Mediterranean Sea among the world's areas at high risk of plastic debris ingestion for seabirds

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the areas of the world where seabirds are at risk of ingesting plastic. A study on the exposure of seabirds to plastic pollution in the seas, carried out by more than 200 reaserchers from around the world, including a team from ISPRA, has been published in Nature Communication. Among the authors is Simona Imperio, already a researcher at the IGG-CNR in Pisa and now an ISPRA researcher.
The movements of more than 7000 individuals belonging to 77 species of seabirds were analysed in relation to the concentration of plastic in the sea. The results of the study identified the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and circular sea currents as the areas most at risk of plastic ingestion for birds.

Reference:

Clark, B.L., Carneiro, A.P.B., Pearmain, E.J. et al. Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds. Nat Commun 14, 3665 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38900-z. 

For information Simona Imperio, ISPRA (simona.imperio@isprambiente.it).