Investigating Plastic Pollution Ingestion in Migratory Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) in Ontario, Canada Available to Purchase

Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) are opportunistic scavengers that provide essential ecosystem services, yet their populations face multiple, potentially synergistic health threats. The potential health implications of chronic plastic pollution ingestion in birds are of increasing concern, yet rates of plastic ingestion are poorly understood for Turkey Vultures across their range. We investigated plastic ingestion by migratory Turkey Vultures in Ontario, Canada. We collected regurgitated pellets at communal roost sites to serve as noninvasive proxies for plastic ingestion. A total of four communal roosts were sampled, with two of these sites sampled across multiple years (2021–2023). Plastics and other anthropogenic debris were detected in 16.3% of pellets (range: 4.0–34.6% across sites and years). This is the first reported detection of plastic ingestion by migratory Turkey Vultures in the northern part of their range. Our results provide baseline data for the assessment of plastic ingestion in this species and contribute novel data about plastic pollution in an understudied terrestrial environment.