The lifespan of ingested plastic particles in seabirds and their effect on digestive efficiency

The assimilation efficiencies of fledgling Whitechinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis artifically fed large quantities of plastic particles were assessed. No significant differences were detected in either assimilation efficiency or the rate of mass loss between experimental and control birds. Polyethylene pellets lost 1% of their mass after 12 days in the experimental birds' stomachs, suggesting a half-life of at least one year. No instances of plastic causing intestinal obstruction, and few cases of physical damage to the stomach lining, were found in over 400 individuals of 25 species of seabirds containing ingested plastic. These results suggest ingested plastic seldom impairs digestive efficiency in seabirds.     

GhostNet marine debris survey in the Gulf of Alaska--satellite guidance and aircraft observations

Marine debris, particularly debris that is composed of lost or abandoned fishing gear, is recognized as a serious threat to marine life, vessels, and coral reefs. The goal of the GhostNet project is the detection of derelict nets at sea through the use of weather and ocean models, drifting buoys and satellite imagery to locate convergent areas where nets are likely to collect, followed by airborne surveys with trained observers and remote sensing instruments to spot individual derelict nets. These components of GhostNet were first tested together in the field during a 14-day marine debris survey of the Gulf of Alaska in July and August 2003. Model, buoy, and satellite data were used in flight planning. A manned aircraft survey with visible and IR cameras and a LIDAR instrument located debris in the targeted locations, including 102 individual pieces of debris of anthropogenic or terrestrial origin.     

Seabirds as indicators of aquatic ecosystem conditions: A case for gathering multiple proxies of seabird health

The use of seabirds as sentinels of the condition of aquatic ecosystems has been well-established. Large environmental perturbations to aquatic food webs (e.g., chemical contamination, overfishing, particulate pollution) have all been detected or monitored by tracking seabirds at colonies. However, seabirds may elicit more subtle, sublethal responses that can also be used to track ecosystem health, or the health of seabird populations. In this article, we advocate for field researchers to plan a priori to collect a broader suite of samples when handling seabirds, and to reach out for collaboration with specialists (e.g., parasitologists, wildlife veterinarians). Collectively, such efforts will greatly improve our ability to establish baseline physiological and chemical levels for seabirds, against which we can detect future changes in aquatic ecosystems.     

Chronic oil pollution harms Magellanic penguins in the Southwest Atlantic

Petroleum pollution is a problem for seabirds along the Southwest Atlantic coast. Twenty-five groups from Salvador, Brazil (12 degrees 58'S) to San Antonio Oeste, Argentina (40 degrees 43'S) survey or rehabilitate sick or oiled seabirds. Four groups, one each in Brazil and Uruguay, and two in Argentina, kept counts of birds found alive and in need of rehabilitation. An average of 63.7% of the seabirds found were Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus), with 3869 reported since 1987. Mainly adult penguins were found in Argentina (1605 of 2102 penguins of known age class) and Uruguay (158 of 197). Juveniles were most common in Brazil (234 of 325). Oil fouling was the most frequent cause of injury or sickness. The number of oiled penguins reported in their wintering range has greatly increased since the early 1990s and is strongly correlated with petroleum exports from Argentina. Our results show that chronic petroleum pollution is a problem for wildlife from Southern Brazil through Northern Argentina, and regulations and enforcement are failing to protect living resources.     

Assessing indirect effects of oil in the presence of natural variation: The problem of reproductive failure in South Polar Skuas during the Bahia Paraiso oil spill

A population-wide mortality of South Polar Skua chicks occurred during a small diesel-oil spill at Palmer Station, Antarctica in 1989. It was hypothesized that sublethal oiling of adult South Polar Skuas temporarily disrupted parental guarding of chicks. Unattended chicks were preyed on by other skuas, and all known chicks within the local population were lost. Subsequently, other researchers have proposed that this reproductive failure was unrelated to the presence of oil. Natural variation producing food shortages or storms in critical periods occasionally may result in reproductive failure among seabirds. Here, evidence for these alternative hypotheses is examined. This controversy illuminates the general problem of determining the effects of an oil spill on natural populations, whose numbers and reproductive success vary both in time and space.     

