Microplastics in Seabird Feces from Coastal Areas of Central Chile

Mendez-Sanhueza, Sebastian; Torres, Mariett; Pozo, Karla; Del Aguila, Gabriela; Hernandez, Fabián; Jacobsen, Camila; Echeverry, Diana

Keywords: marine pollution, Marine fauna, Plastic Waste, Wild Animals.

Abstract

Pollution from plastic waste thrown into the ocean affects all levels of the food chain. Marine species of birds are affected by plastic particles of different sizes, especially the mesoplastics (1 to 10 mm) found in their digestive tract, which mainly cause obstructions. In the case of microplastics (1.000 µm to 1 mm), their presence in the digestive tract of these species has been widely reported. We studied fecal samples of the Dominican gull (Larus dominicanus) (n = 14), Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) (n = 8), and Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) (n = 1) obtained from the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of the Biobío region, Chile. Microfibers of various colors were present in the feces of Dominican gulls and Magellanic penguins, corresponding mainly in composition to polypropylene (PP) (83%) and rayon (77%). These results demonstrate that microplastic particles occur in the coastal environments of central Chile and suggest that they are probably circulating in the food chain.

Más información

Título según SCOPUS: ID SCOPUS_ID:85172792997 Not found in local SCOPUS DB
Título de la Revista: Animals
Volumen: 13
Editorial: MDPI
Fecha de publicación: 2023
DOI:

10.3390/ANI13182840

Notas: SCOPUS - ISI