Bringing home the trash: do differences in foraging lead to increased plastic ingestion in Laysan Albatrosses? (original) (raw)
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Marine ornithology, 2017
HYRENBACH, K.D., HESTER, M.M., ADAMS, J., TITMUS, A.J., MICHAEL, P., WAHL, T., CHANG, C.-W., MARIE, A. & VANDERLIP, C. 2017. Plastic ingestion by Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes from Kure Atoll, Hawai’i: Linking chick diet remains and parental at-sea foraging distributions. Marine Ornithology 45: 225–236. We quantified the incidence (percentage of samples with plastic) and loads (mass, volume) of four plastic types (fragments, line, sheet, foam) ingested by Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes chicks raised on Kure Atoll, the westernmost Hawaiian colony. All 25 samples contained plastic, mostly in the form of foam and line. On average (± SD), boluses and stomachs contained 28.2 ± 14.3 g and 40.3 ± 29.0 g of plastic, respectively. Plastic was the dominant indigestible material in the boluses and the stomach samples, accounting for 48.8%–89.7% of the bolus mass (mean 67.4 ± 12.1%, median 67.5%, n = 20), and for 18.2%–94.1% of the stomach content mass (mean 70.0 ± 30...
First quantification of plastic ingestion by Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus
Marine ornithology, 2018
DONNELLY-GREENAN, E., HYRENBACH, D., BECK, J., FITZGERALD, S., NEVINS, H. & HESTER, M. 2018. First quantification of plastic ingestion by Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus. Marine Ornithology 46: 79–84. We investigated the sex, age, body condition, and ingested plastics in six Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus, bycaught or opportunistically salvaged in US North Pacific groundfish fisheries. Necropsies revealed a 1:1 sex ratio, and a 2:1 juvenile (≤4 years of age) to adult (≥5 years of age) ratio, with five birds in healthy body condition and four in active molt. Of the six birds examined, two females (one adult, one juvenile) and two males (both juvenile), contained ingested plastics. Of the four birds with plastic, the number and mass of total plastic per bird was variable (number: mean 4.75, SD 2.1; mass: mean 0.2921 g, SD 0.3250 g). Plastics were categorized as fragments (n = 11), sheets (n = 4), foam (n = 2), and rubber (n = 2). Fragments were the most numero...
As far-ranging top predators, seabirds are valuable biological indicators of climatic and human-related perturbations of marine food webs because they sample marine ecosystems over large space and time scales. These same ecological reasons make seabirds valuable indicators of plastic pollution in coastal and oceanic waters. In this paper we review studies of the incidence and impacts of plastic ingestion on North Pacific seabirds, and identify several ecological factors that influence the susceptibility of different species. Foraging mode, habitat use, and body size are important factors to consider when quantifying the magnitude of plastic ingestion and its potential impacts on seabird populations. Largebodied, oceanic species that feed opportunistically at the surface are most susceptible to plastic ingestion. In particular, far-ranging tubenose (Procellariiformes) species, like fulmars and albatrosses, are ideal bio-indicators of marine plastic pollution. In this paper we report on plastic ingestion by Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) collected in California during 2003-2004, and review past research on far-ranging Hawaiian albatrosses. These results underscore the value of studies of seabird diet and stomach contents to monitor trends in North Pacific marine pollution. Although it is difficult to quantify population-level impacts resulting from the documented patterns of plastic ingestion in seabirds, the incidence of plastic debris in many long-lived North Pacific species is an emerging ecological problem that warrants further investigation. The mitigation of plastic ingestion in seabirds is a complex problem that will require broad-reaching cooperation between industry and wildlife resource managers, as well as education and public outreach. We present an educational program, designed to increase public awareness of the threats posed to seabirds by marine pollution, and to promote public stewardship of North Pacific seabirds. (e.g., salmon), they also may provide valuable information on the pollutant loads of marine resources consumed by humans (e.g., Montevecchi 1993, Burger and Gochfeld 2004, Blais et al. 2005). Most research on marine debris and seabirds has been motivated by the need to understand contaminant pathways in marine ecosystems, and has been largely limited to documenting plastic ingestion. The available research has shown an increasing trend in plastic ingestion in seabird populations worldwide, from the tropics to polar regions (Collins 2005, Edwards 2005). Thus, the study and remediation of marine pollution has important implications for seabird conservation globally, and will require greater attention in the future. Oceanic birds occupy vast ranges spanning multiple national economic exclusive zones, and often migrate across ocean basins and between hemispheres (Birdlife International 2004). Thus, international