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Microplastic contamination in terrestrial ecosystems: A study using barn owl (Tyto alba) pellets
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Researchers analyzed barn owl pellets as a non-invasive method to assess microplastic contamination in terrestrial ecosystems. The study found confirmed microplastics in 33% of pellets collected from three agricultural areas, with polyethylene terephthalate microfibres being the most common type, suggesting that barn owl pellet analysis could serve as a cost-effective monitoring tool for terrestrial microplastic pollution.
Microplastics (MPs) are recognised as an emerging environmental problem that needs to be carefully monitored. So far, MPs have been widely recorded in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Still, few studies have focused on MP occurrence in terrestrial ecosystems, although soils are suspected to be one of the main MP reservoirs. To test a non-invasive method for assessing MP contamination in terrestrial ecosystems, we analysed the pellets of a top terrestrial predator, the barn owl (Tyto alba). Sixty pellets were collected from three agricultural areas (20 pellets each) and analysed to assess both barn owl diet and MP content. Thirty-four MPs were confirmed by micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (μ-FTIR) analysis in 33% of the pellets (min-max 1-5 MPs per pellet). Most of the detected items were microfibres (88.2%). Polyethylene terephthalate, polyacrylonitrile and polyamide were the most abundant polymers. One of the three sites was significantly less contaminated. In the two sites with the highest MP occurrences, barn owl diet was characterised by predation on synanthropic rodents, particularly brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), which may indicate habitat degradation and increased exposure to MPs. Analyses also suggest that Savi's pine vole (Microtus savii) is the prey least at risk of MP contamination, probably due to its strictly herbivorous diet. We argue that the analysis of barn owl pellets may represent a cost-effective method for monitoring MP contamination in terrestrial ecosystems.
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Researchers found evidence of microplastic contamination in barn owl pellets collected from two sites with different levels of human activity, marking the first such study of its kind. Several polymer types were identified in the pellets, indicating that microplastics are moving through terrestrial food chains to reach apex predators. The findings suggest that even wildlife in relatively natural landscapes is exposed to microplastic pollution through their prey.
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This study found microplastics in barn owl (Tyto alba) pellets collected at two sites in Portugal with different levels of human activity. As apex predators in terrestrial food chains, barn owls accumulate microplastics from the small mammals they eat, demonstrating that microplastic contamination extends through land-based food webs.
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