A quantitative risk assessment framework for mortality due to macroplastic ingestion in seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles

Abstract

Plastic ingestion has been documented in nearly 1,300 marine species, including every seabird family, marine mammal family, and sea turtle species. Acute mortality, due to obstruction, perforation, or torsion of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, has been confirmed via necropsy in all three taxa; however, quantitative risk assessment for macroplastic ingestion poses unique challenges, with risk more dependent on probability of discrete events involving diverse plastic types rather than cumulative exposure models (e.g., LC 50 ). We model mortality risk associated with macroplastic ingestion in seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles, using data from more than 10,000 necropsies reported in the academic literature and stranding network databases. Employing an adapted Weibull Accelerated Failure Time model, we assess the relationship between the GI load (pieces and volume/animal length) of different plastic types—hard, soft, rubber, or fishing debris—and likelihood of plastic-induced mortality. Overall, 35% of seabirds, 12% of marine mammals, and 47% of sea turtles ingested plastic, and 1.6%, 0.7%, and 4.4% died from plastic, respectively. When modeling plastic together, a 90% chance of mortality was associated with 23 pieces (0.098 cm 3 /cm) in seabirds, 29 pieces (39.89 cm 3 /cm) in marine mammals, and 405 pieces (5.52 cm 3 /cm) in sea turtles (377 for juveniles). The plastic types that posed the greatest risks were rubber for seabirds, soft plastics and fishing debris for marine mammals, and hard and soft plastics for sea turtles. This research furthers scientific understanding of the likelihood of mortality from plastic ingestion and can inform monitoring, risk assessments, and management frameworks.