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First report on occurrence and characterization of microplastics in feces of Corvus splendens (Vieillot, 1817)
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Researchers found microplastics in 92% of fecal samples from Indian house crows (Corvus splendens), with polyester fibers dominating at 99% of particles and an average of 2.64 particles per sample. This first-ever report of microplastic ingestion in a terrestrial urban bird species highlights how plastic pollution has permeated even land-based wildlife food webs, far beyond marine and waterbird systems.
Microplastic (MP) pollution is ubiquitous throughout the planet and has become a global concern. There are many reports of microplastic ingestion by seabirds and inland waterbirds. However, only handful of studies have investigated the microplastic ingestion in the terrestrial birds. We are the first to report evidence of microplastics in the feces of Indian house crows Corvus splendens. Microplastics were detected in 92% of the fecal samples. Mean number of microplastics obtained for each feces was 2.64 ± 1.47 particles. Only two different shapes of microplastic were observed in our study—fibers (99%) and fragments (1%). Average length for microplastics was 1727.16 µm, and width was 27.07 µm. About 97% of the plastic particles were below 5 mm. Black was the prominent color of microplastics followed by blue and gray. FTIR–ATR revealed that polyester fibers were prominent (21.21%), followed by polypropylene (16.67%), LDPE (15.15%), HDPE (9.09%), cellulose acetate (7.58%), and nylon (6.06%). SEM revealed the degraded surface of microplastics and EDX revealed that carbon/oxygen ratio was 69:22 confirming that the microplastic was a polymer. Understanding the fate of microplastics in the terrestrial ecosystem is crucial, hence further broader works should be carried out to understand microplastics in the terrestrial ecosystem.
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