Plastic debris is a pervasive environmental challenge described as a worldwide crisis for marine life, and seabirds are particularly sensitive to the pollutant. Seabirds exhibit a range of foraging strategies, from generalist scavengers to specialist predators, which likely influences their risk of plastic ingestion. Our study evaluates this relationship using two congeneric seabirds, including a generalist species (the Herring Gull, Larus argentatus) and a more specialist species (the Great Black‐backed Gull, Larus marinus) nesting in the Gulf of Maine. Analysis for stable isotopes of carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) was used to evaluate interspecific differences in diet and niche size, while dietary samples were collected for analysis of plastic ingestion. Herring Gulls exhibited significantly larger isotopic niche size and displayed significantly higher rates of plastic ingestion than Great Black‐backed Gulls (p value < 0.01), though the range of physical characteristics and relative size of plastics in the diet did not differ significantly.

中文翻译：

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觅食策略影响海鸟的塑料摄入风险

塑料碎片是一种无处不在的环境挑战，被描述为全球海洋生物危机，海鸟对污染物特别敏感。海鸟展示了多种觅食策略，从通才捕食者到专业捕食者，都可能影响其塑料摄入的风险。我们的研究评估使用两个同属海鸟，包括一个多面手物种（鲱鱼鸥，这种关系鸥argentatus）和更专业的品种（大黑背鸥，鸥马里努斯）在缅因湾筑巢。分析稳定同位素碳（δ的¹³ C）和氮（δ ¹⁵N）用于评估饮食和生态位大小之间的种间差异，同时收集饮食样本以分析可塑性摄入。尽管日粮中塑料的物理特性范围和相对大小没有显着差异，但鲱鱼海鸥的同位素生态位面积明显更大，并且其塑料摄入速率也显着高于大黑背海鸥（p值<0.01）。