Protected marine birds of the Mediterranean are increasingly ingesting plastic

The pollution produced through the plastic is increasingly affecting marine ecosystems and can have multiple harmful effects according to a recent study, in addition to the marine animals, seabirds in the Mediterranean also are ingesting plastics.

Often, turtles, marine mammals and birds, now also ingest plastic pieces accidentally â€" because they confuse the plastic objects with potential prey. These fragments can injure or obstruct the digestive system of these animals or release toxic chemicals, which have harmful effects on animal health of the marine ecosystem of the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean Sea is a location prone to risk caused by plastics due to large industrial areas located on the coast of the region.

This study is the first to analyze plastic ingestion by seabirds in the Mediterranean. Researchers collected approximately 171 animals that were accidentally caught in nets of fishing boats and eventually die, between May 2003 and June 2010, along the Catalan coast and the East coast of the Mediterranean. In total, nine different species were collected. The birds were dissected and the contents of stomachs was collected and analyzed.

The results indicate that 113 birds, about 66 percent, had at least one piece of plastic in the stomach. The average size of the fragments was of 3.5 mm and had an average weight of 2.26 milligrams. Pieces of bottles or plastic boxes were traces most frequently found, followed by bags and packaging.

The Atlantic Cory's Shearwater-Atlantic was the bird most affected, with about 94% of the animals collected accusing the ingestion of plastics. The three worst affected birds by eating plastic belong to the list of species at risk.

Foto: epSos.de/Creative Commons

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