Plastic ingestion by Arctic fauna: A review

Abstract

The distribution of marine plastic litter is unequal around the world, some areas being more polluted. Given that the Arctic is not a highly populated area, very low levels of plastics are expected. However, the Arctic is not significantly less polluted than populated areas further south. Plastic has already been found in most compartments of the Arctic Ocean and climate change will likely exacerbate that issue due to sea ice melting and increasing maritime activities. The Arctic fauna is, and will be, increasingly exposed to the plastic pollution threat in the coming years and decades. The objective of this review is providing a summary of existing data, as well as perspectives and important knowledge gaps regarding plastic ingestion by Arctic fauna. Among other knowledge gaps, we highlighted the need for a species for biomonitoring of plastic pollution in the Arctic, i.e. the northern fulmar and/or the polar cod, for more data in fauna from the Russian and European Arctic and for experimental studies on impacts of plastic ingestion on Arctic species.