Lb. Spear et al., INCIDENCE OF PLASTIC IN SEABIRDS FROM THE TROPICAL PACIFIC, 1984-91 -RELATION WITH DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES, SEX, AGE, SEASON, YEAR AND BODY-WEIGHT, Marine environmental research, 40(2), 1995, pp. 123-146
The incidence of plastic in seabirds was studied (number of individual
s of a species containing plastic per number inspected, and number of
particles per individual), in 1574 individuals representing 36 species
of seabirds collected in the tropical Pacific, mostly between 110 and
150 degrees W longitude, fr om 1984 to 1991. Incidence of plastic was
lower in resident species compared to those which bred to the south o
r north but wintered in the region, and especially when compared to sp
ecies that crossed the tropics in migration between the South and Nort
h Pacific. Seasonal and age-related patterns in incidence of plastic,
number of particles, and particle type (pellets versus user-plastic) a
mong a group of five Procellariiform species (each with > 5% of the in
dividuals containing plastic and for which samples were > 20 birds) in
dicated that degradation for an individual particle in the gizzard req
uired less than one year, and that little plastic was regurgitated by
parents to chicks. Two patterns emerged from this data regarding body
weight: (i) heavier birds (for a given species, age-class, season and
year) were move likely to contain at feast some plastic, from which we
hypothesize that birds in better physical condition fed more often in
areas where higher densities of plastic and food are found, such as f
ronts and convergences; and (ii) among individuals who contained plast
ic (grouped by species), there was a significant negative correlation
between number of plastic particles and body weight. This is the first
solid evidence for a negative relationship between plastic ingestion
and physical condition in seabirds. The likelihood that higher quality
individuals are more prone to ingestplastic has serious implications
regarding health of some seabird populations.