Barau's petrel, Pterodroma baraui, as a bioindicator of plastic pollution in the South-West Indian Ocean: A multifaceted approach
Marine plastic pollution is well described by bioindicator species in temperate and polar regions but remains understudied in tropical oceans. We addressed this gap by evaluating the seabird Barau's petrel as bioindicator of plastic pollution in the South-West Indian Ocean. We conducted a multifaceted approach including necropsies of birds to quantify plastic ingestion; GPS tracking of breeding adults to identify their foraging areas; manta trawling of plastic debris to measure plastic pollution at sea and modelling of plastic dispersal. We developed a spatial risk index of seabird exposure to plastic ingestion. Seventy-one percent of the analysed birds had ingested plastic. GPS tracking coupled with manta trawling and dispersal modelling show that adults consistently foraged at places with high level of plastic concentration. The highest ingestion risk occurred in the northwest of Reunion Island and at latitude 30°S. Our findings confirm that Barau's petrel is a reliable bioindicator of plastic pollution in the region.
Authors
- Alexandra ter Halle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7065-2272)
- Léo Chevillon
- Naïs Avargues (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0432-8436)
- Audrey Jaeger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5649-0315)
- Laurent Lebreton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7443-2100)
- Patrick Marsaleix (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4506-5209)
- Sébastien Jaquemet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4199-4657)
- Lisa Weiss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5229-5304)
- Margot Thibault (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3991-1323)
- Sarah‐Jeanne Royer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1070-8611)
- Audrey Cartraud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0848-7816)
- Julie Tourmetzj
- Matthieu Le Corre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1194-351X)
- Juliette Garnier
- Romain Fernandez
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR)
- Ifremer (FR)
- Université de Bretagne Occidentale (FR)
- University of Reunion Island (RE)
- The Ocean Cleanup (NL)
- Softmat - Chimie des colloïdes, polymères & assemblages complexes (FR)
- Laboratoire d’Études en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (FR)
- Laboratory for Ocean Physics and Satellite Remote Sensing (FR)
- Peuplements végétaux et bioagresseurs en milieu tropical (RE)
- Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (FR)
- Écologie Marine Tropicale des Océans Pacifique et Indien (RE)
- Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de la Réunion (RE)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Marine Environmental Research
- Published
- 2024-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106709
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.93
Funders
- European Commission
- Grand Équipement National De Calcul Intensif
- European Regional Development Fund
- Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences