Plastic Debris in Nests of Two Water Bird Species Breeding on Inland Saline Lakes in a Mediterranean Biosphere Reserve

  1. Álvaro Luna 1
  2. José A. Gil-Delgado 2
  3. Edgar Bernat-Ponce 3
  1. 1 Universidad Europea de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Europea de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR https://ror.org/04dp46240

  2. 2 Universitat de València
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    Universitat de València

    Valencia, España

    ROR https://ror.org/043nxc105

  3. 3 Universidad Europea de Valencia
    info

    Universidad Europea de Valencia

    Valencia, España

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Revista:
Animals

Año de publicación: 2022

Volumen: 12

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.3390/ANI12223222 GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Resumen

Plastic pollution has become one of the main emerging ecological problems that has gained growing public and scientific interest in recent years. In this work, we detected the presence of plastics and other synthetic debris in a less studied ecosystem: inland wetlands. There, we confirmed the presence of anthropogenic materials in the nests of two bird species, the gull-billed tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) and the black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus), in a biosphere reserve. The detected debris probably originated from human activities (agriculture and domestic waste) and was probably dispersed by wind and water. Although no damage to the studied species was detected, the situation requires monitoring, which must extend to other wetland points and other species. Our paper records the spread of plastic pollution through wetland ecosystems and its interaction with unexpected wildlife.

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Información de financiación

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The APC was funded by the Universidad Europea.

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