Standard Presentation Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting 2023

Galápagos and the plastic problem. (#263)

Juan Pablo Muñoz-Pérez 1 2 3 , Gregory Lewbart A. Lewbart 2 3 4 , Daniela Alarcón-Ruales 1 3 , Alice Skehel 1 , Esteban Cobos 3 , Roberth Rivera 2 , Alexis Jaramillo 2 3 , Henry Vivanco 2 3 , Leo Zurita-Arthos 2 3 , Bryan P Wallace 5 , Carlos A Valle 2 3 , Kathy A. Townsend 1
  1. School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC),, Hervey Bay, QLD, Australia
  2. Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales (COCIBA), Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), Quito , Pichincha, Ecuador
  3. Galápagos Science Center (GSC), Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Galápagos, Ecuador
  4. College of Veterinary Medicine , North Carolina State University , Raleigh, NC, United States
  5. Ecolibrium Inc, Boulder, CO, United States

Plastic pollution (PP) is an ongoing, pervasive global problem that represents a risk to the Galápagos, despite it being one of the world’s most-pristine and well-protected regions. By working closely with citizen-scientists, we aimed to quantify and map the magnitude and biological effects of PP. With macroplastic abundance ranging from 0.003 to 2.87 items/m2, our research indicates that all five sampled Galápagos-bioregions are contaminated with PP along their coastlines. The distribution of this debris is not-uniform, with macroplastics significantly higher on the windward shores. Based on the identification information found on the examined items, Polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) was the most predominant type of plastic originating from both consumer and fisheries-based products deriving primarily from Perú, China, and Ecuador. The top three manufacturers were AjeCroup, Coca-Cola, and Tingy-Holding-Corporation. Through citizen-science, we documented PP-exposure in 52 species (20 endemic) in Galápagos terrestrial and marine environments, with exposure occurring in two ways: entanglement and ingestion. These included reptiles 8 species (SP), birds 13 SP, mammals 4 SP, cartilaginous fish 7 SP, bony fish 14 SP, and invertebrates 6 SP. The top five-species with the greatest risk of serious harm due to entanglement (in decreasing order) were identified as green-turtles, marine- iguanas, whale-sharks, spine-tail-mobulas, and medium-ground-finches. In contrast, Santa-Cruz- tortoises, green-turtles, marine-iguanas, black-striped-salemas, and sea-lions were at the highest risk of harm due to the ingestion of plastics. Our research indicates that PP is a growing problem in the Galápagos and that additional work is necessary to mitigate its impact now and in the future.

  1. Muñoz-Pérez, J. P., Lewbart, G. A., Alarcón-Ruales, D., Skehel, A., Cobos, E., Rivera, R., et al. (2023). Galápagos and the plastic problem. Front. Sustain. 4, 1091516. doi: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1091516.