Rare seabirds found to be eating plastic and glitter
MOST Manx shearwater seabirds found dead on a Welsh island had eaten plastic and even bits of glitter, scientists have revealed.
The discovery on Skomer has raised fears of plastic ingestion becoming widespread among the species.
Researchers who checked the stomach contents of 34 adult and young birds found dead on the reserve a mile off Pembrokeshire said nine out of 12 fledglings and 15 out of 22 adults had ingested at least one piece of plastic.
In all, the shearwaters had swallowed more than 70 pieces of plastic – all smaller than 5mm, the scientists said.
Louise Gentle, a wildlife conservation researcher, said: “The majority of birds had at least one plastic piece in their gastrointestinal tract.
“Our study shows that Manx shearwaters on
Skomer island are vulnerable to plastic ingestion and that the adults are likely to pass plastic to their chicks.We even found glitter in one of the birds.”
Dr Gentle, of Nottingham Trent University’s school of animal, rural and environmental sciences, added: “It was shocking to see so much plastic in the chicks within the first few weeks of their lives.”
Skomer is home to around half the global population of Manx shearwaters: some 440,000 pairs breed there and on nearby island Skokholm.
The species is a surface feeder so may be tempted by floating plastic waste. The scientists found clear and yellow debris in the stomachs of adult birds, suggesting the plastic may have been mistaken for prey.
The waste may have come off fishing equipment, the researchers said. Manx shearwaters forage in the seas off Wales, Ireland, England and northwest Scotland, but spend their nonbreeding time in the South Atlantic off Uruguay and Argentina so may have eaten it far from Skomer.
The shearwaters may also be taking in plastic when they eat prey that did too.
The study coordinator Dr Matt Wood, senior biology lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire, said: “We need to know more. While it’s small amounts and nothing like the quantities that some seabirds can carry where plastic pollution is worse, such as the Pacific, it doesn’t mean it’s having no effect.”
Lisa Morgan, head of islands and marine at the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales which took part in the study, said: “It is concerning, not only for the welfare of the seabirds but for the entire marine ecosystem.
“It is vital that we all reduce the amount of plastic we use in our daily lives and call on the Government to get drastic on tackling plastic.”
The research was published in the journal Seabird.