We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Little change in plastic loads in South Atlantic seabirds since the 1980s.
AI summary Read the abstract
Analysis of regurgitated material from brown skuas at Tristan da Cunha showed no significant increase in plastic loads in South Atlantic seabirds between the 1980s and 2018, despite growing global plastic production. The authors caution that this may reflect the birds' ability to regurgitate ingested plastic before it accumulates, rather than a true absence of plastic in the environment.
Despite growing concern about the large amounts of waste plastic in marine ecosystems, evidence of an increase in the amount of floating plastic at sea has been mixed. Both at-sea surveys and ingested plastic loads in seabirds show inconsistent evidence of significant increases in the amount of plastic since the 1980s. We use 3727 brown skua Catharacta antarctica regurgitations, each containing the remains of a single seabird, to monitor changes in plastic loads in four seabird taxa breeding at Inaccessible Island, Tristan da Cunha in nine years from 1987 to 2018. Frequency of occurrence in plastic ingestion and types were compared across four near-decadal time periods (1987-1989; 1999-2004; 2009-2014 and 2018) while loads were compared among years. The number and proportions of industrial pellets among ingested plastic decreased consistently over the study period in all four taxa, suggesting that industry initiatives to reduce pellet leakage have reduced the numbers of pellets at sea. Despite global plastic production increasing more than four-fold over the study period, there was no consistent increase in the total amount of ingested plastic in any species. Plastic loads in great shearwaters Ardenna gravis, which spend the austral winter in the North Atlantic Ocean, increased in 2018, but the proportion of shearwaters containing plastic decreased. We conclude that the density of plastic floating at sea has not increased in line with global production over the last 30 years.
More Papers Like This
Long-term variations in size and polymer type of meso- and microplastics in seabirds and on beaches since the 1980s
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers analyzed plastics found in seabird stomachs and on beaches at a remote South Atlantic island across several decades since the 1980s to track long-term changes in marine plastic pollution. They found shifts in the types and sizes of plastic polymers over time, reflecting changes in global plastic production and how plastics degrade at sea. The study demonstrates that seabirds can serve as effective long-term monitors of floating plastic pollution trends in the ocean.
Low and steady: Minimal change in plastic exposure in Kermadec Petrels in the remote South Pacific.
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers documented plastic ingestion in Kermadec Petrels on remote South Pacific islands and found that ingestion rates have remained stable over more than 30 years — in contrast to related species nearby — suggesting these birds may selectively avoid plastic or forage in lower-contamination zones.
Frequency of plastic occurrence varies across phylogeny but not ecology in seabirds.
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers examined plastic ingestion records from over 93,000 seabirds across 240 species. Plastic was found in 76% of species, with pelicans most affected and penguins least affected. A bird's family group, rather than its diet, feeding method, or body size, best predicted whether plastic was found.
When Absence of Evidence Is Not Evidence of Absence: What an Advanced Case Reveals about Plastic Impacts on Seabirds.
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers examined plastic impacts on Sable Shearwaters, which carry some of the highest documented plastic burdens of any seabird and exhibit clear physiological and demographic harm even at low exposure, arguing that widespread assumptions of minimal population-level plastic impacts across marine birds reflect an absence of evidence rather than evidence of absence.
Plastic ingestion in seabirds of the western Indian Ocean
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers examined stomach contents of 222 seabirds from nine species in the western Indian Ocean and found plastic in all species, with tropical shearwaters (79%) and Barau's petrels (59%) most affected, and juvenile birds carrying significantly greater plastic mass than adults, indicating regional ocean plastic pollution and age-dependent exposure risks.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.