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Plastic ingestion is an underestimated cause of death for southern hemisphere albatrosses
Citation
Roman, L and Butcher, RG and Stewart, D and Hunter, S and Jolly, M and Kowalski, P and Hardesty, BD and Lenting, B, Plastic ingestion is an underestimated cause of death for southern hemisphere albatrosses, Conservation Letters, 14, (3) Article e12785. ISSN 1755-263X (2020) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2020 the authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Abstract
Albatrosses are among the world’s most imperiled vertebrates, with 73% of
species threatenedwith extinction. Ingestion of plastic is awell-recognized threat
among threeNorth Pacific species, but lesser known in the southern hemisphere,
where it is considered a minor threat. As plastic entering the ocean is increasing
while albatross populations decline, the threat of ocean plastic to albatross
populations may be underestimated. We present case studies of 107 beach-cast
albatrosses of twelve species, received by wildlife hospitals in Australia and New
Zealand, and estimate plastic ingestion and mortality rates for albatrosses in the
southern hemisphere. Ingested plastic was present in 5.6% of individuals, and
the cause of death in half of these cases. We estimate ingestion of plastic may
cause 3.4–17.5% of nearshoremortalities and is worth consideration as a substantial
threat to albatross populations. We provide clinical findings and "checklist"
methodologies for identifying potential cases of foreign-body gastrointestinal
obstruction. We suggest practical policy responses, empowering decision makers
to reduce albatross mortality from anthropogenic sources.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | plastic, albatross, veterinary, pollution, marine, balloon, bottle, by-catch, conservation, marine debris, plastic pollution, policy, seabird, threatened species |
| Research Division: | Environmental Sciences |
| Research Group: | Environmental management |
| Research Field: | Conservation and biodiversity |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Marine systems and management |
| Objective Field: | Marine biodiversity |
| UTAS Author: | Roman, L (Dr Lauren Roman) |
| ID Code: | 143159 |
| Year Published: | 2020 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 1 |
| Deposited By: | Ecology and Biodiversity |
| Deposited On: | 2021-03-02 |
| Last Modified: | 2021-09-03 |
| Downloads: | 15 View Download Statistics |
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