The northern fulmar as a sentinel species for monitoring the environmental health impacts of plastic exposure.

Fuente: PubMed
Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Biamis, Christina, Kühn, Susanne, Payo-Payo, Ana, Dick, Jaimie, Bize, Pierre, van Franeker, Jan, Hardiman, Gary
Formato: Artículo científico
Lenguaje:en
Publicado: Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews 2026
Acceso en línea:
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
_version_ 1868266044113551361
author Biamis, Christina
Kühn, Susanne
Payo-Payo, Ana
Dick, Jaimie
Bize, Pierre
van Franeker, Jan
Hardiman, Gary
author_facet Biamis, Christina
Kühn, Susanne
Payo-Payo, Ana
Dick, Jaimie
Bize, Pierre
van Franeker, Jan
Hardiman, Gary
Biamis, Christina
Kühn, Susanne
Payo-Payo, Ana
Dick, Jaimie
Bize, Pierre
van Franeker, Jan
Hardiman, Gary
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents The northern fulmar as a sentinel species for monitoring the environmental health impacts of plastic exposure. Biamis, Christina Kühn, Susanne Payo-Payo, Ana Dick, Jaimie Bize, Pierre van Franeker, Jan Hardiman, Gary The northern fulmar () is well suited to contribute to a "One Health" approach for understanding plastic-associated toxicity. Plastics contain additives that act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which leach into the environment, often disrupting hormonal signaling in wildlife. As an ecotoxicological model, the fulmar, a seabird, provides a unique opportunity to investigate these effects under real-world exposure conditions. Fulmars are currently utilized in The EU's Marine Strategy Framework Directive as passive bioindicators of marine litter in the Northeast Atlantic, based upon the proportion of individuals with significant plastic burdens in their stomachs. The aim of this review is to advocate for elevating the fulmar's role from a passive indicator to active sentinel species to better understand long-term environmental health impacts of chronic plastic exposure. The fulmar's unique ecological niche, high trophic level, and wide-ranging foraging behavior make it particularly vulnerable to plastic ingestion, providing a relevant model for exposure assessment. The role of epigenetic mechanisms was examined in mediating gene-environment interactions, particularly how plastic exposure may influence gene expression and contribute to adverse health outcomes. Further, advances in genome sequencing and annotation enabled identification of molecular pathways affected by plastic-derived EDCs, contributing to the development of complex adverse outcomes that might be characterized through systems biology. Finally, practical benefits and methodological challenges of integrating molecular and genomic analyses into fulmar-based monitoring, focusing upon bycaught individuals and long-term study cohorts, was determined. This framework supports the fulmar's potential as a sentinel species for monitoring plastic-related health risks in marine ecosystems.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_42178492
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2026
publisher Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle The northern fulmar as a sentinel species for monitoring the environmental health impacts of plastic exposure.
Biamis, Christina
Kühn, Susanne
Payo-Payo, Ana
Dick, Jaimie
Bize, Pierre
van Franeker, Jan
Hardiman, Gary
The northern fulmar as a sentinel species for monitoring the environmental health impacts of plastic exposure. Biamis, Christina Kühn, Susanne Payo-Payo, Ana Dick, Jaimie Bize, Pierre van Franeker, Jan Hardiman, Gary The northern fulmar () is well suited to contribute to a "One Health" approach for understanding plastic-associated toxicity. Plastics contain additives that act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which leach into the environment, often disrupting hormonal signaling in wildlife. As an ecotoxicological model, the fulmar, a seabird, provides a unique opportunity to investigate these effects under real-world exposure conditions. Fulmars are currently utilized in The EU's Marine Strategy Framework Directive as passive bioindicators of marine litter in the Northeast Atlantic, based upon the proportion of individuals with significant plastic burdens in their stomachs. The aim of this review is to advocate for elevating the fulmar's role from a passive indicator to active sentinel species to better understand long-term environmental health impacts of chronic plastic exposure. The fulmar's unique ecological niche, high trophic level, and wide-ranging foraging behavior make it particularly vulnerable to plastic ingestion, providing a relevant model for exposure assessment. The role of epigenetic mechanisms was examined in mediating gene-environment interactions, particularly how plastic exposure may influence gene expression and contribute to adverse health outcomes. Further, advances in genome sequencing and annotation enabled identification of molecular pathways affected by plastic-derived EDCs, contributing to the development of complex adverse outcomes that might be characterized through systems biology. Finally, practical benefits and methodological challenges of integrating molecular and genomic analyses into fulmar-based monitoring, focusing upon bycaught individuals and long-term study cohorts, was determined. This framework supports the fulmar's potential as a sentinel species for monitoring plastic-related health risks in marine ecosystems.
title The northern fulmar as a sentinel species for monitoring the environmental health impacts of plastic exposure.
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42178492/