Levels of ingested debris vary across species in Canadian Arctic seabirds

Plastic debris has become a major pollutant in the world's oceans and is found in many seabird species from low to high latitudes. Here we compare levels of plastic ingestion from two surface feeders, northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) and black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), and two...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Pollution Bulletin
Main Authors: Poon, F.E. (Florence E.), Provencher, J.F. (Jennifer F.), Mallory, M.L. (Mark L.), Braune, B.M. (Birgit M.), Smith, P.A. (Paul A.)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2017
Subjects:
Debris
Foraging guild
Marine birds
Plastic
Pollution
Arctic
Cepphus grylle
Fulmarus glacialis
rissa tridactyla
Uria lomvia
uria
Online Access:https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/11621
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.11.051
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Summary:Plastic debris has become a major pollutant in the world's oceans and is found in many seabird species from low to high latitudes. Here we compare levels of plastic ingestion from two surface feeders, northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) and black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), and two pursuit diving species, thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) and black guillemots (Cepphus grylle) in the Canadian high Arctic. This is the first report quantifying plastic ingestion in kittiwakes in this region, and as predicted, kittiwakes and fulmars had higher frequency of plastic ingestion than guillemots and murres. Despite this, amounts of plastic ingested by birds remain lower than regions farther south.

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