guano (redirected from Phosphate rock island)

guano (gwä`nō), dried excrement of sea birds and bats found principally on the coastal islands of Peru, Africa, Chile, and the West Indies. It contains about 6% phosphorus, 9% nitrogen, 2% potassium, and moisture. Guano is found mixed with feathers and bones and is used as a fertilizer.

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guano

Accumulated excrement and remains of birds, bats, and seals, valued as fertilizer. Bird guano comes mainly from islands off the coasts of Peru, Baja California, and Africa that are heavily populated by cormorants, pelicans, and gannets. Bat guano is found in caves throughout the world, and seal guano has accumulated to great depths on islands off northwestern Peru; both are lower in fertilizer value than bird guano.

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guano

1. 

a. the dried excrement of fish-eating sea birds, deposited in rocky coastal regions of South America: contains the urates, oxalates, and phosphates of ammonium and calcium; used as a fertilizer

b. the accumulated droppings of bats and seals

2. any similar but artificial substance used as a fertilizer

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guano [′gwän·ō]

(materials)

Phosphate- and nitrogen-rich, partially decomposed excrement of seabirds; used as a fertilizer.