Incidental consumption of plastic and other anthropogenic materials by Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) in a garbage dump in Ecuador
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v28i4.21627Keywords:
Rubbish dumps, Organic waste, Landfills, Anthropocene, plastisphere, bioaccumulation, Cathartidae, pellets, soil, Conservation, Plastic pollution, Scavengers, Urban ecologyAbstract
This study analyzes and discusses the ingestion of plastic and other anthropogenic materials by Coragyps atratus in a suburban waste dump in Calceta, Manabí Province, Ecuador. Of a total of 112 pellets analyzed, 100% contained anthropogenic materials, the most conspicuous being different types of plastics and microplastics, as well as metals, glass, soil, and others. The relative importance of the anthropogenic materials found is discussed and analyzed, same as their potential impact on the species and humanity.
Downloads
References
Augé AA. 2017. Anthropogenic debris in the diet of turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) in a remote and low-populated South Atlantic island. Polar Biology 40, 799–805. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-016-2004-0
Bach C, Dauchy X, Chagnon M, Etienne S. 2012. Chemical compounds and toxicological assessments of drinking water stored in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles: A source of controversy reviewed. Water Research 46 (3): 571-583. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2011.11.062.
Ballejo F, De Santis LJM. 2013. Dieta estacional del jote cabeza negra (Coragyps atratus) en un área rural y una urbana. Hornero 28, 7-14. Disponible en https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/download/hornero/hornero_v028_n01_p007.pdf
Ballejo F, Plaza P, Speziale KL et al. 2020. Plastic ingestion and dispersion by vultures may produce plastic islands in natural areas. Science of the Total Environment (MS) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142421
Barnes DK, Galgani F, Thompson RC, Barlaz M. 2009. Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 364, 1985–1998. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0205
Beyer WN, Connor EE, Gerould S. 1994. Estimates of soil ingestion by wildlifeJournal of Wildlife Management 58:375-382. https://doi.org/10.2307/3809405
Carlin J, Craig C, Little S, Donnelly M, Fox D, Zhai L, Walters L. 2020. Microplastic accumulation in the gastrointestinal tracts in birds of prey in central Florida, USA. Environmental Pollution 2020 Sep; 264:114633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114633.
Chamberlain CP, Waldbauer JR, Fox-Dobbs K, Newsome SD, Koch PL, Smith DR, Church ME, Chamberlain SD, Sorenson KJ, Risebrough R. 2005. Pleistocene to recent dietary shifts in California condors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102, 16707-16711. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0508529102
Coleman JS, Fraser JD. 1987. Food habits of Black and Turkey vultures in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Journal of Wildlife Management 51: 733–739. https://doi.org/10.2307/3801734
Courtney A, Baker J, Bamford H. 2009. Proceedings of the International Research Workshop on the Occurrence, Effects and Fate of Microplastic Marine Debris. Sept 9-11, 2008. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS-OR&R-30. 49 p. Disponible en https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/proceedings-international-research-workshop-microplastic-marine-debris
Cruz Carrillo A, Moreno Figueredo G, Lara Osorio M. 2010. Toxicología de las dioxinas y su impacto en la salud humana. Revista de Medicina Veterinaria (19): 73-84. https://doi.org/10.19052/mv.787
Downs CT, Bredin IP, Wragg PD. 2019. More than Eating Dirt: A Review of Avian Geophagy. African Zoology 54 (1): 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2019.1570335
Flores-Tena FJ, Guerrero-Barrera AL, Avelar-González FJ, Ramírez-López EM, Martínez-Saldaña MC. 2007. Pathogenic and opportunistic Gram-negative bacteria in soil, leachate and air in San Nicolás landfill at Aguascalientes, Mexico. Revista Latinoamericana de Microbiologia. 49: 25–30.
Gangoso L, Agudo R, Anadon JD, de la Riva M, Suleyman AS, Porter R, Donazar JA. 2013. Reinventing mutualism between humans and wild fauna: insights from vultures as ecosystem services providers. Conservation Letters 6, 172e179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2012.00289.x
García AJ, Gallego C, Font G. 2015. Toxicidad del Bisfenol A: Revisión. Revista de Toxicología (2015) 32: 144‐160.
