No evidence of microplastics in emperor penguins, says study

Category : Plastic pollution | Location : International  | Posted on 2022-10-07 05:29:11

A study conducted by the University of Basel in Switzerland and the Alfred-Wegener Institute in Germany has found no evidence of microplastics in the stomachs of emperor penguins. The study is an important assessment of environmental pollution at the South Pole.

Researchers analysed the gizzard contents of 41 chicks found dead in the colony in Atka Bay, a remote area on the north-eastern edge of the Ekström Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

“We had already conducted studies of water samples there and discovered microplastics, albeit in low concentrations,” Clara Leistenschneider, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Basel, was quoted as saying in a statement.

They visually identified 85 potential plastic particles up to half a millimetre in size under the microscope and used spectral analysis to determine these particles’ properties.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/no-evidence-of-microplastics-in-emperor-penguins-says-study-85307