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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    World's most threatened seabirds visit remote plastic pollution hotspots   
      
      
     Date:   
         July 4, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Cambridge   
     Summary:   
         Analysis of global tracking data for 77 species of petrel has   
         revealed that a quarter of all plastics potentially encountered   
         in their search for food are in remote international waters --   
         requiring international collaboration to address.   
      
      
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   The extensive study assessed the movements of 7,137 individual birds   
   from 77 species of petrel, a group of wide-ranging migratory seabirds   
   including the Northern Fulmar and European Storm-petrel, and the   
   Critically Endangered Newell's Shearwater.   
      
   This is the first time that tracking data for so many seabird species   
   has been combined and overlaid onto global maps of plastic distribution   
   in the oceans.   
      
   The results show that plastic pollution threatens marine life on a   
   scale that transcends national boundaries: a quarter of all plastic   
   exposure risk occurs in the high seas. This is largely linked to gyres --   
   large systems of rotating ocean currents -- where vast accumulations of   
   plastics form, fed by waste entering the sea from boats, and from many   
   different countries.   
      
   Seabirds often mistake small plastic fragments for food, or ingest   
   plastic that has already been eaten by their prey. This can lead to   
   injury, poisoning and starvation, and petrels are particularly vulnerable   
   because they can't easily regurgitate the plastic. In the breeding season   
   they often inadvertently feed plastic to their chicks.   
      
   Plastics can also contain toxic chemicals that can be harmful to seabirds.   
      
   Petrels are an understudied but vulnerable group of marine species, which   
   play a key role in oceanic food webs. The breadth of their distribution   
   across the whole ocean makes them important 'sentinel species' when   
   assessing the risks of plastic pollution in the marine environment.   
      
   "Ocean currents cause big swirling collections of plastic rubbish to   
   accumulate far from land, way out of sight and beyond the jurisdiction   
   of any one country.   
      
   We found that many species of petrel spend considerable amounts of time   
   feeding around these mid-ocean gyres, which puts them at high risk of   
   ingesting plastic debris," said Lizzie Pearmain, a PhD student at the   
   University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology and the British Antarctic   
   Survey, and joint corresponding author of the study.   
      
   She added: "When petrels eat plastic, it can get stuck in their stomachs   
   and be fed to their chicks. This leaves less space for food, and can   
   cause internal injuries or release toxins."  Petrels and other species   
   are already threatened with extinction due to climate change, bycatch,   
   competition with fisheries, and invasive species such as mice and rats   
   on their breeding colonies. The researchers say exposure to plastics   
   may reduce the birds' resilience to these other threats.   
      
   The north-east Pacific, South Atlantic, and the south-west Indian   
   oceans have mid-ocean gyres full of plastic waste, where many species   
   of threatened seabird forage.   
      
   "Even species with low exposure risk have been found to eat plastic. This   
   shows that plastic levels in the ocean are a problem for seabirds   
   worldwide, even outside of these high exposure areas," said Dr Bethany   
   Clark, Seabird Science Officer at BirdLife International and joint   
   corresponding author of the study.   
      
   She added: "Many petrel species risk exposure to plastic in the waters   
   of several countries and the high seas during their migrations. Due   
   to ocean currents, this plastic debris often ends up far away from its   
   original source.   
      
   This highlights the need for international cooperation to tackle   
   plastic pollution in the world's oceans."  The study also found that   
   the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea together account for over half   
   of petrels' global plastic exposure risk. However, only four species of   
   petrel forage in these enclosed, busy areas.   
      
   The study was led by a partnership between the University of Cambridge,   
   BirdLife International and the British Antarctic Survey, in collaboration   
   with Fauna & Flora International, the 5 Gyres Institute, and over 200   
   seabird researchers in 27 countries.   
      
   It is published today in the journal Nature Communications.   
      
   To get their results, the researchers overlaid global location data,   
   taken from tracking devices attached to the birds, onto pre-existing   
   maps of marine plastic distribution. This allowed them to identify the   
   areas on the birds' migration and foraging journeys where they are most   
   likely to encounter plastics.   
      
   Species were given an 'exposure risk score' to indicate their risk   
   of encountering plastic during their time at sea. A number of already   
   threatened species scored highly, including the Critically Endangered   
   Balearic Shearwater, which breeds in the Mediterranean, and Newell's   
   Shearwater, endemic to Hawaii.   
      
   Another Endangered species, the Hawaiian Petrel also scored high for   
   plastic exposure risk, as did three species classified by the IUCN as   
   Vulnerable: the Yelkouan Shearwater, which breeds in the Mediterranean;   
   Cook's Petrel,which breeds in New Zealand, and the Spectacled Petrel,   
   which only breeds on an extinct volcano called Inaccessible Island,   
   part of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, a UK Overseas Territory.   
      
   "While the population-level effects of plastic exposure are not yet known   
   for most species, many petrels and other marine species are already in   
   a precarious situation. Continued exposure to potentially dangerous   
   plastics adds to the pressures," said Professor Andrea Manica at the   
   University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology, a co-author of the study.   
      
   He added: "This study is a big leap forward in understanding the   
   situation, and our results will feed into conservation work to try and   
   address the threats to birds at sea."  This research was funded by the   
   Cambridge Conservation Initiative's Collaborative Fund for Conservation,   
   sponsored by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, and the Natural   
   Environment Research Council.   
      
