The birds are eating hundreds of bits of plastic every day, according to new studies

The birds are eating hundreds of bits of plastic every day, according to new studies

It is the first study to show that microplastics pass through the food chain of birds via insects living in rivers.

microplastics everywhere, even in the stomach of birds. The gruesome images of whales, turtles and deer dead after exchanging plastic for food have helped to understand how serious the problem of plastic waste is, and even more so that of microplastics, but a new study has revealed that it is not only the land and sea animals gulping down our plastic garbage.





It was indeed confirmed that birds eat hundreds of pieces of plastic every day through "food". And in their case, the meal is mostly made up of worms and insects which, in turn, have swallowed the microplastics. This was discovered by new research conducted by scientists from Cardiff University, the University of Exeter and the Greenpeace Research Laboratories and published in the journal Global Change Biology.

The team found that birds living along Britain's rivers ate daily hundreds of fragments of microplastics because the worms and insects they eat do the same. It is the first study to show that microplastics pass through the bird food chain via insects that live in rivers.

We have long known that plastics and microplastics (plastic debris less than 5mm in size) are also present in freshwater ecosystems and rivers around the world, yet so far there was no evidence of their passage through the food chain.

To prove this, British scientists studied the merlo acquaiolo also known as white-throated dipper. Such birds depend on riverine insects for their survival.

The team, from Cardiff University's School of Biosciences and Water Research Institute, and the Greenpeace laboratories in Exeter, examined excrement and regurgitation from both adult and young specimens and found microplastic fragments in about half of 166 samples, in 14 of the 15 sites studied and with the greatest concentrations in the most urbanized places. Most, about 95%, were textile fibers or building materials.

In particular, they found that plastic was present in 50% of regurgitation and 45% of fecal samples collected non-invasively from adult and nesting blackbirds at 15 sites in South Wales.


Through spectroscopy, the scientists identified more polymers, including copolymers of polyester, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and vinyl chloride. The concentration of plastic in prey and droppings suggests that about 200 plastic particles are ingested daily by the blackbirds, but also expelled very quickly.


According to the scientists, the transfer of so many plastic fragments to birds has been surprising and there is an urgent need to further understand the consequences. Dr. David Santillo, a Greenpeace researcher at the University of Exeter, explained:

“Our analysis showed that the blackbirds were ingesting around 200 plastic particles from the insects they consumed every day. More than 75% of the fragments we found were less than 0,5mm in size, but some were up to several millimeters long.

Professor Steve Ormerod, co-director of Cardiff University's Water Research Institute and lead author of the study, added:

“In nearly 40 years of researching rivers, I never imagined that one day our work would reveal that these spectacular birds would be at risk from ingesting plastic. The same characteristics that make dippers so wonderfully adapted being the only songbirds in the world capable of diving and feeding on river insects also mean they will not be able to escape this huge source of pollution for decades to come. In the current global circumstances linked to Covid-19, the problems of plastic pollution remind us that other important environmental problems have not disappeared; we cannot afford to look away. ”.

Microplastics, an underestimated impact

Unfortunately, that of microplastics is a much more serious problem than hypothesized so far. This was revealed just recently by another study conducted by scientists from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Using finer sampling nets of 100 μm (0,1 mm) instead of the usual coarser sampling nets of 333 μm (0,333 mm) or 500 μm (0,5 mm), the team found that microplastics in coastal waters are are underestimated.


The results show that sampling using 100 μm mesh nets resulted in the collection of a concentration of microplastic, respectively. 2,5 and 10 times larger than 333μm and 500μm meshes. Extrapolation of the data suggests that using a 1 μm mesh, microplastic concentrations could exceed 3700 microplastics per cubic meter.


Certainly the coronavirus is contributing to the increase in waste: masks and gloves have an even more serious environmental impact than plastic bags.

Coronavirus masks worse than plastic bags: the impact on the environment is devastating

A problem that is increasingly scary as it is destined to get worse.

Sources of reference: University of Exeter, Global Change Biology, Plymouth Marine Laboratory

READ also:

  • Microplastics in Florida raptors: the shocking discovery of an American study
  • Record of microplastics in the Tyrrhenian Sea: it is the highest level ever recorded in the world
  • Mussel reefs increase the risk of exposure and consumption of microplastics. I study
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