What happens to the bodies of birds that swallow plastic trash in the ocean? Fitness and health14:21 | March 22, 2023

Everyone knows that plastic pollution has become very important now. While you can find many photos of dead whales and seabirds with stomachs filled with plastic on the Internet, this does not mean that the death of these individual animals has an impact on population size.

Numerous studies have revealed that plastic adversely affects invertebrates, mammals, birds and fish. Especially in these animals, behavioral changes, weight loss, decrease in feeding rate, deterioration of the ability to produce offspring, changes in gene expression, etc.

At the same time, laboratory studies often do not adequately reflect reality. For example, in 2022, scientists discovered that some baleen whales ingest millions of microplastic particles per day while feeding. But this does not affect their health in any way.

Adrift Lab’s research has focused on the birdbird Ardenna carneipes. Scientists have observed birds nesting on Lord Howe Island. The level of plastic pollution in this area is moderate.

Jennifer Lavers, head of Adrift Lab, marine ecologist, has been studying the plastic waste consumption of this wild bird population for more than a decade. In 2019, she found that birds that consumed more plastic had lower calcium levels and higher uric acid and cholesterol levels.

In January 2023, Lavers published an article stating that the birds in question had damaged their organs from ingesting plastic. Also, both small and larger particles. Due to the scars formed in the stomach in birds, the functioning of this organ can be disrupted and diseases can easily enter the body through damaged organs.

A new Adrift Lab article points out that plastic ingested by birds does indeed cause scarring – “plasticosis.”