Toxicology and plastic pollution in northern fulmar from Bjørnøya

The Arctic is a sink for environmental contaminants and plastic as the planet’s circulation of sea currents and air deposit these pollutants from around the globe at the poles. Many pollutants have been detected in several seabird species from Svalbard. Some of these pollutants have detrimental effects on their behavior, endocrine system, breeding, and survival. Studies of northern fulmar at Svalbard has shown that more than 94 % of the fulmars have microplastic in their stomach. Microplastic contain pollutants and it is suggested that these chemicals, which are released from the plastic, are distributed from the stomach to the blood/organs of fulmars. Information on plastic pollution in fulmars from the North Sea are from measurement of dead birds found on the beaches. In the present study, we want to investigate if it is possible to determine the content of microplastic in wild fulmars by using the water flushing method. The water flushing method have previously been used to study the feeding ecology of fulmars. If the water flushing method work on fulmars this method can be used in future monitoring of microplastic pollution in fulmars from the Arctic. The aim of this study is to determine the pollutant levels (plastic chemicals) in 10 wild fulmars from the Bjørnøya colony. We also want to test the water flushing method on 10 wild fulmars in order to evaluate if this method can be used in future monitoring of microplastic pollution in the Arctic.