Ingestion of plastics and other debris by coastal and pelagic birds along the coast of Espírito Santo, Eastern Brazil

VANSTREELS, RALPH ERIC THIJL; GALLO, LUCIANA; SERAFINI, PATRICIA P.; SANTOS, ALLAN P.; EGERT, LEANDRO; UHART, MARCELA M.

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2021 vol. 173

0025-326X

Although the ingestion of plastics and other anthropogenic debris by seabirds is a global problem, few studies have employed standardized protocols to quantify and classify the debris ingested by seabirds in the Southwest Atlantic. We evaluated the ingestion of marine debris (items >0.1 mm) by 126 coastal and pelagic birds (19 species) along the coast of Espírito Santo, Eastern Brazil. Debris were found in 30% of birds examined (11 species). Particles 0.1 g of plastic debris was recorded in five species: Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses (Thalassarche chlororhynchos), Cory´s shearwaters (Calonectris borealis), Manx shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus), brown boobies (Sula leucogaster), and Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus). Our findings suggest that the ingestion of marine debris, especially plastics, is a common problem for coastal and pelagic birds in tropical Southwest Atlantic waters.