The Highest Global Concentrations and Increased Abundance of Oceanic Plastic Debris in the North Pacific: Evidence from Seabirds

Robards, Martin D.; Gould, Patrick J.; Piatt, John F.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-8486-1_8

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…Of 83 Flesh-footed Shearwaters killed in driftnet fisheries in the North Pacific during 1990-91, 79 (950/0) contained ingested plastic (Robards et al 1997). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plastic ingestion by Flesh-footed Shearwaters, Puffinus carneipes, and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus pacificus

Hutton¹,

Carlile²,

Priddel³

2008

PPRST

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The population of Flesh-footed Shearwaters, Puffinus carneipes, on Lord Howe Island, Australia, has decreased over recent decades. Known threats include long-line fishing and loss of nesting habitat. The recent occurrence of plastic debris in breeding colonies has raised concerns that plastic ingestion also may be contributing to the decline of this species. In this paper we investigate the extent of plastic ingestion by Flesh-footed and Wedge-tailed shearwaters, Puffinus pacijicus, on Lord Howe Island. The remains offailed Flesh-footed Shearwater fledglings contained substantial quantities of plastics: up to 37 cm 3 , equivalent to at least 31 % of proventricular capacity. Road-killed adults (n = 21) had no plastic in their provenrriculus. Provenrricular contents of near-fledged birds, obtained by non-lethal means, showed that 79% of Flesh-footed Shearwaters and 43% of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters contained plastics, in volumes of up to 18.0 cm 3 and 2.8 cm', respec tively. Plastic loads were significantly less in Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, the difference possibly due to different densities of plastic within the foraging locations of each species. The impact of plastic ingestion on the survival of Flesh-footed Shearwater chicks and fledglings, and the consequent impacts on the demography of the population are unknown and warrant further investigation.

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“…Of 83 Flesh-footed Shearwaters killed in driftnet fisheries in the North Pacific during 1990-91, 79 (950/0) contained ingested plastic (Robards et al 1997). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plastic ingestion by Flesh-footed Shearwaters, Puffinus carneipes, and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus pacificus

Hutton¹,

Carlile²,

Priddel³

2008

PPRST

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“…Ryan 1987;Laist 1997;Robards et al 1997). Indeed, the first indication that plastics were a problem in marine systems came when plastic fragments were found in the stomachs of seabirds in the 1960s.…”

Section: Monitoring Affected Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring the abundance of plastic debris in the marine environment

Ryan¹,

Moore²,

Franeker

et al. 2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

1,295

565

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Plastic debris has significant environmental and economic impacts in marine systems. Monitoring is crucial to assess the efficacy of measures implemented to reduce the abundance of plastic debris, but it is complicated by large spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the amounts of plastic debris and by our limited understanding of the pathways followed by plastic debris and its long-term fate. To date, most monitoring has focused on beach surveys of stranded plastics and other litter. Infrequent surveys of the standing stock of litter on beaches provide crude estimates of debris types and abundance, but are biased by differential removal of litter items by beachcombing, cleanups and beach dynamics. Monitoring the accumulation of stranded debris provides an index of debris trends in adjacent waters, but is costly to undertake. At-sea sampling requires large sample sizes for statistical power to detect changes in abundance, given the high spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Another approach is to monitor the impacts of plastics. Seabirds and other marine organisms that accumulate plastics in their stomachs offer a cost-effective way to monitor the abundance and composition of small plastic litter. Changes in entanglement rates are harder to interpret, as they are sensitive to changes in population sizes of affected species. Monitoring waste disposal on ships and plastic debris levels in rivers and storm-water runoff is useful because it identifies the main sources of plastic debris entering the sea and can direct mitigation efforts. Different monitoring approaches are required to answer different questions, but attempts should be made to standardize approaches internationally.

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“…More than 260 species including fish, seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals have been documented to ingest or become entangled in plastics (2). Instances of ingestion, which may result in ulceration or starvation (3), are increasing in many species of seabirds (4).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential for Plastics to Transport Hydrophobic Contaminants

Teuten

Rowland

Galloway

et al. 2007

Environ. Sci. Technol.

1,073

541

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Plastic debris litters marine and terrestrial habitats worldwide. It is ingested by numerous species of animals, causing deleterious physical effects. High concentrations of hydrophobic organic contaminants have also been measured on plastic debris collected from the environment, but the fate of these contaminants is poorly understood. Here, we examine the uptake and subsequent release of phenanthrene by three plastics. Equilibrium distribution coefficients for sorption of phenanthrene from seawater onto the plastics varied by more than an order of magnitude (polyethylene . polypropylene > polyvinyl chloride (PVC)). In all cases, sorption to plastics greatly exceeded sorption to two natural sediments. Desorption rates of phenanthrene from the plastics or sediments back into solution spanned several orders of magnitude. As expected, desorption occurred more rapidly from the sediments than from the plastics. Using the equilibrium partitioning method, the effects of adding very small quantities of plastic with sorbed phenanthrene to sediment inhabited by the lugworm (Arenicola marina) were evaluated. We estimate that the addition of as little as 1 µg of contaminated polyethylene to a gram of sediment would give a significant increase in phenanthrene accumulation by A. marina. Thus, plastics may be important agents in the transport of hydrophobic contaminants to sediment-dwelling organisms.

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The Highest Global Concentrations and Increased Abundance of Oceanic Plastic Debris in the North Pacific: Evidence from Seabirds

Cited by 21 publications

References 0 publications

Plastic ingestion by Flesh-footed Shearwaters, Puffinus carneipes, and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus pacificus

Plastic ingestion by Flesh-footed Shearwaters, Puffinus carneipes, and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus pacificus

Monitoring the abundance of plastic debris in the marine environment

Potential for Plastics to Transport Hydrophobic Contaminants

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