Are phthalate ester contaminants in northern fulmar preen oil higher in birds that have ingested more plastic?

Understanding the impacts of plastic pollution is a global research priority. Previous research has shown that plasticizers such as phthalate esters detected in seabird tissues can be useful non-lethal biochemical markers of plastic ingestion as compared with more standard necropsy techniques. We examined the concentrations of six phthalate esters in the preen oil of Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) in relation to their retained plastics....