> There's a very good reason why seabirds in general are long-lived.
> probably due to overfishing for sandeels, their main prey
It's interesting that you point to an evolutionary fix (longevity to compensate for frequent breeding failures) for a problem caused by humans (overfishing). To me it seems more likely that if the population was at relative equilibrium for the past 100k years (seems like a reasonable assumption), then any steady increase in the number of breeding failures is a huge problem. Population dynamics are complex though, I'm not claiming to be an expert.
The actual cause is secondary to my point, be it overfishing, anthropomorphic global warming, plastic pollution, etc.
While I agree with the main thrust of your point, there have always been boom and bust cycles in nature with no humans involved. Good years lead to overbreeding which leads to food shortages which leads to famine. Animals are capable of overusing their natural resources too, humans are just more efficient at it.
I think the main problem is we compete for these resources with them. And in many ways jam the ecosystem from reaching equilibrium so the bad years become more frequent and are not followed by good years at the same rate.
I watched the matrix when I was too young to understand much. But when I watched it a few years later it just hit me and this quote of Agent Smith has stayed on my mind
"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area"
> probably due to overfishing for sandeels, their main prey
It's interesting that you point to an evolutionary fix (longevity to compensate for frequent breeding failures) for a problem caused by humans (overfishing). To me it seems more likely that if the population was at relative equilibrium for the past 100k years (seems like a reasonable assumption), then any steady increase in the number of breeding failures is a huge problem. Population dynamics are complex though, I'm not claiming to be an expert.
The actual cause is secondary to my point, be it overfishing, anthropomorphic global warming, plastic pollution, etc.