Seabirds are under threat from plastic found in thousands of nests across Britain and Europe, researchers warn
- Of 10,274 nests examined, over 12 per cent contained plastic debris of some kind
- The prevalence of debris in nests related to intensity of local human activity
- Data was collected on 14 seabird species in 84 colonies from 2016 to 2020
- Atlantic puffins were most affected with 67 per cent of nests containing plastic
Seabirds are coming under increasing threat from plastic waste, with thousands of nests across Britain and Europe found to contain the pollutant, researchers warned.
Over four years data on 10,274 nests across the UK, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and the Faroe Islands were studied by the University of the Highland and Islands.
Observers visiting seabird colonies for other monitoring activities were asked to help gather data as a cost effective and environmentally friendly way to conduct the study, which discovered 12 per cent of them contained plastic debris.
Information was collected from 14 seabird species in 84 colonies between 2016 and 2020, with Atlantic puffins most affected by plastic in their nests, they found.
In total 67 per cent of Atlantic puffin nests were found to contain plastic by the Scottish researchers, using data from people studying nests for other purposes.
The research found Atlantic puffins were the most affected species with 67 per cent of their nests containing some amount of plastic pollution
ATLANTIC PUFFINS WORST AFFECTED BY PLASTIC IN NESTS
No data was collected on Atlantic Puffins in the UK as they tend to breed in deep burrows rather than more open nests.
This means that it is difficult to record the contents of the nests compared to the shallower nest cavities in places like Norway and Svalbard.
Although Atlantic Puffin typically nest in burrows, they can line their nest with small items such as vegetation.
Occasional fragments of paper and fishing net have also been reported in burrows in the UK, although that wasn’t confirmed by this study.
Monitoring burrow nesting species for debris presents different challenges to those nesting on the surface.
However visual observation could be made of individuals returning to the burrow with nesting material, whilst endoscope cameras could be used to investigate the presence of debris within accessible burrow nests in future.
Dr Neil James, a post-doctoral research associate at the Environmental Research Institute, was one of the scientists involved in the project, and said marine plastic pollution is an increasing global environmental issue.
He said it poses a serious threat to marine biodiversity and ‘seabirds are particularly affected because of the risk of entanglement or ingestion.’
‘Our study found that a significant number of nests included plastic debris, with some species more likely to incorporate it than others,’ Dr James explained.
‘As well as providing important information about our seabird populations, this type of study can also reveal valuable insights into the prevalence of plastic in the marine environment.’
The extent to which seabirds incorporated debris into their nests across the UK, and northwest Europe, varied by species and location.
Cormorants and shags, and the three large gull species, showed a greater tendency to incorporate debris into their nests than other species.
Conversely, despite a large number of monitored nests and colonies, only a small number of Black-legged Kittiwake nests were found to contain debris.
Although, four colonies had more than 10 per cent of their nest made of debris, indicating that at a local level, particularly where thread-like debris is available, kittiwakes will incorporate debris into their nests.
Data was collected from 84 seabird colonies and analysed for evidence of plastic pollution
One nest, found on an oil rig in the Norwegian Sea, was nearly half plastic debris, likely due to a lack of local vegetation.
The team behind the study said using people already visiting seabird colonies for monitoring purposes to gather scientific data was an effective sollution.
It allowed them to study the spread of ‘debris over a large geographical scale, and wide range of species’ that wouldn’t otherwise be possible
‘Collecting data in this opportunistic way reduced the time and cost that would be required if all the seabird colonies included in this study were visited independently, especially colonies which require considerable planning and effort,’ they wrote.
The extent to which seabirds incorporated debris into their nests across the UK, and northwest Europe, varied by species and location
It also considerably reduced the amount of carbon emissions that would have been produced if they had to send a researcher to study each nest independently.
The cost of collecting the data included in this study by a single researcher would have been about £18,000 and would have involved travelling 13,000 miles.
This would have resulted in carbon emissions of 3.76 metric tons, all of which was avoided by using people already visiting the nests to gather extra information.
‘This approach also removed the potential of additional disturbance to breeding seabirds from extra visits to colonies during the breeding season,’ the team said.
