“The Arctic is still thought of as a bit cleaner, a bit less polluted, but we\u2019re still seeing high levels.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nProvencher says she has\u00a0found both user plastics and industrial plastics from further away than local communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that we’re finding industrial plastics in Arctic birds confirms that what you dump out your front door may not stay at your front door.”<\/p>\n
Scientists have studied Nunavut\u2019s High Arctic seabird colonies since the 1950s, but Provencher says researchers only stumbled upon the plastic about 10 years ago while looking for parasites and contaminants.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one was looking for plastic but we found plastic,\u201d Provencher says.<\/p>\n
Now, she says, researchers track each bird they handle looking for plastic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve gone from accidental science to very purposeful science to try to track changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Provencher notes that\u00a0the researchers she’s aware of are not funded to investigate plastics specifically. It\u2019s work they do on the side, while\u00a0focusing on their core research.<\/p>\n
Plastics range by species<\/h2>\n
The likelihood of birds ingesting plastics ranges by species, from just one per cent in the common eider to nearly 90 per cent in the northern fulmar. The Arctic tern doesn’t\u00a0seem to ingest any plastic.<\/p>\n
So far, the amount of plastic in the birds is serving\u00a0as an indicator of widespread plastic pollution, rather\u00a0than as an immediate threat to the birds.<\/p>\n
But Provencher says that as sea ice declines, more surface currents will be able to bring all kinds of things into previously remote parts of the North and the High Arctic.\u00a0That could mean plastic levels rising similar to levels in other parts of the world, such as the North Sea or Hawaii, where plastic is known to actually injure or even kill birds, or hinder egg growth. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re not there yet in the Arctic, but that is happening elsewhere in the world and if plastic ingestion increases, it\u2019s something that could happen in the North.\u201d<\/p>\n
Provencher\u00a0would also like to learn whether birds are being affected by the chemicals in\u00a0the plastics they ingest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seabirds in High Arctic ingesting more plastic, researcher says ‘No one was looking for plastic but we found plastic,’ says Canadian PhD candidate Jennifer Provencher CBC News Posted: Jun 02, 2014 6:25 AM CTLast Updated: Jun 02, 2014 7:11 AM CT http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/north\/seabirds-in-high-arctic-ingesting-more-plastic-researcher-says-1.2661580 Canadian researchers have known for years that High Arctic seabirds ingest plastic garbage, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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