This is Birdnode. Strideon calls of sea birds fill the salty air at Almira Atal a

thousand miles south of Hawaii in the South Pacific. The Atal is a ring-shaped

island encircling the lagoon. The island rests atop an extinct undersea

volcano. Its surface tends to be covered with trees and other plants. Living coral

reefs lie nearby just below the ocean's surface. Black, nauties, and red-footed

boobies fly above the trees that they nest in Roostin. A rainforest tree

called Grand Devil's Claws.

There's a mutual relationship between the trees, the nesting sea birds, and the

outlying coral. The bird's guano falls from the trees, enriching the soil.

Rain washes nutrients from the guano into the ocean, enhancing the

health of the coral ecosystem, which in turn supports the sea birds.

Almira Atal lost many native trees due to U.S. military activity during World War

II. Invasive rats wreaked havoc on the island's wildlife, but it's now a

nature-conservant sea preserve set within a national wildlife refuge.

Conservationists eradicated the rats and the restoring the rainforest to

strengthen the fruitful marriage of sea birds, rainforests, and reef.

For Bird Note, I'm Mary McCann.