Seasonal variability in vulnerability for Cassin's auklets (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) exposed to microplastic pollution in the Canadian Pacific region.

Autor: O'Hara PD; Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, 9860 W. Saanich Rd., Sidney, BC, Canada V8L 4B2. Electronic address: Patrick.OHara@Canada.ca., Avery-Gomm S; Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 6 Bruce St., Mount Pearl, NL A1N 4T3, Canada., Wood J; Nature Conservancy of Canada, 1250-409 Granville St., Vancouver, BC V6C 1T2, Canada., Bowes V; Animal Health Centre, BC Ministry of Agriculture, 1767 Angus Campbell Road, Abbotsford, BC V3G 2M3, Canada., Wilson L; Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Pacific Wildlife Research Centre, 5421 Robertson Rd., Delta, BC V4K 3N2, Canada., Morgan KH; Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, 9860 W. Saanich Rd., Sidney, BC, Canada V8L 4B2., Boyd WS; Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Pacific Wildlife Research Centre, 5421 Robertson Rd., Delta, BC V4K 3N2, Canada., Hipfner JM; Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Pacific Wildlife Research Centre, 5421 Robertson Rd., Delta, BC V4K 3N2, Canada., Desforges JP; Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde 4000, Denmark., Bertram DF; Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, 9860 W. Saanich Rd., Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada., Hannah C; Ocean Sciences Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, 9860 W. Saanich Rd., Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada., Ross PS; Coastal Ocean Research Institute, Ocean Wise Conservation Association, PO Box 3232, Vancouver, BC V6B 3X8, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2019 Feb 01; Vol. 649, pp. 50-60. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Aug 19.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.238
Abstrakt: Marine plastic pollution is an emerging global conservation challenge, potentially impacting organisms at all trophic levels. However, currently it is unclear to what extent plastic pollution is impacting marine organisms at the population, species or multispecies level. In this study, we explore seasonal exposure (i.e., vulnerability) of Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) to plastic pollution with exposure models during boreal summer and winter seasons. Based on these models, we infer exposure at the population level for this species, in the Canadian Pacific region where approximately 75% of the global population of this species breeds. The models quantify plastic exposure by determining seasonal core foraging areas and plastic concentrations found in those same areas. Core foraging areas were determined using a Generalized Additive Model based on at-sea observation data (collected year round: 1990-2010) and 50% Home Range Kernels based on aerial telemetry data (May and June 1999-2001). Plastic concentrations within these core areas were interpolated based on seawater microplastic concentrations from the summer of 2012. We found that during the boreal summer, Cassin's Auklets were exposed to relatively low concentrations of plastics. During the winter, auklet distribution shifted towards the coast where plastic concentrations are considerably higher. Model derived seasonal variability in exposure was consistent with necropsy results from bird carcasses recovered during the winter of 2014, and from a multiyear study on chick provisioning during the summer. Local oceanography likely plays a role in determining seasonal shifts in both marine bird as well microplastic concentrations, and hence exposure. As well, individual sensitivity (i.e., dose-dependent effect) may vary with annual cycles. Currently, research is focusing on determining how sensitive individual birds are to microplastic concentrations, and our models will help translate sensitivity found at the individual level to potential impacts at population or species level.
(Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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