| trace metals, stable isotope ratios, and trophic relations in seabirds from the north pacific ocean. | trace elements including mercury, cadmium, selenium, and stable nitrogen isotope ratios (sigma15n) were measured in tissues of pacific seabirds. two species of albatross (diomedea immutabilis, diomedea nigripes), four species of shearwaters (puffinus bulleri, puffinus carneipes, puffinus griseus, puffinus tenuirostris), northern fulmar (fulmarus glacialis), and horned puffin (fratercula corniculata) were collected opportunistically by an experimental fishery in the north pacific ocean. two speci ... | 2005 | 16445091 |
| climate change alters the trophic niche of a declining apex marine predator. | changes in the world's oceans have altered nutrient flow, and affected the viability of predator populations when prey species become unavailable. these changes are integrated into the tissues of apex predators over space and time and can be quantified using stable isotopes in the inert feathers of historical and contemporary avian specimens. we measured δ(13) c and δ(15) n values in flesh-footed shearwaters (puffinus carneipes) from western and south australia from 1936-2011. the flesh-footed s ... | 2014 | 24615959 |
| plastic ingestion by flesh-footed shearwaters (puffinus carneipes): implications for fledgling body condition and the accumulation of plastic-derived chemicals. | to provide much needed quantitative data on the lethal and sublethal effects of plastic pollution on marine wildlife, we sampled breast feathers and stomach contents from flesh-footed shearwater (puffinus carneipes) fledglings in eastern australia. birds with high levels of ingested plastic exhibited reduced body condition and increased contaminant load (p < 0.05). more than 60% of fledglings exceed international targets for plastic ingestion by seabirds, with 16% of fledglings failing these tar ... | 2014 | 24480381 |
| incidence of plastic fragments among burrow-nesting seabird colonies on offshore islands in northern new zealand. | marine plastic pollution is ubiquitous throughout the world's oceans, and has been found in high concentrations in oceanic gyres of both the northern and southern hemispheres. the number of studies demonstrating plastic debris at seabird colonies and plastic ingestion by adult seabirds has increased over the past few decades. despite the recent discovery of a large aggregation of plastic debris in the south pacific subtropical gyre, the incidence of plastics at seabird colonies in new zealand is ... | 2013 | 23899612 |
| re-examining mortality sources and population trends in a declining seabird: using bayesian methods to incorporate existing information and new data. | the population of flesh-footed shearwaters (puffinus carneipes) breeding on lord howe island was shown to be declining from the 1970's to the early 2000's. this was attributed to destruction of breeding habitat and fisheries mortality in the australian eastern tuna and billfish fishery. recent evidence suggests these impacts have ceased; presumably leading to population recovery. we used bayesian statistical methods to combine data from the literature with more recent, but incomplete, field data ... | 2013 | 23573188 |
| trace element concentrations in feathers of flesh-footed shearwaters (puffinus carneipes) from across their breeding range. | seabirds are convenient indicators of contamination of the marine environment because feathers can be sampled non-destructively, and a great deal is known about their ecology. flesh-footed shearwaters (puffinus carneipes) are of conservation concern in australia and new zealand, partly because ingestion of marine debris may be reducing breeding success at their largest colony. because marine plastics accumulate contaminants in the ocean environment, an assessment of metal and metalloid contamina ... | 2011 | 20865254 |
| correlations between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (pfass) and body morphometrics in fledgling shearwaters impacted by plastic consumption from a remote pacific island. | this study investigated the concentrations of 45 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (pfass) in fledgling flesh-footed shearwater (ardenna carneipes; n = 33) and wedge-tailed shearwater (a. pacifica; n = 9) livers via lc-ms/ms and their relationship to body morphometrics and ingested plastic mass recorded in 2019 on lord howe island, nsw, australia. sixteen pfass were detected, of which perfluorooctanesulfonate (pfos) was the dominant compound, detected in 100% of birds (1.34 to 13.4 ng/g ww). l ... | 2020 | 33170512 |
| clinical pathology of plastic ingestion in marine birds and relationships with blood chemistry. | pollution of the environment with plastic debris is a significant and rapidly expanding threat to biodiversity due to its abundance, durability, and persistence. current knowledge of the negative effects of debris on wildlife is largely based on consequences that are readily observed, such as entanglement or starvation. many interactions with debris, however, result in less visible and poorly documented sublethal effects, and as a consequence, the true impact of plastic is underestimated. we inv ... | 2019 | 31304735 |
| detection of ultrafine plastics ingested by seabirds using tissue digestion. | plastic debris is a major global threat to marine ecosystems and species. however, our knowledge of this issue may be incomplete due to a lack of a standardized method for quantifying ingested ultrafine particles (1 μm - 1 mm) in wildlife. this study provides the first quantification of ultrafine plastic in seabirds using chemical and biological digestion treatments to extract plastic items from seabird gizzards. the alkaline agent, potassium hydroxide, outperformed the enzyme corolase, based on ... | 2019 | 31232326 |
| uncovering the sub-lethal impacts of plastic ingestion by shearwaters using fatty acid analysis. | marine plastic pollution is increasing exponentially, impacting an expanding number of taxa each year across all trophic levels. of all bird groups, seabirds display the highest plastic ingestion rates and are regarded as sentinels of pollution within their foraging regions. the consumption of plastic contributes to sub-lethal impacts (i.e. morbidity, starvation) in a handful of species. additional data on these sub-lethal effects are needed urgently to better understand the scope and severity o ... | 2019 | 31110767 |
| selectivity of flesh-footed shearwaters for plastic colour: evidence for differential provisioning in adults and fledglings. | the ingestion of plastic by seabirds has been used as an indicator of population and ocean health. however, few studies have examined adults and juveniles of the same species concurrent with the availability of plastic in the local marine environment. in king george sound (kgs), western australia, 13% of adult flesh-footed shearwaters (ardenna carneipes) and 90% of fledglings contained plastic items in their digestive tract. on lord howe island (lhi), new south wales, 75% of adult shearwaters an ... | 2016 | 26559149 |