Plastic ingestion in adult and fledgling Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus on Skomer Island, Wales

Alley, C.L., Arkless, S., Ames, E., Abrahams, M., Gentle, L.K. ORCID: 0000-0003-4864-5775 and Wood, M.J., 2022. Plastic ingestion in adult and fledgling Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus on Skomer Island, Wales. Seabird, 34. ISSN 1757-5842

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Abstract

Plastic debris is ubiquitous in the marine environment, and seabirds are among the most impacted marine vertebrates. Plastic ingestion was investigated in an internationally-important breeding population of Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus on Skomer Island, Wales in 2018–19. Opportunistic necropsies were carried out on a total of 34 birds to collect contents of the gastrointestinal tract: 13 adults in April – July 2018 and 12 fledglings during September 2019, and a further nine opportunistic necropsies carried out from adults in July – September 2018. The presence, quantity, size and colour of plastic in the gastrointestinal tract was investigated. Plastic was found in 71% of stomach contents (68% of adults, 75% of fledglings). Adults were found to have larger plastic pieces in their gastrointestinal tract than fledglings, and lighter birds had larger pieces of plastic in their tracts than heavier birds. This study shows that Manx Shearwaters on Skomer Island are vulnerable to plastic ingestion, and that adults are likely to pass plastic to their chicks.

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: Seabird
Creators: Alley, C.L., Arkless, S., Ames, E., Abrahams, M., Gentle, L.K. and Wood, M.J.
Publisher: Seabird Group
Date: 5 September 2022
Volume: 34
ISSN: 1757-5842
Identifiers:
NumberType
1595319Other
Divisions: Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences
Record created by: Linda Sullivan
Date Added: 08 Sep 2022 10:09
Last Modified: 08 Sep 2022 10:09
Related URLs:
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/46983

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