Ingestion of marine debris by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) on Lord Howe Island, Australia during 2005–2018

Abstract

Annual rates of plastic production have been increasing rapidly since the 1950s. Inadequate or improper disposal of plastic products has contributed to a significant increase in plastic debris in the world's oceans and a corresponding increase in the number of species negatively affected by this debris. Here we investigate trends in the type, amount, and colour of ingested plastic over time, and determine whether ingested plastic contributes to reduced health of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) on Lord Howe Island, Australia. The results show no clear influence of ingested plastic on body condition, while trends in the prevalence, number, and mass of plastic items ingested per bird during 2005 and 2013-2018 were more variable. There was some evidence adult birds are selecting plastic by colour. Future monitoring of this pan-tropical seabird would provide a unique opportunity to gather data from multiple sites, concurrently.

Plastic ingestion in seabirds of the western Indian Ocean

“…No conclusions could be drawn regarding muscular condition of the individuals compared to mean number or weight of particles. A recent study recorded similar results on wedge-tailed shearwaters on Lord Howe Island in Australia where there was no obvious influence of ingested plastic on the body condition of the individuals (Lavers et al, 2018).…”

Latex balloons do not degrade uniformly in freshwater, marine and composting environments

“…In addition to contributing to waste problems, latex balloons can be lethal to wildlife. Balloons that land in the ocean act like plastic: latex balloons float at the ocean's surface where they are eaten by marine animals like sea turtles and seabirds that mistake them for prey such as jellyfish [9][10][11] . This problem is not confined to the marine J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f environment: desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) have also been observed to consume balloons 12 .…”

“…To specifically assess claims of biodegradability, two types of balloons (categorized as "biodegradable" and "traditional") were tested based on whether balloon package labelling contained the word "biodegradable". Blue and white balloons of each type were chosen to represent colors that are frequently recorded ingested by wildlife 10 . Quantification of these physical, mechanical, and chemical metrics will contribute to a greater understanding of the behaviour of complex polymers in several types of environments 30 .…”

Plastic ingestion by seabirds in New Caledonia, South Pacific

“…New Caledonia, South Pacific (21.2°S, 165.9°E) is home to > 25 breeding seabird species (Spaggiari et al, 2006) among which the Tahiti Petrel (Pseudobulweria rostrata, NT), Gould's Petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera, VU) and the Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis, VU) exhibit extinction risks of concern in the IUCN RedList (IUCN, 2019). Its territorial waters also host a significant proportion of the global breeding population of the Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica, > 500,000 breeding pairs) (Benoit and Bretagnolle, 2002;Baudat-Franceschi et al, 2008), a species highly vulnerable to plastic ingestion (Kain et al, 2016;Lavers et al, 2018). While local impacts of invasive species are relatively well known (Palmas et al, 2017), no information on plastic-associated threats is currently available in this geographic area.…”