efforts are needed to study and mitigate the global conservation challenge of marine debris pollution. This presentation addresses the widespread incidence of plastic ingestion in marine birds, with an emphasis on North Pacific species, and reviews evidence of the resulting detrimental impacts. The patterns documented for North Pacific species are likely indicative of the trends and impacts in other ocean basins. Yet, no data are available for many colonies, species, and regions. Although there currently is no systematic scientific study to assess the global magnitude and impacts of plastic debris, local and regional monitoring programs of seabird populations (e.g., Van Franeker 2004) and marine litter surveys (e.g., Ryan and Moloney 1993) provide a foundation for a future comprehensive program. Many North Pacific seabirds ingest anthropogenic marine debris, including postconsumer plastics, also called "user" plastics (Baltz and Morejohn 1976, Robards et al. 1995, Blight and Burger 1997). Many of the surface feeding species-such as albatrosses, petrels, and fulmars-which forage opportunistically on a broad range of fish and squid prey seem especially prone to ingesting a broad array of user plastics. In particular, Laysan (Phoebastria immutabilis) and Black-footed (Phoebastria nigripes) albatrosses, and Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) frequently ingest a variety of large-sized (a few cm long) items such as bottle caps, cigarette lighters, toys, party balloons, and fragments of broken user plastics. During chick provisioning, adults then feed these items to their young, resulting in detrimental effects on chick growth and survival (Ryan 1987, Sievert and Sileo 1993). By virtue of their long lifespans (> 30 years), adult birds bio-accumulate the toxic compounds leached from the ingested plastics, with potential detrimental effects on fecundity rates and egg breakage rates (Jones et al. 1996, Auman et al. 1997). Other species that capture zooplankton-such as phalaropes, shearwaters, and auklets-ingest small-sized (few millimeters long) fragments of user plastics and pre-production industrial plastic pellets (a.k.a. nurdles; Robards et al. 1995, Blight and Burger 1997, Vlietstra and Parga 2002). We are working to encourage public participation in Coastal Cleanup Day and Adopt a Beach program activities, by supporting web-based animal tracking, public outreach lectures, and teacher workshops designed to supplement the California Coastal Commission Science Activity Guide "Waves, Wetlands, and Watersheds". These efforts, which aim to link seabird ecology with the sources of marine debris, illustrate the diverse venues available to raise awareness of plastic pollution, and to promote stewardship for seabirds and ocean conservation.
Use of indicator chemicals to characterize the plastic fragments ingested by Laysan albatross
Marine pollution bulletin, 2014
Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) ingest plastic marine debris of a wide range of shape, sizes and sources. To better characterize this plastic and provide insights regarding its provenance and persistence in the environment, we developed a simple method to classify plastic fragments of unknown origin according to the resin codes used by the Society of Plastics Industry. Known plastics were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) to identify indicator chemicals characteristic of each plastic resin. Application of this method to fragments of ingested plastic debris from boluses of Laysan albatross from Kure Atoll, Hawai'i, yielded proportions of 0.8% High Density Polyethylene, 6.8% Polystyrene, 8.5% Polyethylene Terephthalate, 20.5% Polyvinyl Chloride and 68.4% Polypropylene. Some fragments were composed of multiple resin types. These results suggest that infrequently recycled plastics are the dominant fragments ingested by albatross, and that these are ...
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2008
I compare plastic ingested by five species of seabirds sampled in the 1980s and again in 1999-2006. The numbers of ingested plastic particles have not changed significantly, but the proportion of virgin pellets has decreased 44-79% in all five species: great shearwater Puffinus gravis, white-chinned petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis, broad-billed prion Pachyptila vittata, white-faced storm petrel Pelagodroma marina and white-bellied storm petrel Fregetta grallaria. The populations sampled range widely in the South Atlantic and western Indian Oceans. The most marked reduction occurred in great shearwaters, where the average number of pellets per bird decreased from 10.5 to 1.6. This species migrates between the South and North Atlantic each year. Similar decreases in virgin pellets have been recorded in short-tailed shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris in the Pacific Ocean and northern fulmars Fulmarus glacialis in the North Sea. More data are needed on the relationship between plastic loads in seabirds and the density of plastic at sea in their foraging areas, but the consistent decrease in pellets in birds suggests there has been a global change in the composition of small plastic debris at sea over the last two decades.