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187
Marine Ornithology 32: 187–189 (2004)
Plastic ingestion by seabirds is well documented (see Laist 1997
for a list of species with ingestion records). However, cases
definitively attributing seabird mortality to ingestion of plastic are
rare. Seabirds that die from ingestion often suffer obstruction of the
gastrointestinal tract. Ultimately, the birds die of starvation and
often quickly sink in the ocean’s waters or are scavenged (van Pelt
& Piatt 1995, Wiese 2003).
Many of the studies that attempt to determine baseline levels of
plastic ingestion and associated health risks use pre-fledglings or
apparently healthy birds, and therefore probably underestimate
associated health risks of plastic ingestion (e.g. Connors & Smith
1982, Furness 1983, Ryan 1987a, Sileo et al. 1990, Moser & Lee
1992, Robards et al. 1995, Spear et al. 1995, Auman et al. 1997,
Blight & Burger 1997). The few experimental studies that explored
plastic ingestion have force-fed birds small, rounded industrial
pellets that lack the fragmented nature and sharp edges of the user
plastic in the world’s oceans (Ryan & Jackson 1987, Ryan 1988).
Furthermore, a limited number of studies have necropsied beached
birds (but see Stephen & Burger 1994), including those received
alive by wildlife clinics and rehabilitation centers. Often, only with
a clinical history can a necropsy pinpoint a precise cause of death.
Plastic enters the ocean via waste disposal from merchant and
fishing vessels, offshore dumping, accidental or deliberate
discharge of the raw pellets used by the plastics industry (Joyner &
Frew 1991), material left behind by beachgoers, and waste carried
into the oceans by rivers and drainage systems (Pruter 1987,
Williams & Simmons 1997). Plastic is found in the surface waters
of all of the world’s oceans and poses a potential hazard to much
marine life, including seabirds through entanglement or ingestion
(Laist 1987). Because many seabirds preferentially select plastic of
specific colors and shapes, it is believed that plastic is often
mistaken for prey (Azzarello & Van Vleet 1987, Laist 1987, Moser
& Lee 1992). Seabirds that capture prey by surface seizing and
piracy are particularly at risk, because most plastics float at or near
the surface (Furness 1983, Ryan 1987b, Robards et al. 1995, Spear
et al. 1995, Blight & Burger 1997). Although many seabirds may
ingest plastic, procellariiforms suffer the most negative
consequences of such ingestion (Furness 1985, Azzarello & Van
Vleet 1987, Ryan 1987b, Moser & Lee 1992, Spear et al. 1995).
Most Procellariidae have small gizzards and an anatomical
constriction between the gizzard and proventriculus that make it
difficult to regurgitate solid material such as plastic (Furness 1985,
Azzarello & Van Vleet 1987).
Several studies have asserted that plastic does not substantially
affect seabird health (Furness 1985, Ryan 1987a, Ryan & Jackson
1987, Moser & Lee 1992). On the other hand, documented
consequences of plastic ingestion include blockage of the intestines
and ulceration of the stomach (Pettit et al. 1981, Day et al. 1985,
Zonfrillo 1985, Fry et al. 1987), reduction in the functional volume
of the gizzard leading to a reduction of digestive capability, and
distension of the gizzard leading to a reduction in hunger (Connors
& Smith 1982, Ryan 1988). Body fat, a measure of energy reserves,
is negatively correlated with the number of pieces of plastic in a
seabird’s stomach from species groups including shearwaters,
petrels, storm-petrels (Ryan 1987a, Spear et al. 1995), albatrosses
(Auman et al. 1997) and phalaropes (Connors & Smith 1982).
Plastic accumulation in seabirds has also been shown to be
correlated with the body burden of polychlorinated biphenyls
[PCBs (Carpenter et al. 1972, Ryan et al. 1988)]. Associated
problems with a high PCB load in birds include lowered steroid
hormone levels causing delayed ovulation and other reproductive
problems (Hoffman et al. 1996). Furthermore, plastics often
contain toxic softeners, colorants, and antioxidants that may be
assimilated from ingested plastic (van Franeker 1985, Azzarello &
van Vleet 1987). Finally, several studies found negative
correlations between body weight and plastic load (Ryan 1987a,
Sievert & Sileo 1993, Spear et al. 1995, Auman et al. 1997),
although, as Ryan (1987a) emphasized, many correlational studies
do not take into account other factors that may influence the results.
A high incidence and load of plastic has been reported in Greater
Shearwaters (Furness 1983, Furness 1985, Ryan 1987a, Moser &
Lee 1992).
Here, we report two cases of plastic ingestion, one by a Northern
Gannet Morus bassanus and the other by a Greater Shearwater
Puffinus gravis. Both seabirds were recovered in Massachusetts,
USA, and died as a result of plastic ingestion, obstruction, and
subsequent starvation. These seabirds were part of a larger study on
seabird mortality (SEANET), in which samples of seabirds are
collected from beached bird surveys along the northeastern coast of
the United States, local wildlife rehabilitators and as fisheries
bycatch.
