Year of grant:
2021

Research Area:
Náttúra og náttúrutilfeingi

Project type:
Verkætlan

Project title:
Sjófuglur sum yvirvøkutól av dálking í føroyskum sjóøkið

Grant number:
0463

Project manager:
Jóhannis Danielsen

Institution/company:
Havstovan

Other participants:
Dr. William Mills, Dr. Stuart Black, Prof. Richard Phillips,

Project period:
Planned: 01.09.2021-31.08.2022
Actual: 01.04.2022-30.09.2023

Total budget:
kr. 1.771.550

Grant from the FRC in DKK:
kr. 900.0000

Project description:
Original
Plastic pollution is a major problem facing the world’s oceans. Global plastic production has increased significantly in recent decades, and this has led to an increase in the amount of plastic entering the marine environment. However, assessing the distribution and extent of plastic pollution directly (e.g., from ship-based surveys) is expensive and logistically challenging. One alternative is to measure plastic ingestion by seabirds, which can be effective monitors of marine plastic pollution across their foraging areas. The Faroe Islands are renowned for their diversity and abundance of seabirds, and this project will focus on the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) population at Skúvoy, Faroe Islands (61°45’N, 6°48’W). Manx shearwaters are legally harvested for consumption by the residents of Skúvoy, and stomach contents and liver samples have been collected from hunted birds by Havstovan Faroe Marine Research Institute since the beginning of the 21st century (2003–2019). No birds were killed for the purposes of this research. The aim of this project is to analyse trends in plastic ingestion by Manx shearwaters across this time period, which will provide important insights into how plastic pollution has changed in Faroese waters since 2003. In addition, we will quantify the diet of Manx shearwaters (using stomach contents and stable isotope ratios of liver samples), which will enable us to determine whether changes in plastic ingestion are due to changing levels of pollution in the marine environment, or by birds switching to more contaminated prey/habitats. Hence, this project will also provide the first dietary information for Manx shearwaters at the Faroe Islands. Lastly, owing to the inclusion of toxic substances in plastics, or contamination during manufacture, or from adsorption of pollutants in the oceans, there may be an increased health risk to seabirds from ingestion. Hence, we will also measure concentrations of a range of trace element contaminants in bird livers to understand the full extent of the pollution problem for these birds.

Final
Plastic pollution is a pervasive threat to marine ecosystems, and the release of plastic waste into aquatic environments is projected to increase into the future. Seabirds may ingest plastics directly (e.g., accidentally or by mistaking plastics for potential prey), indirectly (e.g., secondary ingestion in their prey) or, in the case of chicks, via intergenerational transfer. Procellariiform seabirds can accumulate high levels of plastic owing to the morphology of their gastrointestinal tracts. Such plastic ingestion can cause physical damage and potentially provides a contamination route for trace elements. In this project (“Sjófuglur sum yvirvøkutól av dálking í føroyskum sjóøkið”), we examined levels of plastic ingestion by fledgling Manx shearwaters Puffinus puffinus on Skúvoy, Faroe Islands (2003 and 2018), alongside trace element contamination and stable isotopes ratios in livers. These samples were obtained by Havstovan Faroe Marine Research Institute from legally harvested birds. Overall, 88% of fledglings contained plastic in their gastrointestinal tracts, with a mean (± SD) of 7.2 ± 6.6 items weighing 0.007 ± 0.016 g. Though the incidence was similar, fledglings ingested significantly more plastic in 2018 compared to 2003. Hepatic trace element concentrations were unrelated to plastic ingestion. Hepatic carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope values were significantly lower in birds sampled in 2018 versus 2003, potentially reflecting further offshore feeding at lower trophic levels. Future research is needed to understand the extent of plastic ingestion by Faroe Islands seabirds, as plastic ingestion studies thus far have been limited to the Manx shearwater (this study), great skua Stercorarius skua and northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis.

The main results of this work are published in: Mills WF, Norris C, Black S, Phillips RA, Hammer S, Olsen B, Danielsen J (2024) Plastic ingestion and trace element contamination of Manx shearwaters Puffinus puffinus on the Faroe Islands. Marine Pollution Bulletin 204, 116537. The results have also been presented by Dr William Mills at the 2023 British Ecological Society Annual Meeting (“Manx shearwaters as biomonitors of marine pollution in the Faroe Islands”). The data supporting this work is available upon reasonable request from Dr William Mills (w.f.mills@reading.ac.uk) or Dr Jóhannis Danielsen (johannisdanielsen@gmail.com).

Project status:
Liðug

Project output:
See PURE



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