State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2019 Dec;149:110566. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110566. Epub 2019 Sep 5.
Plastic debris has become one of the most serious issues in the marine environment, but little information is available on the occurrence of plastic debris in marine birds from China. In this study, one seabird species and two shorebird species were collected from Yongxing Island of South China Sea to investigate the accumulation of plastic debris. A total of 56 items of plastic debris were observed in 4 of 9 birds, with size ranging from 0.67 to 8.64 mm. Microplastics (<5 mm, 52 items) accounted for 92.9% of the total items. The main color of plastic debris in marine birds was blue (91.1%), followed by dark (5.4%) and white (3.6%). The primary shape of plastic debris was thread (89.2%), followed by sheet (8.9%) and foam (1.8%). Plastic fragments were predominated by polypropylene-polyethylene copolymer (83.9%). This study highlighted that marine birds can mistake plastic debris as food items.
塑料碎片已成为海洋环境中最严重的问题之一，但有关中国海洋鸟类中塑料碎片出现的信息却很少。在这项研究中，从南海永兴岛采集了一种海鸟和两种滨鸟，以调查塑料碎片的积累情况。在 9 只鸟中的 4 只鸟中观察到了 56 件塑料碎片，大小从 0.67 到 8.64mm 不等。微塑料（<5mm，52 件）占总件数的 92.9%。海洋鸟类中塑料碎片的主要颜色是蓝色（91.1%），其次是深（5.4%）和白（3.6%）。塑料碎片的主要形状是线（89.2%），其次是片（8.9%）和泡沫（1.8%）。塑料碎片主要由聚丙烯-聚乙烯共聚物（83.9%）组成。这项研究强调，海洋鸟类可能会将塑料碎片误认为食物。
