Plastic debris in Mediterranean seabirds.
Plastic debris is often ingested by marine predators and can cause health disorders and even death. We present the first assessment of plastic ingestion in Mediterranean seabirds. We quantified and measured plastics accumulated in the stomach of 171 birds from 9 species accidentally caught by longliners in the western Mediterranean from 2003 to 2010. Cory's shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) showed the highest occurrence (94%) and large numbers of small plastic particles per affected bird (on average N = 15.3 ± 24.4 plastics and mass = 23.4 ± 49.6 mg), followed by Yelkouan shearwaters (Puffinus yelkouan, 70%, N = 7.0 ± 7.9, 42.1 ± 100.0 mg), Balearic shearwaters (Puffinus mauretanicus, 70%, N = 3.6 ± 2.9, 5.5 ± 9.7 mg) and the rest of species (below 33%, N = 2.7, 113.6 ± 128.4 mg). Plastic characteristics did not differ between sexes and were not related to the physical condition of the birds. Our results point out the three endemic and threatened shearwater species as being particularly exposed to plastic accumulation.
Marina
M
Codina-García
Teresa
T
Militão
Javier
J
Moreno
Jacob
J
González-Solís
D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000737:chemistry; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis*; D014866:Waste Products / Q000032:analysis*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
D010969:Plastics; D014866:Waste Products; D014873:Water Pollutants