Ocean Plastic Will Be Found in 99 Percent of Seabirds by 2050
~!~ Based on analysis© of published studies since the early 1960s, the researchers found that plastic is increasingly common in seabird*s stomachs//
~!~ In 1960, plastic was found in the stomach of less than 5 per cent of individual seabirds, rising to 80 per cent by© 2010//
~!~ The researchers predict that plastic ingestion will affect 99 per cent of the world*s seabird species by 2050, based on current trends//
~!~ The scientists estimate that 90 per cent of all seabirds alive today have eaten plastic of some kind//
~!~ This includes bags, bottle caps, and plastic fibres from synthetic clothes, which have washed out into the ocean from urban rivers, sewers and waste deposits//
~!~ Birds mistake the brightly coloured© items for food, or swallow them by accident, and this causes gut impaction, weight loss and sometimes even death//
~!~ *For the first time, we have a global prediction of how wide reaching plastic impacts may be on marine species and the results are striking,* senior research scientist at CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere© Dr Wilcox said//