Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 119, Issue 2, Pages 68-73Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.04.012
Keywords
Plastic; Pollution; Marine birds; Ocean; South Atlantic Ocean; Tropical ecology
Funding
- Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)
- von Humboldt Foundation
- CAPES [BEX 0128/14-7]
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Marine debris such as plastic fragments and fishing gears are accumulating in the ocean at alarming rates. This study assesses the incidence of debris in the gastrointestinal tracts of seabirds feeding at different depths and found stranded along the Brazilian coast in the period 2010-2013. More than half (55%) of the species analysed, corresponding to 16% of the total number of individuals, presented plastic particles in their gastrointestinal tracts. The incidence of debris was higher in birds feeding predominantly at intermediate (3-6 m) and deep (20-100 m) waters than those feeding at surface ( < 2 m). These results suggest that studying the presence of debris in organisms mainly feeding at the ocean surface provides a limited view about the risks that this form of pollution has on marine life and highlight the ubiquitous and three-dimensional distribution of plastic in the oceans.
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