Scientists have long known that wild seabirds ingest bits of plastic pollution as they feed, but a study published on 27th March 2023 [1] shows the tiny particles don’t just clog or transit the stomach but can subvert its complex mix of good and bad bacteria too.

Plastic-infested digestive tracts from two species of Atlantic seabirds, northern fulmars and Cory’s shearwaters, showed a decrease of mostly beneficial "indigenous" bacteria and more potentially harmful pathogens. There was also an increase in antibiotic-resistant and plastic-degrading microbes, researchers reported in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.