In collaboration with members of the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, I recently published a series of articles in Science of the Total Environment, to developing and applying a trait-based risk assessment framework for macroplastic.
The first article, A multi-taxonomic, trait-based framework for assessing macroplastic vulnerability, presents a method for predicting the relative vulnerability of marine species to macroplastic pollution based on biological and ecological trait data. It focuses on the physical impacts of macroplastic pollution, which are primarily due to ingestion, entanglement, and shading. The second article, A macroplastic vulnerability index for marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles in Hawai‘i, applies this framework to marine megafauna in Hawai'i. I identify the Hawaiian Monk Seal, sea turtles, baleen whales, and long-lived albatrosses and petrels as the species most vulnerable to plastic pollution. This case study not only exemplifies the value of these tools for population monitoring and macroplastic management, but also indicates how existing research may draw the focus to less at-risk species.
Photo credit: Sea Turtle Inc.