Geyer R, Jambeck JR, Lavender Law L. 2017. Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Science Advances 3, e1700782. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700782
Gill JPK, Sethi N, Mohan A et al. 2018. Glyphosate toxicity for animals. Environmental Chemistry Letters 16:401–426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-017-0689-0
Hiraldo F, Delibes M, Donazar JA. 1991. Comparison of Diets of Turkey Vultures in Three Regions of Northern Mexico. Journal of Field Ornithology 62 (3), 319–324. Disponible en https://www.jstor.org/stable/20065796
Holland AE, Byrne ME, Bryan AL, DeVault TL, Rhodes OE, Beasley JC. 2017. Fine‐scale assessment of home ranges and activity patterns for resident black vultures (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vultures (Cathartes aura). PLoS One 12(7): e0179819. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179819
Houston DC, Mee A, McGrady M. 2007. Why do condors and vultures eat junk? The implications for conservation. Journal of Raptor Research 41 (3): 235-238. https://doi.org/10.3356/0892-1016(2007)41[235:WDCAVE]2.0.CO;2
Houston DC. 1988. Competition for food between Neotropical vultures in forest. Ibis 130:402-417. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1988.tb00998.x
Hui CA, Beyer WN. 1998. Sediment ingestion of two sympatric shorebird species. Sci Total Environ 224:227-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(98)00361-1
Hui CA. 2004. Geophagy and Potential Contaminant Exposure for Terrestrial Vertebrates. In: Ware GW (eds) Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, vol. 183. Springer, Nueva York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9100-3_5
INEN (Instituto Ecuatoriano de Normalización). 2012. Norma técnica ecuatoriana, NTE INEN 2634:2012. Disposición de desechos plásticos postconsumo. Requisitos. Primera Edición. NTE, Ecuador. 14 p. https://www.ambiente.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/05/NTE-INENE-2634-Plasticos-post-consumo.pdf
Iñigo E. 1987. Feeding habits and ingestion of synthetic products in a Black Vulture population from Chiapas, Mexico. Acta Zoológica Mexicana 9:1–15. https://doi.org/10.21829/azm.1987.19222040
Johnston F. 2001. Synanthropic birds of North America. In: Marzluff JM, Bowman R, Donnelly R. (Eds.), Avian Ecology in an Urbanizing World. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA, pp. 49–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1531-9_3
Katyal DE, Kong E, Villanueva J. 2020. Microplastics in the environment: impact on human health and future mitigation strategies. Environmental Health Review. 63 (1): 27-31. https://doi.org/10.5864/d2020-005
Kelly NE, Sparks DW, DeVault TL, Rhodes OE. 2007. Diet of Black and Turkey Vultures in a Forested Landscape. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 119, 267-270. https://doi.org/10.1676/05-095.1
Lambertucci SA, Trejo A, Di Martino S, Sánchez-Zapata JA, Donázar JA, Hiraldo F. 2009. Spatial and temporal patterns in the diet of the Andean condor: ecological replacement of native fauna by exotic species. Animal Conservation 12(4): 338-345. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2009.00258.x
Magurran AE. 1988. Ecological Diversity and Its Measurement. Princeton University Press.
Margalida A, Sánchez-Zapata JA, Blanco G, Hiraldo F, Donázar JA. 2014. Diclofenac Approval as a Threat to Spanish Vultures. Conservation Biology. 28(3):631–632. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12271 .
