Ingestion of marine debris by the White-chinned Petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis): Is it increasing over time off southern Brazil?
Seabirds are amongst the most affected organisms by plastic pollution worldwide. Ingestion of marine debris has been reported in at least 122 species, and owing to the increasing global production and persistence of these anthropogenic materials within the marine environment, it is expected to be a growing problem to the marine fauna. Here we report evidence of an increasing frequency in marine debris ingestion and a decrease in the amount of plastic pellets ingested by White-chinned Petrels attending south Brazilian waters during the last three decades. Future studies comprising large temporal scales and large sample sizes are needed to better understand the trends of marine debris ingestion by seabirds. We expect our findings to highlight the need for prevention policies and mitigation measures to reduce the amount of solid litter in the oceans.
Laboratório de Ornitologia e Animais Marinhos, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Avenida Unisinos 950, CEP 93022-000, São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Maria V
MV
Petry
Laboratório de Ornitologia e Animais Marinhos, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Avenida Unisinos 950, CEP 93022-000, São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Electronic address: victoriabenemann@gmail.com.
Victória R F
VRF
Benemann
D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D001938:Brazil; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010969:Plastics; D014866:Waste Products
D010969:Plastics; D014866:Waste Products
Litter; Plastic; Pollution; Procellariiformes; Seabirds; South Atlantic