Ingested plastic in a diving seabird, the thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia), in the eastern Canadian Arctic.
Plastic debris has become ubiquitous in the marine environment and seabirds may ingest debris which can have deleterious effects on their health. In the North Atlantic Ocean, surface feeding seabirds typically ingest high levels of plastic, while the diving auks which feed in the water column typically have much lower levels. We examined 186 thick-billed murres from five colonies in the eastern Canadian Arctic for ingested plastic debris. Approximately 11% of the birds had at least one piece of plastic debris in their gastrointestinal tracts, with debris dominated by user plastics. This is the first report of ingested plastics in an auk species in Canada's Arctic, and the highest incidence of plastic ingestion to date for thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia).
Provencher
Jennifer F
JF
University of Victoria, Dept. of Biology, Station CSC, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Gaston
Anthony J
AJ
Mallory
Mark L
ML
O'hara
Patrick D
PD
Gilchrist
H Grant
HG
D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D002170:Canada; D046091:Charadriiformes / Q000502:physiology*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000473:pathology*; D010969:Plastics
D010969:Plastics