Markandya A, Taylor T, Longo A, Murty MN, Murty S, Dhavala K. 2008. Counting the cost of vulture decline: An appraisal of the human health and other benefits of vultures in India. Ecological Economics 67: 194–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.04.020
Matejczyk M, Plaza GA, Nalęcz-Jawecki G, Ulfig K, Markowska-Szczupak A. 2011. Estimation of the environmental risk posed by landfills using chemical, microbiological and ecotoxicological testing of leachates. Chemosphere 82(7):1017–1023. https://10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.10.066
McKinney ML. 2002. Urbanization, biodiversity, and conservation. BioScience 52(10): 883 – 890. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0883:UBAC]2.0.CO;2
Mee A, Rideout BA, Hamber JA, Todd JN, Austin G, Clark M, Wallace MP. 2007. Junk ingestion and nestling mortality in a reintroduced population of California Condors Gymnogyps californianus. Bird Conservation International 17:119–130. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095927090700069X
Moleón M, Sánchez-Zapata J, Margalida A, Carrete M, Owen-Smith N, Donázar J. 2014. Humans and Scavengers: The Evolution of Interactions and Ecosystem Services. BioScience 64(5): 394-403. http://www.jstor.org/stable/90006686
Noreen Z, Sultan K. 2021. A global modification in avifaunal behavior by use of waste disposal sites (waste dumps/rubbish dumps): A review paper. Pure and Applied Biology (10)3: 603-616. http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2021.100062
Novaes WG, Cintra R. 2013. Factors influencing the selection of communal roost sites by the Black Vulture Coragyps atratus (Aves: Cathartidae) in an urban area in Central Amazon. Zoologia (Curitiba) 30(6):607-614. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702013005000014
Oaks JL, Meteyer CU. 2012. Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs in Raptors. Fowler’s Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine 349–355. https://10.1016/b978-1-4377-1986-4.00046-9
Ogada DL, Keesing F, Virani MZ. 2012. Dropping dead: causes and consequences of vulture population declines worldwide. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1249: 57-71. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06293.x
ONU Medio Ambiente. 2018. Plásticos de un solo uso: Una hoja de ruta para la sostenibilidad. 6ta Ed. 104 p. https://www.unep.org/es/resources/informe/plasticos-de-un-solo-uso-una-hoja-de-ruta-para-la-sostenibilidad
Oro D, Genovart M, Tavecchia G, Fowler MS, Martínez-Abraín A. 2013. Ecological and evolutionary implications of food subsidies from humans. Ecology Letters 16:1501e1514. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12187
Parfitt J, Barthel M, Macnaughton S. 2010. Food waste within food supply chains: quantification and potential for change to 2050. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 365(1554): 3065–3081 https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0126
Paterson RL. 1984. High incidence of plant material and small mammals in the autumn diet of Turkey Vultures in Virginia. Wilson Bulletin 396:467-469.
Plaza PI, Blanco G, Lambertucci SA. 2020, Implications of bacterial, viral and mycotic microorganisms in vultures for wildlife conservation, ecosystem services and public health. Ibis 162: 1109-1124. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12865
Plaza PI, Blanco G, Madariaga MJ, Boeri E, Teijeiro ML, Bianco G, Lambertucci SA. 2019. Scavenger birds exploiting rubbish dumps: Pathogens at the gates. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 66: 873– 881. https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.13097
Plaza PI, Lambertucci SA. 2017. How are garbage dumps impacting vertebrate demography, health, and conservation? Global Ecology and Conservation 12(2017): 9 – 20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2017.08.002
Plaza PI, Lambertucci SA. 2018. More massive but potentially less healthy: Black vultures feeding in rubbish dumps differed in clinical and biochemical parameters with wild feeding birds. PeerJ 6: e4645. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4645
Pollack L, Ondrasek NR, Calisi R. 2017. Urban health and ecology: the promise of an avian biomonitoring tool. Current Zoology 63(2):205-212. https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zox011
Reynolds C, Ryan PG. 2018. Micro-plastic ingestion by waterbirds from contaminated wetlands in South Africa. Marine Pollution Bulletin 126:330e333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.021
Rideout BA, Stalis I, Papendick R, Pessier A, Puschner B, Finkelstein ME, Smith DR, Johnson M, Mace M, Stroud R, et al. 2012. Patterns of mortality in free-ranging California Condors (Gymnogyps californianus). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 48:95–112 https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-48.1.95
Sarria A, Gallo J, Pérez E. 2019. Bisphenol-A: A contaminant present in plastic containers. Revista ITTPA, 01 (01): 35-41. Disponible en: https://bit.ly/3thzYf3
Sazima I. 2007. From carrion-eaters to bathers’ bags plunderers: how Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) could have found that plastic bags may contain food. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 15:617-620. Disponible en https://bit.ly/35RX7K9
SEO/BirdLife (2018). Código Ético para la Observación de Aves. Sociedad Española de Ornitología. Madrid. https://seo.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Codigo_etico_aves_SEO_-2018.pdf
Steffen W, Sanderson A, Tyson PD, Jäger J, Matson PA, Moore III B, Oldfield F, Richardson K, Schellnhuber HJ, Turner BL, Wasson RJ. 2004. Global Change and the Earth System: A Planet Under Pressure. New York: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Stothra Bhashyam S, Nash R, Deegan M, Pagter E, Frias J. 2020. Microplastics in the marine environment: sources, impacts and recommendations. Research@THEA [Reporte del Marine and Freshwater Research Centre at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology] http://research.thea.ie/handle/20.500.12065/3593.
