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Ingested plastics in beach-washed fairy prions Pachyptila turtur from Tasmania

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-21, 13:30 authored by Jennifer Lavers, Alix de JerseyAlix de Jersey, Jones, NR, Stewart, LG, Charlton-Howard, HS, Megan GrantMegan Grant, Woehler, EJ

Plastic is an omnipresent pollutant in marine ecosystems and is widely documented to be ingested among seabird species. Procellariiformes are particularly vulnerable to plastic ingestion, which can cause internal damage, starvation, and occasionally mortality. In this study, 34 fledgling Fairy Prions (Pachyptila turtur) recovered during a wreck event in south-eastern Tasmania in 2022 were examined for ingested plastics and body condition (e.g., wing chord length). While many of the birds exhibited poor body condition, this was not correlated with the count or mass of ingested plastics. We hypothesise the marine heatwave event, and resulting lack of prey, contributed to bird body condition and subsequent mortality. We provide some of the first data on the size of individual plastic particles ingested by seabirds and make recommendations for future studies to report this important metric in a consistent manner that ensures data are comparable.

History

Publication title

Marine Pollution Bulletin

Volume

184

Article number

114096

Number

114096

Pagination

1-9

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

© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Ecosystem adaptation to climate change