Effects of sheens associated with offshore oil and gas development on the feather microstructure of pelagic seabirds

Operational discharges of hydrocarbons from maritime activities can have major cumulative impacts on marine ecosystems. Small quantities of oil (i.e., 10 ml) results in often lethally reduced thermoregulation in seabirds. Thin sheens of oil and drilling fluids form around offshore petroleum production structures from currently permissible operational discharges of hydrocarbons. Methodology was developed to measure feather microstructure impacts (amalgamation index or AI) associated with sheen exposure. We collected feather samples from two common North Atlantic species of seabirds; Common Murres (Uria aalge) and Dovekies (Alle alle). Impacts were compared after feather exposure to crude oil and synthetic lubricant sheens of varying thicknesses. Feather weight and microstructure changed significantly for both species after exposure to thin sheens of crude oil and synthetic drilling fluids. Thus, seabirds may be impacted by thin sheens forming around offshore petroleum production facilities from discharged produced water containing currently admissible concentrations of hydrocarbons.     

Danish seabird disasters in 1972

In recent years the Danish Game Biology Station has studied casualties to seabirds from oil pollution. 1972 was a particularly disastrous year and preliminary information on the events are given here. Very large losses of seabirds have been caused by quite small spillages of oil.     

Effect of moult on crude oil load in a jackass penguin Spheniscus demersus

Induced moult has been suggested as a technique for rehabilitating oiled seabirds. An oiled jackass penguin underwent natural moult in captivity. Analyses of oil extracted from premoult and postmoult feathers indicate little qualitative difference, with significant amounts of oil transferred from premoult to postmoult feathers. Inducing moult, therefore does not appear to be viable for cleaning oiled seabirds.     

Ecosystem effects of fishing activities in the North Sea

The North Sea harbours an intensive fishery which removes between 30 and 40% of the biomass of exploited fish species each year. In addition fishing causes mortality of non-target species of benthos, fish, seabirds and mammals. Heavy towed gears disturb the uppermost layer of the seabed and cause mortality of benthos, while gillnets accidentally entangle seabirds and marine mammals. Unwanted catch is usually returned to the sea where it is eaten by scavenging species, such as seabirds. Since the North Sea ecosystem is highly complex and exhibits a high natural variability, it has proved difficult to isolate the longer term consequences of these impacts. Until more is known about the environmental impact of fisheries management, action (or no action) will have to be agreed upon in the light of considerable scientific uncertainty.     

Barriers to movement: Modelling energetic costs of avoiding marine wind farms amongst breeding seabirds

Proposals for wind farms in areas of known importance for breeding seabirds highlight the need to understand the impacts of these structures. Using an energetic modelling approach, we examine the effects of wind farms as barriers to movement on seabirds of differing morphology. Additional costs, expressed in relation to typical daily energetic expenditures, were highest per unit flight for seabirds with high wing loadings, such as cormorants. Taking species-specific differences into account, costs were relatively higher in terns, due to the high daily frequency of foraging flights. For all species, costs of extra flight to avoid a wind farm appear much less than those imposed by low food abundance or adverse weather, although such costs will be additive to these. We conclude that adopting a species-specific approach is essential when assessing the impacts of wind farms on breeding seabird populations, to fully anticipate the effects of avoidance flights.     

Re-evaluating the use of beached bird oiling rates to assess long-term trends in chronic oil pollution

The oiling rate (oiled birds/total birds) has become the international standard to analyze beached bird survey data. However, this index may not reliably track long-term changes in marine oil pollution in regions where other activities that kill seabirds vulnerable to oil, such as hunting and gill-netting, are also changing. We compare the oiling rate from beached bird surveys conducted in southeastern Newfoundland between 1984 and 2006 to an alternative approach, namely trends derived from a model examining the linear density of oiled birds (birds/km). In winter, there was no change in the oiling rate since 1984, while in summer oiling rates significantly increased. In contrast, the number of oiled birds/km showed a significant decline in both winter and summer. The discrepancy in these trends was attributed to steep declines in the number of unoiled birds found in both seasons. In winter, the decline in unoiled birds/km was related to a reduction in the legal murre hunt and less onshore winds, while in summer a reduced cod fishery resulting in fewer murres drowning in nets and warming summers may have lead to the decline. The significant declines in oiled birds/km over the past three decades are hopefully an indication of less oil being present in the marine environment. Although oiled bird densities since 2000 have remained relatively low for the region (winter: 0.58 birds/km, summer: 0.27 birds/km), they still exceed densities reported elsewhere in the world.     

