In Vivo Accumulation of Plastic-Derived Chemicals into Seabird Tissues

Abstract

Highlights d UV-stabilizers and BDE-209 were industrially compounded into plastic resin pellets d The pellets were fed to seabird chicks under environmentally relevant conditions d The additives were detected in liver and adipose at 10 1 -10 5 times above controls d This study provides evidence of transfer and accumulation of plastic additives

Transfer of Additive Chemicals From Marine Plastic Debris to the Stomach Oil of Northern Fulmars

“…The results in the current study clearly show that several additive substances can leach from plastics ingested by fulmars into stomach oil under environmentally relevant conditions and over timescales estimated to be within the gut residence time (Ryan and Jackson, 1987;Van Franeker and Law, 2015;Ryan, 2015;Terepocki et al, 2017). Once leached into the stomach oil, there are well-established mechanisms that can facilitate the uptake of some of these chemicals by the birds (Galloway, 2015;Garvey, 2019;Tanaka et al, 2020). However, whether an individual additive chemical is subsequently transferred into specific organs or tissues and whether it will accumulate are influenced by a range of factors.…”

“…This organism-level detection of polybrominated flame retardants shows a pathway that may occur in fulmars and other seabirds, comparable to the stomach oil leaching mechanism in fulmars as described in our experiment. Recently, Tanaka et al (2020) fed artificially spiked plastic pellets to streaked shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas) chicks and concluded that in seabird species that consume plastics as frequently as fulmars, leaching of additives represented a considerably more important pathway of specific pollutants to the bird tissues than through accumulation of pollutants in food. Importantly, in the experiment of Tanaka et al (2020), additives were built in the polymer matrix, and not just added to the surface.…”

“…Recently, Tanaka et al (2020) fed artificially spiked plastic pellets to streaked shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas) chicks and concluded that in seabird species that consume plastics as frequently as fulmars, leaching of additives represented a considerably more important pathway of specific pollutants to the bird tissues than through accumulation of pollutants in food. Importantly, in the experiment of Tanaka et al (2020), additives were built in the polymer matrix, and not just added to the surface. Together with organism-level detection of such chemicals by Tanaka et al (2020), our results provide the evidence that such leaching of additives or their degradation products from degrading plastic litter actually occurs in the marine environment, from plastics ingested by a range of marine wildlife.…”

“…Importantly, in the experiment of Tanaka et al (2020), additives were built in the polymer matrix, and not just added to the surface. Together with organism-level detection of such chemicals by Tanaka et al (2020), our results provide the evidence that such leaching of additives or their degradation products from degrading plastic litter actually occurs in the marine environment, from plastics ingested by a range of marine wildlife.…”

Fulmar Litter EcoQO monitoring in the Netherlands - update 2019

“…Plastics gradually break down to microscopically small particles, but these may pose an even more serious problem (Thompson et al 2004;Bergmann et al 2015). Leaching of toxic additives from ingested plastics to seabirds has been shown by Tanaka et al (2013Tanaka et al ( , 2015Tanaka et al ( , 2019Tanaka et al ( , 2020; Yamashita et al (2018); and Kühn et al (2020a). Microplastics can also adsorb and concentrate organic pollutants from the surrounding water, but experimental results and model predictions are not all in agreement concerning release of such chemicals into marine organisms or associated negative effects (Arthur et al 2009;Browne et al 2008Browne et al , 2013Endo et al 2005Endo et al , 2013Gouin et al 2011;Koelmans et al 2013aKoelmans et al ,b, 2014Koelmans et al , 2016Moore 2008;Teuten et al 2007Teuten et al , 2009Chua et al 2014;Rochman et al 2013Rochman et al , 2014aTanaka et al 2013;Thompson et al 2009;Van Cauwenberghe & Janssen 2014;Cole et al 2015;Watts et al 2015;CBD 2016;Beaman & Bergeron 2016;Peda et al 2016;Besseling et al 2017;Heindler et al 2017;Hermabessiere et al 2017;Ribeiro et al 2017).…”