Plastic pollution, that’s where seabirds are most at risk
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In addition to fish, birds are also sensitive to marine pollution. Especially the migratory ones who mistake plastic for food and ingest large quantities of it. Or they get entangled in waste. Particularly at risk among oceanic seabirds are the petrels, not only because they cover great distances during the migration phase, but because due to their structure, the plastic remains for longer periods in their digestive tract. Which is why they are considered particularly vulnerable to plastic exposure.
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A group of researchers from BirdLife International in Cambridge has published in the scientific journal Nature Communication dedicated to marine pollution, a recent study which quantified the danger of exposure to plastic for 77 species of petrels, including shearwaters, fulmars and prions, on a scale globally by identifying areas of high risk of exposure to plastics. It was thus discovered that the areas considered most dangerous for these migratory birds were located in MediterraneanIn the black Sea and in some of the so-called Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ: adjacent to territorial waters in which States are entitled to the management of natural resources, the installation of artificial structures, scientific research) both of United States that of Japan he was born in United Kingdom.
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Given the increase in marine plastic pollution and its uneven distribution around the world, understanding where seabirds encounter and are at risk from plastics is critical to determining what mitigation and conservation actions to take.
Examined the passage of 7 thousand birds
To investigate the overlap between petrels and oceanic plastics, Bethany Clark research coordinator and colleagues at BirdLife International in Cambridge examined the overlap (in space and time) between the density of marine plastic and the individual tracking data of the passage of more than 7,000 birds. The authors compared exposure risks across populations, seasons and jurisdictions, including high seas areas outside the EEZs of coastal nations. So they discovered that Threatened species, such as the Balearic shearwater, Newell’s shearwater and Hawaiian petrels, have a higher risk of exposure. This is particularly worrying for species already threatened with extinction due to, for example, overfishing and climate change.
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The authors also found that the risk of exposure occurred mainly outside the Exclusive Economic Zones, precisely in those places where seabirds choose to breed. So what to do? The only way to protect endangered species is for coastal states to make decisions together. The words of the Cambridge scientists leave no doubt: ‘International collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastics on a wide variety of species.’
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