Page 394 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

392 ANIMAL LIFE

ORDER PELECANIFORMES Atacama Desert, the most arid region HUMAN IMPACT
on Earth. It feeds on anchovetas—
Guanay Cormorant small fish that abound in the cold THE GUANO TRADE
waters of the Humboldt Current.
Phalacrocorax bougainvillii Like other cormorants, it pursues fish Before the invention of synthetic
LENGTH 29–31 in underwater, holding its wings against fertilizers, nitrogen-rich guano was
(74–78 cm) its body and propelling itself with its an extremely valuable commodity.
WEIGHT 4–5 lb legs. It floats low down in the water, Thousands of tons were exported
(1.75–2.25 kg) periodically dipping its head beneath from the South American coast to
HABITAT Desert coasts, the surface to check for food. Guanay the Northern Hemisphere. Guano
islands, inshore waters cormorants have nested on the same was also used in the manufacture
DISTRIBUTION Pacific coast of Peru and northern offshore islands for millennia, of explosives.
Chile depositing deep layers of desiccated
droppings known as guano. During GUANO MINING
Boldly marked in black and white, El Niño years, when the ocean Using picks and shovels, workers dig up
with a conspicuous red patch around temperature rises, shortage of food compacted guano on an island off the coast
each eye, the Guanay cormorant nests forces these cormorants to forage far of southern Peru.
in huge colonies along the coast of the afield, often as far north as Panama.

OCEAN LIFE