PRE2023-Las aves acuáticas como vectores de dispersión de plásticos y sus implicaciones ecotoxi-epidemiológicas: papel de la ecología trófica y movimiento (IsoPlastic) PID 2022-140057NB-100

Isoplastic project aims to assess the role of aquatic birds as biovectors of plastics and their ecotoxic-epidemiological implications, and the effect of key ecological behaviour as foraging movements and trophic ecology. We propose a multidisciplinary approach, combining Dispersal Ecology, Foraging and Trophic Ecology, Microbiology and Clinical Pathology. We focus on three generalist bird species highly associated with anthropogenic habitats and with different trophic habits: white stork, yellow-legged gull and cattle egret. We will test the hypothesis that populations more associated with human related habitats carry more plastic waste to natural habitats and will have higher levels of toxicants associated to health problems. We will quantify the plastic load from anthropogenic habitats to wetlands through the analysis of faeces, pellets and nests content, and will relate this information with the diet and foraging movement patterns of individuals. Stable isotope analysis will be used to evaluate diet, trophic level and niche size of birds. The project will also explore the understudied ecotoxicological dimension of plastic pollution by assessing the levels of plasticizers and flame retardants in bird tissues and their effects on blood chemistry and morphometry as indicatives of bird health. IsoPlastic will improve the global assessment of plastic pollution risk in ecosystems generating knowledge on poorly understood aspects such as transport, toxicology and epidemiology.