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哪些海鸟更容易误吞塑料？直觉上，人们会先看它们吃什么、怎样觅食，比如在海面啄食的鸟似乎更容易吞下漂浮垃圾。Phys.org 10 月 24 日报道了一项发表在 Biology Letters 上的全球分析：昆士兰大学（University of Queensland）、伦敦自然历史博物馆等机构的研究者汇总了 1958 年至 2024 年间的 262 份资料，涵盖 240 种海鸟的 93,281 只个体。他们不统计每只鸟体内塑料的数量，而是看每个样本中有多少比例的鸟出现过吞食塑料的迹象，这样才能比较各种不同的研究。结果显示，240 种中有 182 种（约四分之三）有过塑料记录——注意这里说的是物种，而不是个体。在考虑了研究方法、年份、鸟的年龄和海域等差异后，亲缘关系越近的物种，塑料出现情况越相似；食性、觅食方式、体型和是否在远洋觅食则没有一致的影响。研究者强调，这并不说明生活习性不重要：近缘物种往往有相似的习性，以及研究没有测量的其他特征；另外，有些海鸟会把难消化的东西吐成小团，有些则留在胃肠里慢慢排出，这也可能造成差异。研究还有局限：检测到塑料不代表知道吞了多少、造成多大伤害，而且很多样本来自搁浅或被渔具缠住的鸟，可能偏向不健康的个体。作者认为，亲缘关系可以作为快速初筛工具，下一步打算为 143 个尚无记录的物种预测风险，并优先检查高风险物种。文章按“常见猜测—数据—结果—解释—局限—用途”展开，阅读时可留意 instead of、once、while、so 如何表达替代、条件、对比和结果，以及 suggests、may、possible、could 如何为结论划定边界。

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Which seabirds are most likely to swallow plastic? A natural guess is to look at what they eat and how they find food. A bird that picks things up from the sea surface might seem more likely to take in floating rubbish. But a new global study suggests a bird’s family may be a better clue than its diet.

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哪些海鸟最有可能吞下塑料？一个很自然的猜测是看它们吃什么、怎样找食物。例如，一只从海面上啄取东西的鸟，似乎更有可能吞下漂浮的垃圾。但一项新的全球研究表明，一只鸟属于哪个家族，可能比它的食性更能提供线索。

The study was carried out by researchers at the University of Queensland, London’s Natural History Museum and other institutions, and published in the journal Biology Letters. Phys.org reported on it on October 24. The team gathered information from 262 sources published between 1958 and 2024, covering 93,281 birds from 240 species.

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这项研究由昆士兰大学、伦敦自然历史博物馆和其他机构的研究人员完成，发表在《生物学快报》期刊上。Phys.org 在 10 月 24 日报道了这项研究。研究团队从 1958 年至 2024 年间发表的 262 份资料中收集信息，涵盖 240 个物种的 93,281 只鸟。

Instead of counting how many pieces of plastic each bird had, the researchers used a simpler measure: the share of birds in each sample that showed signs of having eaten plastic. Because many studies report this number, the team could compare results from different projects. Plastic had been recorded in 182 of the 240 species, or about three in four. This figure describes species, not individual birds.

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研究人员没有统计每只鸟体内有多少块塑料，而是采用了一个更简单的指标：每个样本中显示出吃过塑料迹象的鸟所占的比例。由于许多研究都报告这个数字，团队可以比较来自不同项目的结果。240 个物种中有 182 个有过塑料记录，约占四分之三。这个数字描述的是物种，而不是单只的鸟。

Next, the team built models using records of 82,406 birds from 230 species. They compared plastic records with each species’ way of life and with its place on an evolutionary family tree, which shows which species share ancestors. The models also took into account differences in study methods, years, bird ages and ocean areas. Closely related species tended to show similar levels of plastic. Diet, feeding method, body size and feeding in the open ocean showed no clear effect once these factors were considered.

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接下来，团队利用 230 个物种、82,406 只鸟的记录建立了模型。他们把塑料记录与每个物种的生活方式，以及它在进化家族树上的位置进行比较；家族树显示哪些物种拥有共同的祖先。模型还考虑了研究方法、年份、鸟的年龄和海域方面的差异。亲缘关系相近的物种往往表现出相似的塑料水平。在考虑这些因素之后，食性、觅食方式、体型以及是否在远洋觅食都没有显示出明显的影响。

The researchers stress that this does not mean a bird’s habits are unimportant. Related species often share feeding habits and other features the study did not measure. Another possible reason is what happens after swallowing. Some seabirds bring up hard material in small balls, while others keep it in the gut and pass it out slowly. So a bird with little plastic inside may have swallowed as much as one with more.

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研究人员强调，这并不意味着鸟的习性不重要。近缘物种往往有相同的觅食习惯，以及研究没有测量的其他特征。另一个可能的原因在于吞下之后发生的事情。一些海鸟会把坚硬的物质吐成小团，而另一些则把它留在胃肠里，慢慢排出体外。因此，一只体内塑料很少的鸟，吞下的塑料可能和体内塑料较多的鸟一样多。

The study also has limits. Finding plastic does not show how much a bird took in or how much harm it caused. Many samples came from birds found on beaches or caught in fishing gear, so unhealthy birds may be overrepresented.

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这项研究也有局限。发现塑料并不能说明一只鸟吞下了多少，也不能说明造成了多大伤害。许多样本来自在海滩上发现的鸟或被渔具缠住的鸟，因此不健康的鸟在样本中所占比例可能偏高。

Even so, the authors say family relationships could offer “a rapid first screen” for spotting species likely to collect plastic. They hope to predict the risk for 143 species with no records yet, and then check the species with the highest predicted risk first.

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即便如此，作者表示，亲缘关系可以作为“快速初筛”，帮助找出可能积累塑料的物种。他们希望为 143 个尚无记录的物种预测风险，然后优先检查预测风险最高的物种。

新闻来源

• Phys.org · Seabird family tree predicts which species accumulate plastic better than diet, global analysis finds (24 Oct 2026)
• Biology Letters · Frequency of plastic occurrence varies across phylogeny but not ecology in seabirds (DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0079)

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