Test device for measuring the strength of eggshells in environmental research

In this article the authors describe how they compared the effect of pollution on the breakage strength of eggshells for two species of seabirds taken from different locations on the German North Sea coast.

Monitoring the effects of environmental contamination is becoming more important, particularly in developed countries where wildlife is at risk. Rivers present a particular problem because they may pass through polluted regions on their way to the sea, carrying contaminants to coastal areas which are remote from the source of the pollution. The measurement and correlation of the effects of contaminants often involves complicated equipment.

In this article the authors describe how they compared the effect of pollution on the breakage strength of eggshells for two species of seabirds taken from different locations on the German North Sea coast. The measurement equipment used to measure the eggshell deformation is remarkable in its simplicity, consisting only of a force transducer, a displacement transducer and the actual loading device.