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Plastics and other anthropogenic debris in freshwater birds from Canada.
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This study quantified plastic debris ingestion in 17 freshwater and one marine bird species across Canada, finding that over 11% of individuals had ingested anthropogenic debris. The results show that plastic pollution in freshwater environments affects birds at rates comparable to marine species, highlighting the need to extend plastic pollution monitoring beyond the ocean.
Plastics in marine environments are a global environmental issue. Plastic ingestion is associated with a variety of deleterious health effects in marine wildlife, and is a focus of much international research and monitoring. However, little research has focused on ramifications of plastic debris for freshwater organisms, despite marine and freshwater environments often having comparable plastic concentrations. We quantified plastic and other anthropogenic debris in 350 individuals of 17 freshwater and one marine bird species collected across Canada. We determined freshwater birds' anthropogenic debris ingestion rates to be 11.1% across all species studied. This work establishes that plastics and other anthropogenic debris are a genuine concern for management of the health of freshwater ecosystems, and provides a baseline for the prevalence of plastic and other anthropogenic debris ingestion in freshwater birds in Canada, with relevance for many other locations.
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This 30-year review of 106 studies examines how birds in freshwater and land environments are affected by plastic pollution. Most research has focused on larger plastic pieces, while microplastic exposure in these bird species is understudied and nanoplastic exposure has not been investigated at all. The authors urge researchers to develop standardized methods for measuring small plastic particles in birds, which could serve as valuable warning signs of plastic pollution across ecosystems.
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Researchers reviewed how microplastic pollution affects terrestrial birds — key ecological indicators — finding documented harms including intestinal blockage and developmental disruption, with implications for entire food webs since birds that ingest plastics can concentrate and transfer contamination to other species, including humans.
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Researchers analyzed feces from three waterbird species (coot, mallard, shelduck) at five inland wetlands in Spain, finding plastic debris in 44–60% of individuals, suggesting that freshwater waterfowl ingest plastic at frequencies comparable to marine seabirds, likely from agricultural plastic debris surrounding the lakes.
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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.