Swan GE, Cuthbert R, Quevedo M, Green RE, Pain DJ, Bartels P, et al. 2006. Toxicity of diclofenac to Gyps vultures. Biology Letters:279–282. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2005.0425
Tauler-Ametller H, Hernández-Matías A, Parés F, Pretus JL, Real J. 2018. Assessing the applicability of stable isotope analysis to determine the contribution of landfills to vultures’ diet. PLoS ONE 13 (5): e0196044. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196044
Teuten EL, Saquing JM, Knappe DR, Barlaz MA, Jonsson S, Björn A, Rowland SJ, Thompson RC, Galloway TS, Yamashita R, Ochi D, Watanuki Y, Moore C, Viet PH, Tana TS, Prudente M, Boonyatumanond R, Zakaria MP, Akkhavong K, Ogata Y, Takada H. 2009. Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 364 (1526), 2027–2045. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0284
Thomaides C, Valdez R, Reid WH, Raitt RJ. 1989. Food habits of turkey vultures in West Texas. Journal of Raptor Research 23:42-44.
Tu C, Zhou Q, Zhang C, Liu Y, Luo Y. 2020. Biofilms of Microplastics. In: He D., Luo Y. (eds) Microplastics in Terrestrial Environments. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, 95. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2020_461
Walters JR, Derrickson SR, Fry MD, Haig SM, Marzluff JM, Wunderle JM. 2010. Status of the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) and efforts to achieve its recovery. The Auk 127:969-1001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/auk.2010.127.4.969
Wiemeyer GM, Plaza PI, Bustos CP, Muñoz AJ, Lambertucci SA. 2021. Exposure to Anthropogenic Areas May Influence Colonization by Zoonotic Microorganisms in Scavenging Birds. International Journal of Environmental Research 18(10):5231. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105231
Wilcox C, Van Sebille E, Hardesty BD. 2015. Threat of plastic pollution to seabirds is global, pervasive, and increasing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112, 11899e11904. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1502108112
Witte R, Diesing D, Godde M. 1985. Urbanophobe, urbanoneutral, urbanophile - behavior of species concerning the urban habitat. Flora 177:265–282.
Yahner RH, Storm GL, Wrigth AL. 1990. Winter diets of vultures in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Wilson Bulletin 102:320-325. Disponible en http://www.jstor.org/stable/4162871
Zettler ER, Mincer TJ, Amaral-Zettler LA. 2013. Life in the ‘plastisphere’: microbial communities on plastic marine debris. Environmental Science & Technology 47(13): 7137−7146. https://doi.org/10.1021/es401288x
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Enrique Richard, Denise Ilcen Contreras Zapata, Fabio Angeoletto
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
AUTHORS RETAIN THEIR RIGHTS:
a. Authors retain their trade mark rights and patent, and also on any process or procedure described in the article.
b. Authors retain their right to share, copy, distribute, perform and publicly communicate their article (eg, to place their article in an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in the Revista Peruana de Biologia.
c. Authors retain theirs right to make a subsequent publication of their work, to use the article or any part thereof (eg a compilation of his papers, lecture notes, thesis, or a book), always indicating its initial publication in the Revista Peruana de Biologia (the originator of the work, journal, volume, number and date).