The study, published in the U.S. journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is important in revealing the pervasive impact of plastic on seabirds.
"This is a huge amount and really points to the ubiquity of plastic pollution," lead author Chris Wilcox, a senior research scientist at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Oceans and Atmosphere Business Unit, said in a statement.
The investigators' analysis of studies published since the early 1960s showed that plastic is increasingly common in seabirds' stomachs.
Based on current trends, the researchers predicted that plastic ingestion will affect 99 percent of the world's seabird species by 2050.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