Is marine debris ingestion still a problem for the coastal marine biota of southern Brazil?

The accumulation of synthetic debris in marine and coastal environments is a consequence of the intensive and continuous release of these highly persistent materials. This study investigates the current status of marine debris ingestion by sea turtles and seabirds found along the southern Brazilian coast. All green turtles (n = 34) and 40% of the seabirds (14 of 35) were found to have ingested debris. No correlation was found between the number of ingested items and turtle’s size or weight. Most items were found in the intestine. Plastic was the main ingested material. Twelve Procellariiformes (66%), two Sphenisciformes (22%), but none of the eight Charadriiformes were found to be contaminated. Procellariiformes ingested the majority of items. Plastic was also the main ingested material. The ingestion of debris by turtles is probably an increasing problem on southern Brazilian coast. Seabirds feeding by diverse methods are contaminated, highlighting plastic hazard to these biota.     

Seabirds indicate changes in the composition of plastic litter in the Atlantic and south-western Indian Oceans

I compare plastic ingested by five species of seabirds sampled in the 1980s and again in 1999-2006. The numbers of ingested plastic particles have not changed significantly, but the proportion of virgin pellets has decreased 44-79% in all five species: great shearwater Puffinus gravis, white-chinned petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis, broad-billed prion Pachyptila vittata, white-faced storm petrel Pelagodroma marina and white-bellied storm petrel Fregetta grallaria. The populations sampled range widely in the South Atlantic and western Indian Oceans. The most marked reduction occurred in great shearwaters, where the average number of pellets per bird decreased from 10.5 to 1.6. This species migrates between the South and North Atlantic each year. Similar decreases in virgin pellets have been recorded in short-tailed shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris in the Pacific Ocean and northern fulmars Fulmarus glacialis in the North Sea. More data are needed on the relationship between plastic loads in seabirds and the density of plastic at sea in their foraging areas, but the consistent decrease in pellets in birds suggests there has been a global change in the composition of small plastic debris at sea over the last two decades.     

The extent of chronic marine oil pollution in southeastern Newfoundland waters assessed through beached bird surveys 1984-1999

The Grand Banks south of Newfoundland provide year-round feeding habitat for tens of millions of seabirds of numerous species, an abundance and diversity unparalleled in the North Atlantic. Dense ship traffic routes traverse this productive environment as vessels travel the Great Circle Route between Europe and North America. Oiled seabirds have washed up on beaches in Newfoundland for many decades. Most oil on their feathers is heavy fuel oil mixed with lubricants, the mixture found in bilges of large vessels. Beached bird surveys conducted between 1984 and 1999 indicate that chronic oil pollution along the southeast coast of Newfoundland is among the highest in world. Sixty two percent of all dead birds found over the 16-year period had oil on their feathers; 74% during the last five years. Auks, especially Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia), are the most affected. The mean number of oiled birds per kilometer was 0.77 and thus higher than in other regions of the world during a comparable time period (0.02-0.33). Oiling rates correlated with weather patterns and degree of the regional murre hunt, indicate that illegal dumping of oil may occur year round, and point out that it is critical to assess all possible environmental and anthropogenic factors influencing the number of clean and oiled dead birds found on beaches before inferring trends in oiling rates over time.     

