Jennifer F. Provencher

Prevalence of marine debris in marine birds from the North Atlantic.

Marine birds have been found to ingest plastic debris in many of the worlds oceans. Plastic accumulation data from necropsies findings and regurgitation studies are presented on 13 species of marine birds in the North Atlantic, from Georgia, USA to Nunavut, Canada and east to southwest Greenland and the Norwegian Sea. Of the species examined, the two surface plungers (great shearwaters Puffinus gravis; northern fulmars Fulmarus glacialis) had the highest prevalence of ingested plastic (71% and 51%, respectively). Great shearwaters also had the most pieces of plastics in their stomachs, with some individuals containing as many of 36 items. Seven species contained no evidence of plastic debris. Reporting of baseline data as done here is needed to ensure that data are available for marine birds over time and space scales in which we see changes in historical debris patterns in marine environments (i.e. decades) and among oceanographic regions.

Quantifying ingested debris in marine megafauna: a review and recommendations for standardization

Plastic pollution has become one of the largest environmental challenges we currently face. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has listed it as a critical problem, comparable to climate change, demonstrating both the scale and degree of the environmental problem. Mortalities due to entanglement in plastic fishing nets and bags have been reported for marine mammals, turtles and seabirds, and to date over 690 marine species have been reported to ingest plastics. The body of literature documenting plastic ingestion by marine megafauna (i.e. seabirds, turtles, fish and marine mammals) has grown rapidly over the last decade, and it is expected to continue grow as researchers explore the ecological impacts of marine pollution. Unfortunately, a cohesive approach by the scientific community to quantify plastic ingestion by wildlife is lacking, which is now hindering spatial and temporal comparisons between and among species/organisms. Here, we discuss and propose standardized techniques, approaches and metrics for reporting debris ingestion that are applicable to most large marine vertebrates. As a case study, we examine how the use of standardized methods to report ingested debris in Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) has enabled long term and spatial trends in plastic pollution to be studied. Lastly, we outline standardized metric recommendations for reporting ingested plastics in marine megafauna, with the aim to harmonize the data that are available to facilitate large-scale comparisons and meta-analyses of plastic accumulation in a variety of taxa. If standardized methods are adopted, future plastic ingestion research will be better able to inform questions related to the impacts of plastics across taxonomic, ecosystem and spatial scales.

Plastic ingestion in marine-associated bird species from the eastern North Pacific

In addition to monitoring trends in plastic pollution, multi-species surveys are needed to fully understand the pervasiveness of plastic ingestion. We examined the stomach contents of 20 bird species collected from the coastal waters of the eastern North Pacific, a region known to have high levels of plastic pollution. We observed no evidence of plastic ingestion in Rhinoceros Auklet, Marbled Murrelet, Ancient Murrelet or Pigeon Guillemot, and low levels in Common Murre (2.7% incidence rate). Small sample sizes limit our ability to draw conclusions about population level trends for the remaining fifteen species, though evidence of plastic ingestion was found in Glaucous-Winged Gull and Sooty Shearwater. Documenting levels of plastic ingestion in a wide array of species is necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding about the impacts of plastic pollution. We propose that those working with bird carcasses follow standard protocols to assess the levels of plastic ingestion whenever possible.

Plastic ingestion by fulmars and shearwaters at Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

Plastic pollution is widespread in the marine environment, and plastic ingestion by seabirds is now widely reported for dozens of species. Beached Northern Fulmars, Great Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters and Corys Shearwaters are found on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada regularly, and they can be used to assess plastic pollution. All species except Corys Shearwaters contained plastic debris in their gastrointestinal tracts. Northern Fulmars, Sooty Shearwaters and Great Shearwaters all showed high prevalence of plastic ingestion (>72%), with Northern Fulmars having the highest number and mass of plastics among the species examined. There was no difference in plastic ingestion between sexes or age classes. In all species user plastics made up the majority of the pieces found, with industrial pellets representing only a small proportion in the samples. Sable Island could be an important monitoring site for plastic pollution in Atlantic Canada.

Opinion: Why we need an international agreement on marine plastic pollution

Plastic pollution is strewn across beaches and in oceans, bays, and estuaries. Tiny particles of plastic debris (often called microplastics) are so pervasive in aquatic ecosystems that we find them in seafood (1) and table salt (2). Marine organisms ingest or are entangled by plastic, sometimes with fatal consequences. Research suggests plastic pollution may impact biodiversity, ecosystem services, food security, and human health. In short, plastic pollution is a global threat. Plastics are accumulating across the globe at an astounding pace, even in remote places like the one pictured here—the uninhabited Henderson Island in the South Pacific. The time is ripe for an international agreement with measurable reduction targets to lessen the plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. Reprinted with permission from ref. 19. Despite the ubiquity, persistence, and cross-boundary nature of plastic pollution, stemming it is not an insurmountable task. Motivation for addressing the issue is building at the international level. The time is ripe for the initiation of an international agreement with measurable reduction targets to lessen the plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. An estimated 4.4–12.7 million metric tons of plastic are added to the oceans annually (3). Like many other contaminants (such as greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances), plastic is not constrained by national boundaries, because it migrates via water and air currents and settles in benthic sediments. More than 50% of the ocean’s area sits beyond national jurisdiction, including the infamous “garbage patches” in oceanic gyres where plastic accumulates. Plastic can affect organisms at every level of biological organization—altering gene expression, cells and tissues, causing death, and altering population size and community structure (4). Microplastics can impair reproduction and development (5) and alter how species function, disperse, and assemble (4, 6). These impacts, combined with evidence for accelerating plastic production and emissions into … [↵][1]2To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: chelsea.rochman{at}utoronto.ca. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

Plastic debris in great skua (Stercorarius skua) pellets corresponds to seabird prey species.

