Inter-annual variation in the density of anthropogenic debris in the Tasman Sea

Rudduck, Osha-Ann; Lavers, Jennifer L.; Fischer, Andrew M.; Stuckenbrock, Silke; Sharp, Paul B.; Bánati, Richard B.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.07.010

Cited by 24 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…While the proportion of Wedge-tailed Shearwater fledglings containing plastic appears to be higher in birds from Kaua'i, Hawai'i than Australia (Table 1), the mass of plastic consumed per bird is comparable. There is a higher density of plastic debris in the North Pacific Ocean than the Tasman Sea (Howell et al, 2012;Rudduck et al, 2017), but the small sample sizes found in any given year (Table 1) make it difficult to draw conclusions applicable to the species as a whole.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The availability of different plastic colours at sea may also influence the colour of items ingested by seabirds. Light-coloured plastics dominate in the marine environment (Moser and Lee, 2012;Shaw and Day, 1994), including waters off eastern Australia (Reisser et al, 2013;Rudduck et al, 2017) where Australian Wedge-tailed Shearwaters forage (McDuie et al, 2015;Miller et al, 2018). Flesh-footed Shearwaters from Lord Howe Island exhibit strong selection for plastic colour while birds from Western Australia appear to choose colours based on what is available in waters adjacent to the breeding colony (Lavers and Bond, 2016b); it is possible Wedge-tailed Shearwaters on Lord Howe may also be actively selecting white plastics (Table 2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ingestion of marine debris by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) on Lord Howe Island, Australia during 2005–2018

Lavers

Hutton²,

Bond

2018

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Annual rates of plastic production have been increasing rapidly since the 1950s. Inadequate or improper disposal of plastic products has contributed to a significant increase in plastic debris in the world's oceans and a corresponding increase in the number of species negatively affected by this debris. Here we investigate trends in the type, amount, and colour of ingested plastic over time, and determine whether ingested plastic contributes to reduced health of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) on Lord Howe Island, Australia. The results show no clear influence of ingested plastic on body condition, while trends in the prevalence, number, and mass of plastic items ingested per bird during 2005 and 2013-2018 were more variable. There was some evidence adult birds are selecting plastic by colour. Future monitoring of this pan-tropical seabird would provide a unique opportunity to gather data from multiple sites, concurrently.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ingestion of marine debris by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) on Lord Howe Island, Australia during 2005–2018

Lavers

Hutton²,

Bond

2018

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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“…These birds exhibit some of the highest debris ingestion rates of any marine vertebrate (90% of birds contain an average of 17 pieces weighing ∼3 g; Lavers et al, 2014), which suggests there may be significant quantities of debris floating within the east Australian marine environment. However, compared to the North Pacific Gyre which is estimated to contain ∼334,200 items km 2 (Moore et al, 2001), the Tasman Sea is relatively pristine with only 248-3,711 items km 2 recorded during recent surveys (Rudduck et al, 2017).…”

Section: Ingestion Of Plastic By Flesh-footed Shearwatersmentioning

confidence: 98%

A Review of Plastic-Associated Pressures: Cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea and Eastern Australian Shearwaters as Case Studies

et al. 2018

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Impacts of debris on marine fauna occur throughout the marine ecosystems, with adverse impacts documented on over 1,400 species; impacts can be divided into those arising from entanglement, and those from ingestion. Ingestion of, and entanglement in, debris has been documented in over 60% of all cetacean species. Seabirds are also impacted by debris predominately through entanglement and ingestion, with the number of species negatively impacted increasing from 138 to 174 over the past two decades. In the marine environment, cetaceans and seabirds are widely regarded as reliable sentinels due to their position near the top of the marine food web, conspicuous nature, and reliance on marine resources; for this reason, this paper is focused on seabirds and cetaceans as sentinels of ocean change. In particular, two case studies are considered in relation to different levels of environmental anthropogenic impact: the cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea and seabirds of eastern Australia. Here we describe two recent studies used to diagnose the toxicological stress related to debris-associated pressures in cetaceans and seabirds. These studies highlight the diversity and scale of impacts being felt by marine species and the role these organisms can play in our society as charismatic sentinels of ocean health. Seabirds and marine mammals are exposed, in these key areas, to a variety of adversities that potentially decrease their survival or reproductive success. These include weather, food shortages, predators, competitors, parasites, disease, and human-induced effects and plastic pollution. Each factor affects seabirds and marine mammals in a different way, but more importantly, factors can also interact and create impacts far greater than any one factor alone. The Australian and Mediterranean case studies presented here emphasize the need to consider multiple sources of mortality when developing management plans for the conservation of vulnerable species.

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“…Remote Sensing is ideal for monitoring large or remote areas like coasts, and over the last decade there has been growing interest in developing remote sensing based methods for monitoring MPD. Through both indirect and direct monitoring, remote sensing techniques can complement other methods used to monitor MPD such as monitoring stations, trawling nets [20] and beach surveys [21]. Information derived from ocean environmental variables (EOVS) and ocean current models can be used to infer the distribution of plastic debris and highlight areas of potential accumulation [22], while direct observation by sensors with appropriate spectral and spatial resolutions can detect the presence of litter [23,24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Marine Plastic Debris in a Beach Environment Using Spectral Analysis

et al. 2021

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Marine plastic debris (MPD) is a globally relevant environmental challenge, with an estimated 8 million tons of synthetic debris entering the marine environment each year. Plastic has been found in all parts of the marine environment, including the surface layers of the ocean, within the water column, in coastal waters, on the benthic layer and on beaches. While research on detecting MPD using remote sensing is increasing, most of it focuses on detecting floating debris in open waters, rather than detecting MPD on beaches. However, beaches present challenges that are unique from other parts of the marine environment. In order to better understand the spectral properties of beached MPD, we present the SWIR reflectance of weathered MPD and virgin plastics over a sandy substrate. We conducted spectral feature analysis on the different plastic groups to better understand the impact that polymers have on our ability to detect synthetic debris at sub-pixel surface covers that occur on beaches. Our results show that the minimum surface cover required to detect MPD on a sandy surface varies between 2–8% for different polymer types. Furthermore, plastic composition affects the magnitude of spectral absorption. This suggests that variation in both surface cover and polymer type will inform the efficacy of beach litter detection methods.

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Inter-annual variation in the density of anthropogenic debris in the Tasman Sea

Cited by 24 publications

References 26 publications

Ingestion of marine debris by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) on Lord Howe Island, Australia during 2005–2018

Ingestion of marine debris by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) on Lord Howe Island, Australia during 2005–2018

A Review of Plastic-Associated Pressures: Cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea and Eastern Australian Shearwaters as Case Studies

Quantifying Marine Plastic Debris in a Beach Environment Using Spectral Analysis

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