Seminary of Roxana Suehring

Professor Roxana Suehring, Toronto Metropolitan University

Plastic contaminants in Arctic seabirds

Abstract:

Arctic seabirds are bioconcentrators for plastic particles that they ingest through food and subsequently egest at and around their colonies. While the presence of plastic particles in Arctic seabirds has been well documented, it is not yet understood to what extent these particles can act as transport vehicles for plastic contaminants including legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs), trace metals, and organic plastic additives. With the presented research we investigated the occurrence and pattern of organic and inorganic plastic contaminants as co-contaminants of plastic particles in two seabird species from the Canadian High Arctic – northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) and black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). The results of our study showed that differences in foraging behavior between the two species had a significant impact on the plastic particle loads the birds ingested. Higher foraging distances resulted in higher plastic contamination loads, indicating that birds could act as long-range transport vectors for plastic pollution. It also showed a potential connection between plastic additive contamination and plastic particle loads in the bird stomachs, highlighting the importance of treating plastic particles and organic plastic-additives as co-contaminants rather than separate pollution issues.