Plastic ingestion by seabirds in the circumpolar Arctic: a review

Plastic pollution is a ubiquitous global environmental problem. Plastic ingestion by seabirds is an increasing issue even in remote areas, such as the Arctic, yet research and monitoring of plastic ingestion in Arctic seabird populations is limited, and there are large knowledge gaps for many geographic regions. There is currently no standard technique for monitoring plastic debris in the Arctic, making it difficult to compare studies and monitor global trends. Here, we review the current state of knowledge of plastic ingestion by seabirds in the Arctic. We analyzed 38 published records that report plastic ingestion by seabirds in the Arctic region. Of the 51 seabird species examined for plastic ingestion in the Arctic, over half have ingested plastic; however, the majority have a limited number of studies, small sample sizes, and (or) data are more than 15 years old. Additionally, the spatial distribution of plastic ingestion reports in the Arctic varies widely, with large knowledge gaps in the northernmost areas of most countries. This indicates that we lack recent information on plastic ingestion for most of the seabird species in the Arctic. Further, less than one-third of studies reference standardized methods from other regions, making it difficult to assess spatial and temporal trends. Long-term monitoring programs should be established in the Arctic to obtain an accurate assessment of plastic ingestion by seabirds in this region. La pollution par le plastique est un probleme environnemental mondial omnipresent. L’ingestion de plastique par les oiseaux marins est un probleme croissant, meme dans des regions eloignees comme l’Arctique. Pourtant, la recherche et la surveillance de l’ingestion de plastique par la population d’oiseaux marins de l’Arctique sont limitees et il existe des lacunes importantes dans les connaissances pour plusieurs regions geographiques. Il n’y a actuellement aucune technique standard de surveillance des debris de plastique en Arctique, ce qui rend difficiles la comparaison des etudes et le suivi des tendances mondiales. Les auteurs font ici la synthese de l’etat des connaissances sur l’ingestion de plastique par les oiseaux marins en Arctique. Ils ont analyse 38 publications qui rapportent une ingestion de plastique par les oiseaux marins de la region arctique. Sur les 51 especes d’oiseaux marins examinees quant a l’ingestion de plastique en Arctique, plus de la moitie ont ingere du plastique, bien que la majorite de ces pub