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Plastic debris in marine birds from an island located in the South China Sea
Summary
Plastic debris including microplastics was found in the digestive tracts of seabirds from a South China Sea island, with blue plastic threads accounting for most of the contamination. Seabirds are sensitive indicators of ocean plastic pollution, and this study adds to global evidence of marine birds ingesting microplastics worldwide.
Plastic debris has become one of the most serious issues in the marine environment, but little information is available on the occurrence of plastic debris in marine birds from China. In this study, one seabird species and two shorebird species were collected from Yongxing Island of South China Sea to investigate the accumulation of plastic debris. A total of 56 items of plastic debris were observed in 4 of 9 birds, with size ranging from 0.67 to 8.64 mm. Microplastics (<5 mm, 52 items) accounted for 92.9% of the total items. The main color of plastic debris in marine birds was blue (91.1%), followed by dark (5.4%) and white (3.6%). The primary shape of plastic debris was thread (89.2%), followed by sheet (8.9%) and foam (1.8%). Plastic fragments were predominated by polypropylene-polyethylene copolymer (83.9%). This study highlighted that marine birds can mistake plastic debris as food items.