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   Source: Materials provided by University_of_Cambridge. The original   
   text of this story is licensed under a Creative_Commons_License. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Bethany L. Clark, Ana P. B. Carneiro, Elizabeth J. Pearmain, Marie-   
         Morgane Rouyer, Thomas A. Clay, Win Cowger, Richard A. Phillips,   
         Andrea Manica, Carolina Hazin, Marcus Eriksen, Jacob   
         Gonza'lez-Soli's, Josh Adams, Yuri V. Albores-Barajas, Joanna   
         Alfaro-Shigueto, Maria Saldanha Alho, Deusa Teixeira Araujo, Jose'   
         Manuel Arcos, John P. Y. Arnould, Nadito J. P. Barbosa, Christophe   
         Barbraud, Annalea M. Beard, Jessie Beck, Elizabeth A. Bell, Della   
         G. Bennet, Maud Berlincourt, Manuel Biscoito, Oskar K. Bjo/rnstad,   
         Mark Bolton, Katherine A. Booth Jones, John J. Borg, Karen   
         Bourgeois, Vincent Bretagnolle, Joe"l Bried, James V. Briskie, M.   
      
         de L. Brooke, Katherine C. Brownlie, Leandro Bugoni, Licia   
         Calabrese, Letizia Campioni, Mark J. Carey, Ryan D. Carle, Nicholas   
         Carlile, Ana R.   
      
         Carreiro, Paulo Catry, Teresa Catry, Jacopo G. Cecere, Filipe   
         R. Ceia, Yves Cherel, Chang-Yong Choi, Marco Cianchetti-Benedetti,   
         Rohan H.   
      
         Clarke, Jaimie B. Cleeland, Valentina Colodro, Bradley C. Congdon,   
         Jo'hannis Danielsen, Federico De Pascalis, Zoe Deakin, Nina   
         Dehnhard, Giacomo Dell'Omo, Karine Delord, Se'bastien Descamps,   
         Ben J. Dilley, Herculano A. Dinis, Jerome Dubos, Brendon J. Dunphy,   
         Louise M. Emmerson, Ana Isabel Fagundes, Annette L. Fayet, Jonathan   
         J. Felis, Johannes H.   
      
         Fischer, Amanda N. D. Freeman, Aymeric Fromant, Giorgia Gaibani,   
         David Garci'a, Carina Gjerdrum, Ivandra Soeli Gonc,alves Correia   
         Gomes, Manuela G. Forero, Jose' P. Granadeiro, W. James Grecian,   
         David Gre'millet, Tim Guilford, Gunnar Thor Hallgrimsson, Luke   
         R. Halpin, Erpur Snaer Hansen, April Hedd, Morten Helberg,   
         Halfdan H. Helgason, Leeann M. Henry, Hannah F. R. Hereward,   
         Marcos Hernandez-Montero, Mark A. Hindell, Peter J.   
      
         Hodum, Simona Imperio, Audrey Jaeger, Mark Jessopp, Patrick   
         G. R. Jodice, Carl G. Jones, Christopher W. Jones, Jo'n Einar   
         Jo'nsson, Adam Kane, Sven Kapelj, Yuna Kim, Holly Kirk, Yann   
         Kolbeinsson, Philipp L. Kraemer, Lucas Kru"ger, Paulo Lago, Todd   
         J. Landers, Jennifer L. Lavers, Matthieu Le Corre, Andreia Leal,   
         Maite Louzao, Jeremy Madeiros, Maria Magalha~es, Mark L. Mallory,   
         Juan F. Masello, Bruno Massa, Sakiko Matsumoto, Fiona McDuie,   
         Laura McFarlane Tranquilla, Fernando Medrano, Benjamin J.   
      
         Metzger, Teresa Milita~o, William A. Montevecchi, Rosalinda   
         C. Montone, Leia Navarro-Herrero, Vero'nica C. Neves, David   
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         Dominic P. Rollinson, Robert A. Ronconi, Andreu Rotger, Diego   
         Rubolini, Kevin Ruhomaun, Asuncio'n Ruiz, James C. Russell, Peter   
         G. Ryan, Sarah Saldanha, Ana Sanz-Aguilar, Mariona Sarda`-Serra,   
         Yvan G. Satge', Katsufumi Sato, Wiebke C. Scha"fer, Stefan   
         Schoombie, Scott A. Shaffer, Nirmal Shah, Akiko Shoji, Dave Shutler,   
         Ingvar A. Sigurd-sson, Mo'nica C.   
      
         Silva, Alison E. Small, Cecilia Soldatini, Hallvard Stro/m,   
         Christopher A. Surman, Akinori Takahashi, Vikash R. V. Tatayah,   
         Graeme A. Taylor, Robert J. Thomas, David R. Thompson, Paul   
         M. Thompson, Thorkell L.   
      
         Tho'rarinsson, Diego Vicente-Sastre, Eric Vidal, Ewan D. Wakefield,   
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         P. Dias. Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk   
         for oceanic birds. Nature Communications, 2023; 14 (1) DOI:   
         10.1038/s41467-023-38900-z   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230704110939.htm   
      
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