Commercial gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) from the Mar Menor coastal lagoon as hotspots of microplastic accumulation in the digestive system

This paper presents the results on the presence and characterization of microplastics (MP) in the gastrointestinal tract of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.), a species of commercial interest from the Mar Menor coastal lagoon in Southeast Spain. This is the first time that microplastic ingestion...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Bayo Bernal, Francisco Javier, Rojo Campillo, Dolores, Martínez Baños, Pedro, López Castellanos García, Joaquín, Olmos Espinar, Sonia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena(UPCT)
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital UPCT
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.upct.es:10317/10163
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10317/10163
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/6844
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Microplastic
Ingestion
Fish
Gilthead seabream
Mar Menor
Marine pollution
Tecnologías del Medio Ambiente
3308 Ingeniería y Tecnología del Medio Ambiente
3206.11 Toxicidad de Los Alimentos
3308.11 Control de la Contaminación del Agua
Descripción
Sumario:This paper presents the results on the presence and characterization of microplastics (MP) in the gastrointestinal tract of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.), a species of commercial interest from the Mar Menor coastal lagoon in Southeast Spain. This is the first time that microplastic ingestion is recorded in any species from this semi-enclosed bay. Stomach and intestine from a total of 17 specimens captured by local fishermen were processed, and microplastic particles and fibers found in all of them were displayed. Overall, 40.32% (279/692) of total isolated microparticles proved to be microplastics; i.e., <5 mm, as identified by FTIR spectroscopy. The average value by fish was 20.11 _ 2.94 MP kg1, corresponding to average concentrations of 3912.06 _ 791.24 and 1562.17 _ 402.04 MP by kg stomach and intestine, respectively. Four MP forms were isolated: fiber (71.68%), fragment (21.15%), film (6.81%), and microbead (0.36%), with sizes ranging from 91 _m to 5 mm, an average of 0.83 _ 0.04 mm, and no statistically significant differences between mean sizes in stomach and intestine samples (F-test = 0.004; p = 0.936). Nine polymer types were detected, although most of fibers remained unidentified because of their small size, the presence of polymer additives, or closely adhered pollutants despite the oxidizing digestion carried out to eliminate organic matter. No significant correlation was found between main biological parameters and ingested microplastics, and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyethylene polypropylene (PEP), and polyvinyl (PV) were identified as the most abundant polymers. The average microplastic ingestion in this study area was higher than those reported in most studies within the Mediterranean Sea, and closely related to microplastic pollution in the surrounding area, although with a predominance of fiber form mainly due to fishery activities.