摘要
塑料污染是全球性的环境污染物。塑料微粒在环境中分解成较小的碎片,这些小碎片现在通常被动物所摄取。到目前为止,大多数塑料摄入研究的重点是评估残留塑料或反刍塑料,但很可能动物也会排泄塑料和其他碎片。我们检查了海鸟胃肠道的末端部分,这是众所周知的一种常见的吸食塑料的海鸟-北方富勒鱼(FulmarusGreatalalis),以确定海鸟是否通过鸟粪排出微塑料和其他碎片。我们还研究了如何将鸟粪收集作为残留塑料的指标。微塑料的出现频率与肠道和粪便前驱样品之间没有相关性,但肠道中的塑料片数与鸟粪中的微塑料数量呈正相关。我们的发现表明,海鸟在海洋环境中充当微塑料和废弃物的载体,它们的鸟粪聚集在它们的菌落周围。殖民海鸟对微型塑料和碎片的这种运输需要进一步审查,并在为发现海鸟聚居区的微型塑料设计环境监测时加以考虑。
Abstract
Plastic pollution is global environmental contaminant. Plastic particulates break down into smaller fragments in the environment, and these small pieces are now commonly found to be ingested by animals. To date, most plastic ingestion studies have focused on assessing retained plastics or regurgitated plastics, but it is likely that animals also excrete plastic and other debris items. We examined the terminal portion of the gastrointestinal tract of a seabird known to commonly ingest plastics, the Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), to determine if seabirds excrete microplastics and other debris via their guano. We also examine how guano collections may be used as an indicator of retained plastics. The frequency of occurrence of microplastics did not correlate between the gut and faecal precursor samples, but there was a positive relationship between the number of pieces of plastics in the gut and the number of microplastics in the guano. Our findings suggest that seabirds are acting as vectors of microplastics and debris in the marine environment where their guano accumulates around their colonies. This transport of microplastics and debris by colonial seabirds needs to be further examined, and considered when designing environmental monitoring for microplastics in regions where seabird colonies are found.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30743860