The results of the study are published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin.
WHAT FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO ASSESS THE SPREAD AND IMPACT OF MICROPLASTICS?
The World Health Organisation’s 2019 report ‘Microplastics in Drinking Water’ outlined numerous areas for future research that could shed light on how far spread the problem of microplastic pollution is, how it may impact human health and what can be done to stop these particles from entering our water supplies.
How widespread are microplastics?
The following research would clarify the occurrence of microplastics in drinking-water and freshwater sources:
- More data are needed on the occurrence of microplastics in drinking-water to assess human exposure from drinking-water adequately.
- Studies on occurrence of microplastics must use quality-assured methods to determine numbers, shapes, sizes, and composition of the particles found. They should identify whether the microplastics are coming from the freshwater environment or from the abstraction, treatment, distribution or bottling of drinking-water. Initially, this research should focus on drinking-water thought to be most at risk of particulate contamination.
- Drinking-water studies would be usefully supplemented by better data on fresh water that enable the freshwater inputs to be quantified and the major sources identified. This may require the development of reliable methods to track origins and identify sources.
- A set of standard methods is needed for sampling and analysing microplastics in drinking-water and fresh water.
- There is a significant knowledge gap in the understanding of nanoplastics in the aquatic environment. A first step to address this gap is to develop standard methods for sampling and analysing nanoplastics.
What are the health implications of microplastics?
Although water treatment can be effective in removing particles, there is limited data specific to microplastics. To support human health risk assessment and management options, the following data gaps related to water treatment need to be addressed:
- More research is needed to understand the fate of microplastics across different wastewater and drinking-water treatment processes (such as clarification processes and oxidation) under different operational circumstances, including optimal and sub-optimal operation and the influence of particle size, shape and chemical composition on removal efficacy.
- There is a need to better understand particle composition pre- and post-water treatment, including in distribution systems. The role of microplastic breakdown and abrasion in water treatment systems, as well as the microplastic contribution from the processes themselves should be considered.
- More knowledge is needed to understand the presence and removal of nanoplastic particles in water and wastewater treatment processes once standard methods for nanoplastics are available.
- There is a need to better understand the relationships between turbidity (and particle counts) and microplastic concentrations throughout the treatment processes.
- Research is needed to understand the significance of the potential return of microplastics to the environment from sludge and other treatment waste streams.
To better understand microplastic-associated biofilms and their significance, the following research could be carried out:
- Further studies could be conducted on the factors that influence the composition and potential specificity of microplastic-associated biofilms.
- Studies could also consider the factors influencing biofilm formation on plastic surfaces, including microplastics, and how these factors vary for different plastic materials, and what organisms more commonly bind to plastic surfaces in freshwater systems.
- Research could be carried out to better understand the capacity of microplastics to transport pathogenic bacteria longer distances downstream, the rate of degradation in freshwater systems and the relative abundance and transport capacity of microplastics compared with other particles.
- Research could consider the risk of horizontal transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes in plastisphere microorganisms compared to other biofilms, such as those found in WWTPs.
Can water treatment stop microplastics entering our water supplies?
Although water treatment can be effective in removing particles, there is limited data specific to microplastics. To support human health risk assessment and management options, the following data gaps related to water treatment need to be addressed:
- More research is needed to understand the fate of microplastics across different wastewater and drinking-water treatment processes (such as clarification processes and oxidation) under different operational circumstances, including optimal and sub-optimal operation and the influence of particle size, shape and chemical composition on removal efficacy.
- There is a need to better understand particle composition pre- and post-water treatment, including in distribution systems. The role of microplastic breakdown and abrasion in water treatment systems, as well as the microplastic contribution from the processes themselves should be considered.
- More knowledge is needed to understand the presence and removal of nanoplastic particles in water and wastewater treatment processes once standard methods for nanoplastics are available.
- There is a need to better understand the relationships between turbidity (and particle counts) and microplastic concentrations throughout the treatment processes.
- Research is needed to understand the significance of the potential return of microplastics to the environment from sludge and other treatment waste streams.
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