TY - JOUR
T1 - ‘Plasticosis’
T2 - Characterising macro- and microplastic-associated fibrosis in seabird tissues
AU - Charlton-Howard, Hayley S.
AU - Bond, Alexander L.
AU - Rivers-Auty, Jack
AU - Lavers, Jennifer L.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and waters where this paper was written, the muwinina people of nipaluna (Hobart, Australia), and celebrate the role that Indigenous people have played as the first scientists and conservationists of this land. Our thanks to the Pure Ocean Fund, the Natural History Museum, the Detached Cultural Organization, and Lynton Mortensen (Ocean Plastic Relay - Day of 30) for generously providing funding for this research. Logistical and field assistance was provided by the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Service, Lord Howe Island community, and the Two Hands Project (Paul Sharp and Silke Stuckenbrock). Special thanks to Adrift Lab members, Megan Grant and Alix de Jersey, for their invaluable assistance with sample collection. Samples were collected under permit from the Lord Howe Island Board (permit no. 07/18) under the approval of the University of Tasmania Animal Ethics Committee (permit no. A18480) and New South Wales Office of Environment & Heritage (licence no. SL100619). Thanks to two anonymous reviewers who provided feedback to improve earlier drafts.
Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and waters where this paper was written, the muwinina people of nipaluna (Hobart, Australia), and celebrate the role that Indigenous people have played as the first scientists and conservationists of this land. Our thanks to the Pure Ocean Fund, the Natural History Museum, the Detached Cultural Organization, and Lynton Mortensen (Ocean Plastic Relay - Day of 30) for generously providing funding for this research. Logistical and field assistance was provided by the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Service, Lord Howe Island community, and the Two Hands Project (Paul Sharp and Silke Stuckenbrock). Special thanks to Adrift Lab members, Megan Grant and Alix de Jersey, for their invaluable assistance with sample collection. Samples were collected under permit from the Lord Howe Island Board (permit no. 07/18) under the approval of the University of Tasmania Animal Ethics Committee (permit no. A18480) and New South Wales Office of Environment & Heritage (licence no. SL100619). Thanks to two anonymous reviewers who provided feedback to improve earlier drafts.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/3/1
Y1 - 2023/3/1
N2 - As biota are increasingly exposed to plastic pollution, there is a need to closely examine the sub-lethal ‘hidden’ impacts of plastic ingestion. This emerging field of study has been limited to model species in controlled laboratory settings, with little data available for wild, free-living organisms. Highly impacted by plastic ingestion, Flesh-footed Shearwaters (Ardenna carneipes) are thus an apt species to examine these impacts in an environmentally relevant manner. A Masson's Trichrome stain was used to document any evidence of plastic-induced fibrosis, using collagen as a marker for scar tissue formation in the proventriculus (stomach) of 30 Flesh-footed Shearwater fledglings from Lord Howe Island, Australia. Plastic presence was highly associated with widespread scar tissue formation and extensive changes to, and even loss of, tissue structure within the mucosa and submucosa. Additionally, despite naturally occurring indigestible items, such as pumice, also being found in the gastrointestinal tract, this did not cause similar scarring. This highlights the unique pathological properties of plastics and raises concerns for other species impacted by plastic ingestion. Further, the extent and severity of fibrosis documented in this study gives support for a novel, plastic-induced fibrotic disease, which we define as ‘Plasticosis,’.
AB - As biota are increasingly exposed to plastic pollution, there is a need to closely examine the sub-lethal ‘hidden’ impacts of plastic ingestion. This emerging field of study has been limited to model species in controlled laboratory settings, with little data available for wild, free-living organisms. Highly impacted by plastic ingestion, Flesh-footed Shearwaters (Ardenna carneipes) are thus an apt species to examine these impacts in an environmentally relevant manner. A Masson's Trichrome stain was used to document any evidence of plastic-induced fibrosis, using collagen as a marker for scar tissue formation in the proventriculus (stomach) of 30 Flesh-footed Shearwater fledglings from Lord Howe Island, Australia. Plastic presence was highly associated with widespread scar tissue formation and extensive changes to, and even loss of, tissue structure within the mucosa and submucosa. Additionally, despite naturally occurring indigestible items, such as pumice, also being found in the gastrointestinal tract, this did not cause similar scarring. This highlights the unique pathological properties of plastics and raises concerns for other species impacted by plastic ingestion. Further, the extent and severity of fibrosis documented in this study gives support for a novel, plastic-induced fibrotic disease, which we define as ‘Plasticosis,’.
KW - Flesh-footed Shearwater
KW - Histopathology
KW - Masson's trichrome
KW - Plastic pollution
KW - Scar tissue
KW - Stomach
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147202491&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85147202491&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131090
DO - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131090
M3 - Article
C2 - 36867907
AN - SCOPUS:85147202491
SN - 0304-3894
VL - 450
JO - Journal of Hazardous Materials
JF - Journal of Hazardous Materials
M1 - 131090
ER -