Scientists find first evidence of microplastics passing from insects to predators in rivers

摘要

A species of river bird is swallowing hundreds of plastic fibres every day via their insect prey, research by Cardiff University and the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter has shown. Dippers are also inadvertently feeding thousands of plastic fibres contained in insects to their nest-bound chicks during their development. The aquatic songbirds depend on river insects for their food supply, so widespread contamination of insects by plastic means they cannot avoid this source of pollution. This new study is the first to show clearly that microplastics - pieces of plastic debris under 5mm in size microplastic samples, analysed using FTIR spectroscopy - are being passed through river food webs from insects to predators such as dippers. The research is published in the journal Global Change Biology. The academics said the transfer of so many plastic fragments to nestling birds was startling - and there was an urgent need to further understand the consequences of this plastic intake.