Microplastic ingestion and diet analysis in migratory shorebirds at Bahía Lomas Ramsar site, Chile
Sep 1, 2026·,,
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0 min read
L. Giovinazzi
H. V. Norambuena
C. Espoz Larraín
Erik Sandvig
M. Di Gioacchino
A. Sodo
M. Scalici
J. A. Amat
A. J. Green
C. Coccia
Abstract
We used stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to investigate the diet of three migratory shorebirds - the Two-banded Plover (Anarhynchus falklandicus), Magellanic Oystercatcher (Haematopus leucopodus), and Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) - at Bahía Lomas, Chile, and quantified microplastic ingestion. Microplastics were detected in sediments, macroinvertebrate prey, and fecal samples of all species, with contamination highest in Two-banded Plover, providing the first evidence of microplastic contamination in shorebirds and their trophic resources anywhere in Chile.
Type
Publication
Environmental Research, 306
Status
Peer-reviewed
Authors
Quantitative Ecologist
I am a quantitative ecologist and researcher working on the population dynamics,
survival, and conservation status of birds in Chile and the wider Neotropics. I hold a
PhD in Zoology from the University of Oxford and have since worked on long-term
demographic studies of forest birds in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, survival
modeling with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, and shorebird and waterbird
monitoring across Chile with the Red de Observadores de Aves y Vida Silvestre de Chile
(ROC). My work combines large citizen-science datasets (eBird) with mark-recapture,
mixed-effects, and integral projection models in R to produce robust, reproducible
estimates for conservation decision-making.