Shorebirds ingest plastics too

Abstract

This research summary present what we know, what we don’t know, and what we should do next about shorebirds ingesting plastics. Only 12% of the world’s shorebird species have been examined for plastics ingestion. Over half of those species contained some form of plastic. Shorebirds are long-distance migrants that move between some of the cleanest and most polluted habitats on Earth during their annual cycle. With global concern over declining trends in many shorebird populations, evaluating threats to shorebird species and their habitats is a first step towards developing plans for conservation. This is well underway for many threats, such as habitat loss, harvest, and climate change, but relatively little attention has been given to the threat of plastics pollution on shorebird populations. There is evidence that flyway geography, foraging habitat, and foraging mode may affect the susceptibility of a shorebird to ingesting plastics. Researchers are encouraged to consider adding plastics pollution evaluation protocols to their programs to help improve our knowledge on this potential threat. This work was conducted under the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) and International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) Fellowship as a contribution to the Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI), Americas Flyway 2019-2025 Action 5.2 to “promote studies that assess the prevalence and impacts of plastic contamination in shorebird populations in the Arctic”.