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Seasonal ingestion of anthropogenic debris in an urban population of gulls

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 16:58 authored by Lillian StewartLillian Stewart, Jennifer Lavers, Megan Grant, Peter PuskicPeter Puskic, Alexander BondAlexander Bond

Gulls are generalist seabirds, increasingly drawn to urban environments where many species take advantage of abundant food sources, such as landfill sites. Despite this, data on items ingested at these locations, including human refuse, is limited. Here we investigate ingestion of prey and anthropogenic debris items in boluses (regurgitated pellets) from Pacific Gulls (Larus pacificus). A total of 374 boluses were collected between 2018 and 2020 in Tasmania. Debris was present in 92.51% of boluses (n = 346), with plastic (86.63%, n = 324) and glass (64.71%, n = 242) being the most prominent types. An abundance of intact, household items (e.g., dental floss, food wrappers) suggest the gulls regularly feed at landfill sites. In addition, the boluses are deposited at a roosting site located within an important wetland, thus we propose that the gulls may be functioning as a previously unrecognised vector of anthropogenic debris from urban centres to aquatic environments.

History

Publication title

Marine Pollution Bulletin

Volume

160

Article number

111549

Number

111549

Pagination

1-7

ISSN

0025-326X

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd

Place of publication

The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, England, Ox5 1Gb

Rights statement

Copyright 2020 Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems

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