Although animals eat much more plastics harder than soft, the latter cause more gastrointestinal obstruction, which is the leading cause of mortality.. This Balloons falling into the sea or on the shore have a lethal effect. previously unknown to seabirds. It is a heavily used element at many festive events, but it also has an environmental impact of many consequences on wildlife.
The latest evidence only confirms a study conducted in 2019 by IMAS-CSIRO doctoral student Lauren Roman and published in the journal Science. Scientific Reports. This research revealed that although hard plastic makes up the vast majority of ingested litter, it is much less likely to kill an animal than plastic. soft plastics like balloons.
“Ingestion of marine debris is a recognized threat around the world,” said Roman. “However, the relationship between the amount or type of plastic litter a seabird ingests and the death it causes is poorly understood,” he thinks.
“Among the birds we studied, the main cause of death was obstruction of the gastrointestinal tractfollowed by infections or other complications caused by gastrointestinal obstructions.
A seabird eating one piece plastic Have 20% chance of deathA chance that goes up to 50 percent with nine pieces and 100 percent if you swallowed 93 pieces.
Responsible for more than 40 percent of deaths
“Although soft plastics accounted for only 5 percent of the substances ingested by birds, it was responsible for more than 40 percent of deaths,” he said.
“Balloons or balloon fragments are the marine litter most likely to cause death.and it actually killed almost a fifth of the seabirds that swallowed them,” added the scientist.
“While hard plastic parts can pass through the gut quickly, as seen in similar research on sea turtles ingesting plastic, soft plastics are more likely to get stuck and cause deadly clogsRoman said.
CSIRO co-author Chris Wilcox said the approach taken in the study first developed for turtles before being applied to seabirds.
“These two applications mark the first time that a robust estimate has been made of the impact of plastic ingestion on marine wildlife,” Wilcox said. Said. “This is a critical step to trigger action to address plastic pollution,” he notes.
Roman added, although the study showed that soft objects such as balloons are more dangerous. all plastic poses a deadly threat to seabirds.
“The evidence is clear: If we want to prevent seabirds from dying from ingesting plastic, we need to reduce or eliminate marine litter around them. especially balloonsRoman says.
Reference work: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-36585-9
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