Accumulation of plastic-derived chemicals in tissues of seabirds ingesting marine plastics

Kosuke Tanaka, Hideshige Takada, Rei Yamashita, Kaoruko Mizukawa, 
Masa-aki Fukuwaka, Yutaka Watanuki, Accumulation of plastic-derived 
chemicals in tissues of seabirds ingesting marine plastics, Marine 
Pollution Bulletin, Volume 69, Issues 1–2, 15 April 2013, Pages 219-222, 
ISSN 0025-326X, 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.12.010.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X12005942)
Abstract: We analyzed polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in 
abdominal adipose of oceanic seabirds (short-tailed shearwaters, 
Puffinus tenuirostris) collected in northern North Pacific Ocean. In 3 
of 12 birds, we detected higher-brominated congeners (viz., BDE209 and 
BDE183), which are not present in the natural prey (pelagic fish) of the 
birds. The same compounds were present in plastic found in the stomachs 
of the 3 birds. These data suggested the transfer of plastic-derived 
chemicals from ingested plastics to the tissues of marine-based organisms.

Accumulation of plastic-derived chemicals in tissues of seabirds ingesting marine plastics