Plastic ingestion in thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) from the Canadian high Arctic

Plastic pollution continues to prevail across Arctic marine environments, readily available for marine organisms to ingest, especially seabirds. Seabird plastic ingestion datasets often lack standardized time series that allow for trend analysis. We examine the recent status of plastic ingestion (≥ 1 mm) in thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) using standardized methods to assess spatial differences and time trends over two decades (2007-2021). In 2021, 7 % of the 43 thick-billed murres we examined from this region ingested plastic; 1 piece of plastic in three separate individuals. No significant temporal or spatial differences in murre plastic ingestion were observed. Therefore, plastic pollution (≥ 1 mm) currently poses a low risk to Arctic breeding murres. The long-term monitoring of plastic ingestion in this species should continue as murres have economic and cultural importance to communities and provide insight to marine plastic pollution trends.