AUTHOR=Taurozzi Davide , Scalici Massimiliano 

TITLE=Seabirds from the poles: microplastics pollution sentinels

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1343617

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2024.1343617

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=Arctic and Antarctica represent two of the most inhospitable and poorly investigated biomes in the world. Although polar regions are still perceived as some of the most pristine places still existing, these remote places are no longer immune to anthropogenic pollution, in particular micro-and nanoplastics. Seabirds, avian species feeding mainly at sea, are indictors of change in the environment and represent an early study group of ecological indicators for plastic pollution. The goal of this bibliometric overview is to evaluate international research trends on the impacts of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) on the seabirds inhabiting polar regions. A total of at least 13 seabird species were reported to have ingested MPs for the period of 1983-2023. Overall, 1130 samples were investigated, including stomach content, pouch content, guano, and pellets. Pellets were the most investigated substrate (699), followed by stomach contents (309), guano (101) and pouch contents (21). A median of 31.5 MPs per sample were found in Arctic, with an average of 7.2 MPs per sample. A median of 35 MPs per sample were found in Antarctica, with an average of 1.1 MPs per sample. In total, MPs' most frequently found characteristics were fragments. A total of 3526 MPs were retrieved from stomachs (3013), pellets (398), guano (75), and pouch contents (40). Polyethylene was the dominant plastic polymer found, followed by polypropylene and polystyrene. The monitoring of MPs ingestion is crucial to mitigate impacts on marine and terrestrial organisms. Standardized protocols could give a boost to safeguard of seabirds and reduce MPs impacts on polar regions.