Plastic mistaken for prey by a colony-breeding Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae) in the Mediterranean Sea, revealed by camera-trap

Ronny Steen; Cathrine S Torjussen; Dean W Jones; Thodoris Tsimpidis; Anastasia Miliou

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.02.069

Plastic mistaken for prey by a colony-breeding Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae) in the Mediterranean Sea, revealed by camera-trap

Mar Pollut Bull. 2016 May 15;106(1-2):200-1. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.02.069. Epub 2016 Mar 9.

Authors

Ronny Steen¹, Cathrine S Torjussen², Dean W Jones³, Thodoris Tsimpidis³, Anastasia Miliou³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Science, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Science, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway.
³ Archipelagos, Institute of Marine Conservation, Marine Research Base, P.O. Box 42, Pythagorio 83102, Samos, Greece.

PMID: 26971232
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.02.069

Abstract

Discarded plastic is known to be harmful for marine animals through ingestion and entanglement. Here we report the first documentation of Eleonora's falcons providing plastic waste to dependent nestlings. Eleonora's falcons breed colonially on sea cliffs and islets in areas of the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands in which they normally feed their nestlings exclusively with small migratory birds.

Keywords: Bird of prey; Eleonora's falcon; Food provisioning; Greece; Plastic; Pollution; Waste.

MeSH terms

Animals
Birds
Environmental Monitoring
Falconiformes*
Mediterranean Sea
Photography
Plastics / analysis*
Spain
Waste Products / analysis*
Water Pollutants / analysis*

Substances

Plastics
Waste Products
Water Pollutants