An adult male Northern Gannet was found on a beach on Cape
Cod, Massachusetts, USA, in April 2004. It was brought to a
nearby wildlife rehabilitation center with signs of extreme
emaciation. It was too weak to stand, was dehydrated and lethargic,
and was breathing shallowly. A tube-feeding regimen was begun,
OBSTRUCTION AND STARVATION ASSOCIATED WITH PLASTIC
INGESTION IN A NORTHERN GANNET MORUS BASSANUS AND A
GREATER SHEARWATER PUFFINUS GRAVIS
KATHRYN E. PIERCE,1REBECCA J. HARRIS,2LELA S. LARNED3& MARK A. POKRAS2
1Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481, USA
2Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, Massachusetts 01536-1895, USA
(mark.pokras@tufts.edu)
3Wildcare, Inc., 84 Underpass Road, PO Box 760, Brewster, Massachusetts 02631-0760, USA
Received 13 August 2004, accepted 19 November 2004
188 Pierce et al.:Obstruction and starvation associated with plastic ingestion
but the bird did not appear to digest the food. It regurgitated much
of it, and the small amount of feces produced was discolored and
of an abnormal consistency. The bird died within three days. A
necropsy at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
(TCSVM) revealed a 4.1-cm diameter red plastic bottle cap in the
thoracic esophagus (Fig. 1). On further dissection, the gizzard was
found to contain four 1-cm ×1-cm ulcerations, three of which were
situated near the pylorus. Each lesion had a sunken center and an
irregular, black-tinged margin. It was determined that the bottle cap
had been lodged in the gizzard and had most likely been dislodged
into the esophagus after death. When the bottle cap was placed
back into the gizzard, the edges fit perfectly with the ulcerations,
obstructing passage of food into the small intestine. Unable to
obtain sufficient calories and becoming increasingly weak, the
gannet died from starvation.
An adult female Greater Shearwater was presented to a different
rehabilitation clinic on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, in July
2003, after being found on a local beach. It appeared weak,
lethargic, and debilitated, with no signs of trauma. After an initial
tube feeding, the bird was force-fed Capelin Mallotus villosus. No
feces were observed. Five days after admission to the clinic, the
shearwater died. The seabird was necropsied at TUSVM, and the
force-fed capelin were found packed in the esophagus and
proventriculus, clearly unable to pass into the lower digestive track.
On dissection of the gizzard, a 1.4-cm ×0.8 cm fragment of red
user plastic with a slight lip, possibly once part of a cap, was found
blocking the pylorus (Fig. 2). The plastic had obstructed the
passage of food, and the bird had died from starvation.
Obstruction by plastic is probably a more frequent cause of seabird
death than has been documented. Most birds that die from ingestion
of plastic sink quickly in the ocean (Wiese 2003) or are eaten by
scavengers (van Pelt & Piatt 1995). The frequency of plastic
obstruction is unknown even for those birds that are found moribund,
because plastic is not visible by radiograph or physical examination,
and few veterinary and wildlife rehabilitation clinics perform regular
necropsies. Determining cause of death without necropsy is often
unreliable (Stephen & Burger 1994). (We are investigating the
potential use of ultrasound in detecting ingested plastic.)
Although only two case reports are presented here, those cases
emphasize the negative consequences of plastic ingestion in North
Atlantic seabirds. For a species such as the Greater Shearwater,
which circumnavigates most of the Atlantic Ocean, the issue is of
international concern (Rowan 1952, Voous & Wattel 1963, Brown
et al. 1981). Furthermore, plastic may stay in the digestive system
from six months (Day et al. 1985) to two years (Ryan & Jackson
1987), and it is therefore often unclear where the birds pick it up,
even though plastic debris is common in the North Atlantic
(Carpenter & Smith 1972, Carpenter et al. 1972, Colton et al. 1974,
Wilber 1987, Galgani et al. 1995, Ribic et al. 1997). Studies
examining matched samples of adult seabirds from beached bird
surveys and from bycatch should be conducted to fully assess the
impact of plastic ingestion in the western North Atlantic.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This publication is a contribution of the SEANET project of the
Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine Center for
Conservation Medicine. Many thanks to Dr. Catherine Brown and
to Judy Ellal at the Cape Wildlife Center for participating in this
project and providing numerous specimens. KEP was funded
through Wellesley College by the Lumpkin Family Internship for
the Environment, with thanks to SEANET funders, the Geraldine
R. Dodge Foundation, Massachusetts Environmental Trust, and the
Lynn Trayser Mitchell Memorial Bird Fund.
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Fig. 1. Left: Gizzard of a Northern Gannet and (a) a 4.1-cm
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