Tracking the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic-related debris on wildlife using digital platforms.

Since the start of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19) pandemic in December 2019, there have been global surges of single-use plastic use. Due to the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitation items in protecting against virus transmission and from testing, facemasks, respirators, disposable gloves and disposable wet wipes have become global staples in households and institutions. Widespread use and insufficient infrastructure, combined with improper waste management have resulted in an emerging category of litter. With widespread presence in the environment, such items pose a direct threat to wildlife as animals can interact with them in a series of ways. We examined the scope of COVID-19 pandemic-related debris, including PPE and sanitation items, on wildlife from April 2020 to December 2021. We document the geographic occurrence of incidents, debris types, and consequences of incidents that were obtained from social media searches, unpublished reports from colleagues, and reports available from the citizen science database "Birds and Debris". There were 114 unique sightings of wildlife interactions with pandemic-related debris (38 from 2020 and 76 from 2021). Within the context of this dataset, most incidents involved birds (83.3 %), while fewer affected mammals (10.5 %), invertebrates (3.5 %), fish (1.8 %), and sea turtles (0.9 %). Sightings originated in 23 countries, and consisted mostly of entanglements (42.1 %) and nest incorporations (40.4 %). We verified sightings by contacting the original observers and were able to identify replicated sightings and increase the resolution of the data collected compared with previously published results. Due to the complexities associated with global use and accessibility of digital platforms, we likely underestimate the number of animals harmed by debris. Overall, the global scope of this study demonstrates that online and social media platforms are a valuable way to collect biologically relevant citizen science data and track rapidly emerging environmental challenges.

An emerging source of plastic pollution: Environmental presence of plastic personal protective equipment (PPE) debris related to COVID-19 in a metropolitan city.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented surge of production, consumption, and disposal of personal protective equipment (PPE) including face masks, disposable gloves, and disinfectant wipes, which are often made of single use plastic. Widespread public use of these items has imposed pressure on municipalities to properly collect and dispose of potentially infectious PPE. There has been a lack of structured monitoring efforts to quantify the emerging trend of improperly disposed of PPE debris. In this study, we present a baseline monitoring survey to describe the spatial distribution of PPE debris during the COVID-19 pandemic from the metropolitan city of Toronto, Canada. Our objectives were to: (1) quantify PPE debris types among surveyed areas and; (2) identify PPE debris densities and accumulation of surveyed areas. A total of 1306 PPE debris items were documented, with the majority being disposable gloves (44%), followed by face masks (31%), and disinfecting wipes (25%). Of the face masks, 97% were designed for single use while only 3% were reusable. Of the surveyed locations, the highest daily average densities of PPE debris were recorded in the large and medium-sized grocery store parking lots and the hospital district (0.00475 items/m2, 0.00160 items/m2, and 0.00133 items/m2 respectively). The two surveyed residential areas had the following highest PPE densities (0.00029 items/m2 and 0.00027 items/m2), while the recreational trail had the lowest densities (0.00020 items/m2). Assuming a business-as-usual accumulation, an estimated 14,298 PPE items will be leaked as debris in just the surveyed areas annually. To facilitate proper disposal of PPE debris by the public we recommend development of municipal efforts to improve PPE collection methods that are informed by the described PPE waste pathways.

Occurrence of plastics ingested by Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) destined for human consumption (Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador).

In the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, fishing is a core occupation and also a source of marine plastic pollution. To look at this relationship, we examined 216 gastrointestinal tracts of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) caught by commercial fishers at Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. We found three tracts contained plastic for a frequency of occurrence of 1.4%. While this result is consistent with other cod sampled in the province, this study found two gastrointestinal tracts contained intact bait bags, used in commercial pots, and the third tract contained a polypropylene thread, likely originating from fishing rope. Our findings demonstrate the frequency of plastic ingestion in this region is low, but fishing-gear related plastics represent a key source of marine plastics in the region that should be addressed.

Low incidence of plastic ingestion among three fish species significant for human consumption on the island of Newfoundland, Canada.

This study reports the first baselines of plastic ingestion for three fish species that are common commercial and sustenance food fish in Newfoundland. Species collections occurred between 2015 and 2016 for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and capelin (Mallotus villosus). The frequency of occurrence (%FO) of plastic ingestion for both Atlantic salmon (n = 69) and capelin (n = 350) was 0%. Of the 1010 Atlantic cod individuals collected over two years, 17 individuals had ingested plastics, a %FO of 1.68%. This is the only multi-year investigation of plastic ingestion in Atlantic cod for the Northwest Atlantic, and the first baseline of plastic ingestion in Atlantic salmon and capelin on the island of Newfoundland. Considering the ecological, economic, and cultural importance of these fish species, this study is the beginning of a longitudinal study of plastic ingestion to detect any future changes in contamination levels.

A zero percent plastic ingestion rate by silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis) from the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Silver hake, (Merluccius bilinearis), contributes significant biomass to Northwest Atlantic ecosystems. The incidence of plastic ingestion for 134 individuals collected from Newfoundland, Canada was examined through visual examination of gastrointestinal contents and Raman spectrometry. We found a frequency of occurrence of ingestion of 0%. Through a comprehensive literature review of globally published fish ingestion studies, we found our value to be consistent with 41% (n = 100) of all reported fish ingestion rates. We could not statistically compare silver hake results to other species due to low sample sizes in other studies (less than n = 20) and a lack of standardized sampling methods. We recommend that further studies should 1) continue to report 0% plastic ingestion rates and 2) should describe location and species-specific traits that may contribute to 0% ingestion rates, particularly in locations where fish consumption has cultural and economic significance.