Ingested plastic in a diving seabird, the thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia), in the eastern Canadian Arctic

Plastic debris has become ubiquitous in the marine environment and seabirds may ingest debris which can have deleterious effects on their health. In the North Atlantic Ocean, surface feeding seabirds typically ingest high levels of plastic, while the diving auks which feed in the water column typically have much lower levels. We examined 186 thick-billed murres from five colonies in the eastern Canadian Arctic for ingested plastic debris. Approximately 11% of the birds had at least one piece of plastic debris in their gastrointestinal tracts, with debris dominated by user plastics. This is the first report of ingested plastics in an auk species in Canada’s Arctic, and the highest incidence of plastic ingestion to date for thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia).     

Declines in oil-rates of stranded birds in the North Sea highlight spatial patterns in reductions of chronic oil pollution

Strandings of oiled seabirds are used to signal the problem of chronic oil pollution. Species-specific oil rates reflect the risk for marine birds to become oiled at sea. High oil rates were characteristic for seabirds common in areas with frequent oil spills; low oil rates for birds wintering away from the busiest shipping lanes. Declining trends in oil-rates were found, reflecting a reduction in the amount of oil intentionally discharged over the past 50 years. Spatial patterns in the risk to become oiled could be identified, when the winter distribution patterns of the affected birds were incorporated in the analysis. Declines in oil rates were most pronounced in coastal birds. These trends were consistent with tendencies to police nearshore waters more effectively than offshore waters. While levels of chronic oil pollution are much reduced, future emphasis should be to reduce chronic oiling more effectively in offshore waters.     

Tracking contaminants in seabirds of Arctic Canada: temporal and spatial insights

Levels and trends of persistent organic pollutants and trace elements in seabirds breeding in the vast Canadian Arctic have been monitored since 1975. Data from this monitoring have indicated both spatial and temporal variation across the region, attributable in part to differences in species' diets, differences in regional deposition patterns, and unidirectional trends in contaminants reaching this area from emissions in temperate and tropical areas to the south. Seabird tissues have served as effective biomonitors to examine this variation, and national and international collaboration in this monitoring effort has promoted valuable synthetic assessments of spatial and temporal patterns in Arctic contaminants. Here we review the history of the monitoring program, the critical role played by Environment Canada's National Wildlife Specimen Bank, and we summarize important spatial and temporal trends in various contaminants in Canadian Arctic seabirds.     

Canadian seabird research

This article is a paper given at the Coastal Zone seminar held at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia last year. It gives a résumé of current research into the status and biology of Canadian seabirds.     

Gillnet fisheries as a major mortality factor of Magellanic penguins in wintering areas

The incidental capture in fisheries is probably the main conservation problem affecting seabirds. While the capture of albatrosses and petrels on longline hooks is well-known worldwide, the bycatch of diving seabirds in gillnets is an overlooked conservation problem. During a winter coastal fishing trip, the capture of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) was recorded in driftnet and bottom setnet fisheries for the first time in southern Brazil. The highest captures rates were found in driftnets, from 146.5 to 545.5 penguins/km² of net and a total of 56 dead penguins were recorded. In the bottom gillnet, a total of 12 birds were killed and the capture rates varied from 41.7 to 125.0 penguins/km² of net. Although preliminary, the results presented in this paper were consistent between sets. If we consider the magnitude of driftnet and setnet fishing fleets, and that most dead penguins were adults, the impact upon Magellanic penguin populations is probably significant.     

Organochlorine residue levels in three high arctic species of colonially-breeding seabirds from Prince Leopold Island

Levels of DDE and PCB residues in Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis, Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla and Thick-billed Murre Uria lomvia collected at Prince Leopold Island, Northwest Territories, between 1975 and 1977 are relatively low. Organochlorine levels were highest in all species in 1976, a year when lipid levels in all tissue examined (adult and chick liver, egg) were highest. Annual variation of DDE and PCB may thus be largely due to differences in nutritional and associated environmental conditions. The unusually high PCB/DDE ratio for the kittiwake cannot be explained by low DDE concentrations rather than by high concentrations of PCBs as suggested else-where. Data from Prince Leopold Island birds indicate both that DDE concentrations are low and that PCB concentrations are high. The evidence seems to suggest a differential ability by the kittiwake to metabolize and excrete organochlorines as compared to other seabirds. The data form an important baseline for high arctic colonially-breeding seabirds in Canada against which future organochlorine levels can be compared.