Presentation Details
A Literature Review of the Behavioral Interaction of Animals with Plastic Pollutants

Richard Buchholz.

University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, USA

Abstract


Plastic waste is projected to double by 2050. Plastic waste is highly variable in size, shape and chemical composition, all of which change over time due to physical degradation, sunlight, and biotic interaction. Consequently, animal interaction with plastic waste should be investigated from appropriate scales, such as those provided by Tinbergen’s ‘four questions’ about behavior. This literature review has 4 objectives: a) summarize the ways that animals behaviorally interact with plastics, b) evaluate the breadth of the behavioral approaches used to study those interactions, c) identify gaps in the taxonomic representation of both animals and types of plastics, to provide guidance for policies to lessen biodiversity loss and impairment of ecological services. Preliminary results show that of 366 published empirical studies examined, approaches used were: 36% mechanistic, 11% developmental effects, 38% fitness consequences, and only 16% took a comparative approach to considering species interactions with plastics. Vertebrates, mostly fishes, were the subject of 64% of studies, and 51% of the invertebrate studies were of arthropods, mostly crustacea and insects.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
Content Locked. Log into a registered attendee account to access this presentation.