Oceanic plastic particle pollution: Suspected effect on fat deposition in red phalaropes

doi:10.1016/0025-326X(82)90490-8

Marine Pollution Bulletin

Volume 13, Issue 1, January 1982, Pages 18-20

https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-326X(82)90490-8 Get rights and content

Abstract

In a sample of seven red phalaropes (Phalaropus fulicarius: Aves) collected from a flock of 6000 late spring migrants, six stomachs contained plastic particles. A negative correlation between amount of plastic and fat condition suggests a detrimental effect of a widespread oceanic pollutant on a marine bird.

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Urban habitats offer spatially and temporally predictable anthropogenic food sources for opportunistic species, such as several species of gulls that are known to exploit urban areas and take advantage of accessible and diverse food sources, reducing foraging time and energy expenditure. However, human-derived food may have a poorer nutritional quality than the typical natural food resources and foraging in urban habitats may increase birds' susceptibility of ingesting anthropogenic debris materials, with unknown physiological consequences for urban dwellers. Here we compare the fatty acids (FA) composition of two opportunistic gull species (the yellow-legged gull, Larus michahellis, and the lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus) from areas with different levels of urbanization, to assess differences in birds' diet quality among foraging habitats, and we investigate the effects of ingesting anthropogenic materials, a toxicological stressor, on gulls' FA composition. Using GC–MS, 23 FAs were identified in the adipose tissue of both gull species. Significant differences in gulls' FA composition were detected among the three urbanization levels, mainly due to physiologically important highly unsaturated FAs that had lower percentages in gulls from the most urbanized habitats, consistent with a diet based on anthropogenic food resources. The deficiency in omega (ω)-3 FAs and the higher ω-6:ω-3 FAs ratio in gulls from the most urbanized location may indicate a diet-induced susceptibility to inflammation. No significant differences in overall FA composition were detected between gull species. While we were unable to detect any effect of ingested anthropogenic materials on gulls' FA composition, these data constitute a valuable contribution to the limited FA literature in gulls. We encourage studies to explore the long-term physiological effects of the lower nutritional quality diet for urban dwellers, and to detect the sub-lethal impacts of the ingestion of anthropogenic materials.
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Citation Excerpt :
Impacts include filling of stomachs resulting in satiation and reduced foraging, starvation from interference with digestive processes, and physical damage or obstruction. Absorption of toxic chemicals from plastic particles could also lead to declines in animals' overall health or endocrine disruption (Conners and Smith, 1982; Day et al., 1985; Ryan and Jackson, 1987; Ogi, 1990; Moore and Phillips, 2011; Lavers et al., 2014). Stomach plastic also has been used as a bioindicator.
Many studies have quantified plastic loads in seabirds' stomachs but provide imprecise estimates of retention time. Quantifying retention time is fundamental for assessing biological impact and for the use of plastic as bioindicators of plastic pollution. Presumably, plastic is retained in the grinding section of the stomach (gizzard or ventriculus) until ground small enough and particles then pass into intestines and are defecated. We assume that particle size is related to time in the ventriculus and compared size of plastic particles in juveniles, which were exposed to plastic for a known time, to non-juveniles which were exposed for an unknown longer period. Plastic particles from Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) were of similar size between groups suggesting similar wear and retention time. Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) juveniles contained larger particles than adults suggesting particles retained in adults were worn down and thus held for a longer period.
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Understanding the impact of plastic debris on marine birds is important for conservation of some species, and assessing risk from this anthropogenic threat requires high-quality distribution data for both marine birds and plastic debris. We applied a risk assessment framework to explore the relative risk for 19 marine bird species posed by plastic debris in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. We estimated exposure for each species by combining scores from (1) spatial overlap of predicted marine bird densities from habitat-association models and predicted density of marine plastics from terrestrial input and ocean circulation models, (2) species' foraging behavior, and (3) species' residence time in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. We estimated sensitivity for each species by combining scores for (1) mortality/sub-lethal effects of ingested plastic debris, (2) off-loading of plastics via regurgitation, (3) fecundity, and (4) age of breeding maturity. Overall risk from marine debris was greatest for more pelagic species and lowest for nearshore coastal species and generally agreed with published plastic ingestion studies. Notably, marine plastic debris densities are greatest at the western edge and offshore of the study domain, which likely explains the greater risk we observed in more pelagic species. This study is the first to look specifically at plastic debris risk to marine birds in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem, and our results suggest that any attempts to mitigate the impacts of plastic debris on marine birds will likely require assessment and actions beyond the California Current into the broader Pacific basin.
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Citation Excerpt :
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Marine Pollution Bulletin

Abstract

References (18)

Plastic particles found in tern pellets, on coastal beaches and at factory sites

Mar. Pollut. Bull.

Time-energy budget of the semipalmated sandpiper Calidris pusilla at Barrow, Alaska

Ecology

Evidence from seabirds of plastic pollution off central California

West. Bird

First reports of pellet ejection in 11 species

Wilson Bull.

Red Phalarope mortality in southern California

Calif. Birds

Seabirds as marine animals

Plastics on the Sargasso Sea surface

Science

Polystyrene spherules in coastal waters

Science

Plastic particles in surface waters of the northwestern Atlantic

Science

Cited by (74)

A quantitative comparison of macro-plastic debris between undisturbed and populous coastal ecosystems of West Bengal, India

Fatty acids composition in yellow-legged (Larus michahellis) and lesser black-backed (Larus fuscus) gulls from natural and urban habitats in relation to the ingestion of anthropogenic materials

Are plastic particles reduced in size in seabirds' stomachs?

Microplastic's story

Plastics in the Pacific: Assessing risk from ocean debris for marine birds in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem

Spatial and temporal analysis of meso- and microplastic pollution in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas

ReportOceanic plastic particle pollution: Suspected effect on fat deposition in red phalaropes

Abstract

Mar. Pollut. Bull.

Time-energy budget of the semipalmated sandpiper Calidris pusilla at Barrow, Alaska

Ecology

Evidence from seabirds of plastic pollution off central California

West. Bird

First reports of pellet ejection in 11 species

Wilson Bull.

Red Phalarope mortality in southern California

Calif. Birds

Seabirds as marine animals

Plastics on the Sargasso Sea surface

Science

Polystyrene spherules in coastal waters

Science

Plastic particles in surface waters of the northwestern Atlantic

Science

Report
Oceanic plastic particle pollution: Suspected effect on fat deposition in red phalaropes