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Polar plastic: 97% of sampled Antarctic seabirds found to have ingested microplastics

March 16, 2024

Polar plastic: 97% of sampled Antarctic seabirds found to have ingested microplastics

Polar plastic: 97% of sampled Antarctic seabirds found to have ingested microplastics
Global distribution of study sites and relative 13 species considered (red dots = Arctic sites; red line = Arctic species and samples; yellow dots = Antarctica sites; yellow line = Antarctica species and samples). For each species, the matrices analyzed are shown in a dot near the species’ picture. The articles considered analyzed pellets, stomach contents, pouch contents, and guano. The number of samples considered for each matrix is presented on the bottom, separated for the Arctic (red line) and Antarctica (yellow line). Credit: Frontiers in Marine Science (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1343617

Anthropogenic plastic pollution is often experienced through evocative images of marine animals caught in floating debris, yet its reach is far more expansive. The polar regions of the Arctic and Antarctica are increasingly experiencing the impacts of plastic reaching floating ice and land, not solely as larger macroplastics (>5 cm), but as microplastics (0.1 µm—5 mm) and nanoplastics (<0.1 µm) that may be carried vast distances from their source or be ingested in more populated areas during seasonal migration.

A new review, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, has investigated the scale of this issue, particularly with respect to seabirds who call these glaciated regions home.

Ph.D. researcher Davide Taurozzi and Professor Massimiliano Scalici, of Roma Tre University, Italy, embarked on a project to summarize 40 years of research into seabird ingestion of microplastics, from 1983 to the present day.

Across >1,100 samples, the researchers explored stomach contents, crop pouch near the throat for temporary food storage during foraging trips, guano (excrement mixture of food and metabolic waste) and regurgitated pellets of undigested food and other particles. Pellets formed the main component of the samples, followed by stomach contents and guano, while pouch contents were minimally present.

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Olduvai IV: Courage
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