Physical and chemical effects of ingested plastic debris on short-tailed shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris, in the North Pacific Ocean

We investigated the plastics ingested by short-tailed shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris, that were accidentally caught during experimental fishing in the North Pacific Ocean in 2003 and 2005. The mean mass of plastics found in the stomach was 0.23 g per bird (n = 99). Plastic mass did not correlate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Pollution Bulletin
Main Authors: Yamashita, Rei, Takada, Hideshige, Fukuwaka, Masa-aki, Watanuki, Yutaka
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier
Subjects:
Marine plastic debris
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
North Pacific Ocean
Plastic ingestion
Plastic contaminants
Short-tailed shearwater
452
Pacific
Puffinus tenuirostris
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2115/48357
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.10.008
Description
Summary:We investigated the plastics ingested by short-tailed shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris, that were accidentally caught during experimental fishing in the North Pacific Ocean in 2003 and 2005. The mean mass of plastics found in the stomach was 0.23 g per bird (n = 99). Plastic mass did not correlate with body weight. Total PCB (sum of 24 congeners) concentrations in the abdominal adipose tissue of 12 birds ranged from 45 to 529 ng/g-lipid. Although total PCBs or higher-chlorinated congeners, the mass of ingested plastic correlated positively with concentrations of lower-chlorinated congeners. The effects of toxic chemicals present in plastic debris on bird physiology should be investigated.

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