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Impacts of Marine Debris on Biodiversity: Current Status and Potential Solutions Number of papers 1.4 RESULTS In all, 319 original publications addressing the impacts of marine debris on biodiversity were examined. When considering the types of material reported in relation to the categories of encounter being examined, plastic items were the most frequently documented, representing 76.5 % of all publications (Figure 2). The literature search identified additional taxonomic groupings not originally included in the search criteria (see Annex 1). For ‘physical harm to individuals as a consequence of ingestion and entanglement’,the final groupings used were therefore: Marine Mammals, Birds, Fish, Sea Turtles, Sea Snakes, Crustaceans, Cephalopods, Bivalves, Gastropods, Echinoderms, Cnidaria; and, for ‘the potential for floating debris to facilitate the transport of invasive species’, they were: Sponges, Cnidaria, Worms, Sea Spiders, Crustaceans, Bryozoans, Echinoderms, Ascidians, Seagrass and Algae, Plankton, Non-marine, and Other. Considering reports of encounters between marine debris and organisms across all four categories, 663 species were identified, of which the taxonomic groupings with the greatest number of species impacted were birds (n = 161) and fish (n = 114). 1.4.1 Global distribution Regions with the largest number of reported effects included: the east and west coasts of North America (n = 117), Europe (n = 52), and Australasia (n = 56). Few reports exist from Asia (n = 6), Africa (n = 12), the Arctic (n = 5) and Antarctic (n = 7). Data for this distribution is outlined in greater detail in Figure 11 below. This pattern is most likely to represent differences in the frequency of reporting with some regions producing far fewer reports per unit area of coastline than others, rather than being a true representation of the quantities of debris present. 1.4.2 Ingestion and entanglement The first documented encounters between organisms and debris were in the early 1960s with a clear trend of increasing frequency of reports for both the numbers of individuals and the numbers of species affected thereafter. This increasing pattern was, however, not reflected in the average number of documents reporting ingestion and entanglement which has remained relatively constant since 1980. There were documented encounters between organisms and debris for 47,963 individuals and 373 species. As noted above, the majority of reports considered (76 %) described encounters with plastic debris as opposed to other types of material (Figure 2). Across all debris types there was a 40 % increase over the 267 species reported by Laist (1997). Species with the greatest number of individuals impacted by entanglement or ingestion were Callorhinus ursinus (Northern fur seal, n = 3835), Zalophus californianus (California sea lion, n = 3650), and Fulmarus glacialis (Northern fulmar, n = 3310), with the most frequently reported species all being either birds or marine mammals (Table 2). Species for which the greatest number of papers exist reporting incidence of entanglement or ingestion were Chelonia mydas (Green Turtle, n = 39), Eubalaena glacialis (North Atlantic Right Whale, n = 38) and Caretta caretta (Loggerhead Turtle, n = 23). The most frequently reported species include four of the seven species of turtle, two marine mammals, and four species of seabird (Table 2). 14 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Entanglment/Ingestion Dispersal via rafting Provision of new habitat Plastic Glass Metal Paper Other Unknown Debris category FIGURE 2: Number of papers or reports documenting encounters between marine organisms for entanglement/ ingestion, dispersal via rafting (potential to facilitate the transport of invasive species), and provision of new habitat (potential to provide new habitats) expressed as numbers of reports according to material type. Figure excludes papers reporting damage to ecosystems as it was not possible to extract quantitative information from these studies.
Number of individuals (Mean ± SE) Number of papers (Mean ± SE) 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Section 1: Impacts of marine debris on biodiversity TABLE 2: a) Species with the greatest number of individuals reported entangled and ingesting debris and b) species for which the greatest number of documents / papers report entanglement or ingestion a) Number of individuals Species name Common name Number recorded Callorhinus ursinus Northern fur seal 3835 Zalophus californianus Californian sea lion 3650 Fulmarus glacialis Northern fulmar 3310 Fratercula arctica Horned puffin 1678 Phoca vitulina Harbour seal 1339 Puffinus gravis Greater shearwater 1331 Arctocephalus gazella Antarctic fur seal 1148 Puffinus griseus Sooty shearwater 1122 Uria aalge Common guillamot 983 Diomedea immutabilis Laysan Albatross 972 a b 60 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s c 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Number of species (Mean ± SE) 50 40 30 20 10 0 b) Number of papers 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s FIGURE 3: Number of entanglement and ingestion related encounters encounters per decade for a) individuals and b) species reported, and c) the number of papers reporting these encounters (mean number per year averaged across decade ±SE). Note the different scales on the vertical axis. The number of species included in b) is greater than the total number reported (367) as it accounts for the same species being reported in multiple years. A decade is defined as e.g., 1960 - 1969 Species name Common name Number recorded Chelonia mydas Green sea turtle 39 Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic Right Whale 38 Caretta caretta Loggerhead Turtle 26 Eretmochelys imbricata Hawksbill Turtle 23 Fulmarus glacialis Northern Fulmar 22 Puffinus griseus Sooty Shearwater 19 Dermochelys coriacea Leatherback Turtle 18 Puffinus gravis Greater Shearwater 18 Diomedea immutabilis Laysan Albatross 15 Callorhinus ursinus Northern Fur Seal 11 Lepidochelys olivacea Olive Ridley Sea Turtle 11 15
Page 1: Secretariat of the Convention on Bi
Page 4 and 5: Published by the Secretariat of the
Page 7 and 8: Foreword Impacts of Marine Debris o
Page 9 and 10: AcknowLedgements Impacts of Marine
Page 11 and 12: Impacts of Marine Debris on Biodive
Page 13 and 14: section 1: Impacts of marine debris
Page 15: Section 1: Impacts of marine debris
Page 19 and 20: Number of individuals Number of pap
Page 21 and 22: Section 1: Impacts of marine debris
Page 25 and 26: Number of species 140 120 100 80 60
Page 29 and 30: Section 2: Strategies to Address th
Page 41 and 42: eFerences * Indicates original refe
Page 43 and 44: University, National Oceans Office
Page 45 and 46: University, National Oceans Office
Page 47 and 48: Marencic, H. & Vlas, J. de (Eds.),
Page 49 and 50: microplastics: a call for research.
Page 51 and 52: 1984, Honolulu, US Department of Co
Page 53 and 54: *Meylan, A. (1978). The behavioural
Page 55 and 56: *Pettit, T., Grant, G. & Whittow, G
Page 57 and 58: *Sazima, I., Gadig, O., Namora, R.
Page 59 and 60: pp. 387-429 NOAA Technical Memorand
Page 61 and 62: *Young, L., Vanderlip, C., Duffy, D
Page 63: Annex 2: Limitations of the data av

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