Plastic is a common item in marine environments. Studies assessing seabird ingestion of plastics have focused on species that ingest plastics mistaken for prey items. Few studies have examined a scavenger and predatory species that are likely to ingest plastics indirectly through their prey items, such as the great skua (Stercorarius skua). We examined 1034 regurgitated pellets from a great skua colony in the Faroe Islands for plastics and found approximately 6% contained plastics. Pellets containing remains of Northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) had the highest prevalence of plastic. Our findings support previous work showing that Northern fulmars have higher loads of plastics than other sympatric species. This study demonstrates that marine plastic debris is transferred from surface feeding seabird species to predatory great skuas. Examination of plastic ingestion in species that do not ingest plastics directly can provide insights into how plastic particles transfer vertically within the food web.

Organohalogen contaminants and total mercury in forage fish preyed upon by thick-billed murres in northern Hudson Bay.

Twelve marine fish species collected from a thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) breeding colony in northern Hudson Bay in the Canadian Arctic during 2007-2009 were analyzed for legacy organochlorines (e.g. PCBs, DDT), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), perfluorinated carboxylates (PFCAs) and sulfonates (PFSAs), and total mercury (Hg). No one species of prey fish had the highest levels across all contaminant groups analyzed. For the two pelagic fish species sampled, concentrations of the major organochlorine groups (e.g. Σ21PCB, ΣDDT, ΣCHL, ΣCBz), ΣPBDE, ΣPFCA and Hg were consistently higher in Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) than in capelin (Mallotus villosus). Biomagnification factors from whole fish to thick-billed murre liver across all species were generally higher for Σ21PCB and ΣDDT. ΣPBDE did not biomagnify.

Implications of mercury and lead concentrations on breeding physiology and phenology in an Arctic bird

Although physiological traits and phenology are thought to be evolved traits, they often show marked variation within populations, which may be related to extrinsic factors. For example, trace elements such as mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) alter biochemical processes within wildlife that may affect migration and breeding. While there is a growing understanding of how contaminants may influence wildlife physiology, studies addressing these interactions in free-living species are still limited. We examined how four non-essential trace elements (cadmium, Hg, Pb and selenium) interacted with physiological and breeding measures known to influence breeding in a free-living population of common eider ducks (Somateria mollissima). We collected blood from female eiders as they arrived at a breeding colony in northern Canada. Blood was subsequently assessed for baseline corticosterone (CORT), immunoglobulin Y (IgY), and the four trace elements. We used model selection to identify which elements varied most with CORT, IgY, arrival condition, and arrival timing. We then used path analysis to assess how the top two elements from the model selection process (Hg and Pb) varied with metrics known to influence reproduction. We found that arrival date, blood Hg, CORT, and IgY showed significant inter-annual variation. While blood Pb concentrations were low, blood Pb levels significantly increased with later arrival date of the birds, and varied negatively with eider body condition, suggesting that even at low blood concentrations, Pb may be related to lower investment in reproduction in eiders. In contrast, blood Hg concentrations were positively correlated with eider body condition, indicating that fatter birds also had higher Hg burdens. Overall, our results suggest that although blood Hg and Pb concentrations were below no-effect levels, these low level concentrations of known toxic metals show significant relationships with breeding onset and condition in female eider ducks, factors that could influence reproductive success in this species.

Mercury concentrations in feathers of marine birds in Arctic Canada.

Mercury (Hg) concentrations are a concern in the Canadian Arctic, because they are relatively high compared to background levels and to similar species farther south, and are increasing in many wildlife species. Among marine birds breeding in the Canadian Arctic, Hg concentrations have been monitored regularly in eggs and intermittently in livers, but feathers have generally not been used as an indicator of Hg exposure or burden. We examined Hg concentrations in six marine bird species in the Canadian Arctic. Ivory gull Pagophila eburnea, feather Hg was exceptionally high, while glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus feather Hg was unexpectedly low, and ratios of feather THg to egg THg varied across species. The proportion of total Hg that was comprised of methyl Hg in ivory gull feathers was lower than in other species, and may be related to photo-demethylation or keratin breakdown in semi-opaque feather tissue.

Trace element concentrations and gastrointestinal parasites of Arctic terns breeding in the Canadian High Arctic.

Baseline data on trace element concentrations are lacking for many species of Arctic marine birds. We measured essential and non-essential element concentrations in Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) liver tissue and brain tissue (mercury only) from Canadas High Arctic, and recorded the presence/absence of gastrointestinal parasites during four different phases of the breeding season. Arctic terns from northern Canada had similar trace element concentrations to other seabird species feeding at the same trophic level in the same region. Concentrations of bismuth, selenium, lead and mercury in Arctic terns were high compared to published threshold values for birds. Selenium and mercury concentrations were also higher in Arctic terns from northern Canada than bird species sampled in other Arctic areas. Selenium, mercury and arsenic concentrations varied across the time periods examined, suggesting potential regional differences in the exposure of biota to these elements. For unknown reasons, selenium concentrations were significantly higher in birds with gastrointestinal parasites as compared to those without parasites, while bismuth concentrations were higher in Arctic terns not infected with gastrointestinal parasites.