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Detection of ultrafine plastics ingested by seabirds using tissue digestion.

Lavers, JL
; 
Stivaktakis, G
; 
Hutton, I
; 
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Issue Date
2019-04-06
Submitted Date
2019-07-03
Subject Terms
Extraction methods
Marine debris
Microplastic
Plastic pollution
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Life sciences
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Accepted/final draft post-refereeing
Microsoft Word XML, 2.96 MB
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Microsoft Word XML, 15.76 KB
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Abstract
Plastic debris is a major global threat to marine ecosystems and species. However, our knowledge of this issue may be incomplete due to a lack of a standardized method for quantifying ingested ultrafine particles (1 μm - 1 mm) in wildlife. This study provides the first quantification of ultrafine plastic in seabirds using chemical and biological digestion treatments to extract plastic items from seabird gizzards. The alkaline agent, potassium hydroxide, outperformed the enzyme corolase, based on cost and efficiency (e.g., digestion time). Ultrafine plastics were observed in 7.0% of Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes) gizzards collected from Lord Howe Island, Australia and accounted for 3.6% of all plastic items recovered (13 out of 359 items). Existing methods for extracting ingested plastic from seabirds do not account for ultrafine particles, therefore our results indicate current seabird plastic loads, and the associated physical and biological impacts, are underestimated.
Citation
Lavers, J. L., G. Stivaktakis, et al. (2019). "Detection of ultrafine plastics ingested by seabirds using tissue digestion." Marine Pollution Bulletin 142: 470-474.
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal
Marine Pollution Bulletin
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URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10141/622541
DOI
10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.04.001
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Journal Article
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The attached document is the author(’s’) final accepted/submitted version of the journal article. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it.
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1879-3363
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