms. Evans-Bye’s marine science class dissected Albatross bolus samples at Clark Magnet High School. Albatross are a species of birds residing near islands and beach shores that often consume marine debris in search of food. As the birds cannot consume these particles, they vomit in order to expel them from their stomachs in the form of a bolus, which is a clump of ingested foreign material. During the dissection, students found a variety of natural objects and man-made contaminants that the birds cannot digest. These objects include squid beaks, plastics, rocks, and fishing line. The most prevalent undigested particle that was found in the bolus samples consisted of plastic particles. Once the dissections were completed, the samples were repacked to be sent to Roosevelt Middle School in order to allow middle school students to dissect the samples.