title: Regional differences in plastic ingestion among Southern Ocean fur seals and albatrosses.
abstract: We provide data on regional differences in plastic ingestion for two Southern Ocean top predators: Arctocephalus fur seals and albatrosses (Diomedeidae). Fur seals breeding on Macquarie Island in the 1990s excreted small (mainly 2-5 mm) plastic fragments, probably derived secondarily from myctophid fish. No plastic was found in the scats of these seals breeding on three islands in the southwest Indian and central South Atlantic Oceans, despite myctophids dominating their diets at these locations. Compared to recent reports of plastic ingestion by albatrosses off the east coast of South America, we confirm that plastic is seldom found in the stomachs of Thalassarche albatrosses off South Africa, but found no Diomedea albatrosses to contain plastic, compared to 26% off South America. The reasons for such regional differences are unclear, but emphasize the importance of reporting negative as well as positive records of plastic ingestion by marine biota.
authors.affiliation: Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa. Electronic address: pryan31@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.affiliation: Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: P J Nico
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: de Bruyn
authors.affiliation: Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Marthán N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Bester
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D001717:Birds / Q000378:metabolism*; D046069:Fur Seals / Q000378:metabolism*; D019156:Indian Ocean; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D014873:Water Pollutants
keywords: Arctocephalus; Diomedea; Marine debris; Marion Island; Thalassarche; Tristan da Cunha