1. While floating near the sea surface plastic debris interacts with a number of external factors, including many different organisms. Seabirds have the most extensive documented history of interactions with plastics, through ingestion, entanglement, and nest construction.
2. In the present study, eight seabird species from the South Pacific Ocean were used as a proxy to determine potential patterns of removal of marine plastic debris, and three hypotheses were tested in relation to their feeding habits and nesting areas.
3. Plastics from abiotic compartments (Chilean continental coast, South Pacific Gyre, and Rapa Nui beaches) and biotic compartments (surface‐feeding seabirds, diving seabirds, and nesting areas) were compared, according to their type, colour, shape, and density.
4. Continental beaches had a relatively wide range of colours and shapes, with many non‐buoyant plastics. Samples from the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) beaches comprised mainly hard, rounded, buoyant, and white/grey plastics.
5. These results indicate that the composition of floating plastics from terrestrial sources changes during transport with oceanic currents, reducing the proportion of prey‐like plastics present in the subtropical gyres.
6. The stomach contents of surface‐feeding and diving seabirds were dominated by hard, white/grey, and round plastic items, similar to plastics from the SPG, suggesting non‐selective (accidental or secondary) ingestion.
7. Nesting areas had a more variable composition of brightly coloured plastics, suggesting a pattern of selective removal of plastics by seabirds, probably from oceanic sources.
8. The present study reveals extensive interactions of seabirds with plastics on a broader scale, which is highly relevant given that the impacts of plastics on seabirds are increasing worldwide, compromising their efficient conservation.

中文翻译：

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决定海鸟从南太平洋清除海洋塑料碎片的因素（类型，颜色，密度和形状）：是否存在某种形式？

1. 当塑料碎片漂浮在海面附近时，它会与许多外部因素（包括许多不同的生物）相互作用。通过摄入，纠缠和筑巢，海鸟拥有与塑料相互作用最广泛的历史记录。
2. 在本研究中，以南太平洋的八种海鸟物种为代表，确定了清除海洋塑料碎片的潜在方式，并针对它们的摄食习惯和筑巢地区对三种假设进行了检验。
3. 根据它们的类型，颜色，形状和密度，比较了非生物区隔（智利大陆海岸，南太平洋环流和Rapa Nui海滩）和生物区隔（表面饲养的海鸟，潜水海鸟和筑巢区）的塑料。
4. 大陆海滩具有相对广泛的颜色和形状，并使用许多非漂浮性塑料。来自南太平洋涡（SPG）和拉帕努伊（复活节岛）海滩的样品主要包括硬塑料，圆形塑料，浮力塑料和白色/灰色塑料。
5. 这些结果表明，来自陆源的漂浮塑料的成分在运输过程中随着洋流的变化而变化，从而减少了亚热带回旋中类似猎物的塑料的比例。
6. 表面喂养和潜水海鸟的胃内容物主要由坚硬，白色/灰色和圆形塑料制成，类似于SPG的塑料，表明非选择性（偶然或二次）摄入。
7. 筑巢区的鲜艳塑料组成的变化更大，这表明海鸟可能从海洋来源选择性去除塑料的模式。
8. 本研究揭示了更大范围内海鸟与塑料的广泛相互作用，鉴于塑料对海鸟的影响在全球范围内正在增加，影响了其有效的保护，因此这是高度相关的。