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Multi-specific assessment of microplastic ingestion by Antarctic fish from the Ross Sea (Southern Ocean)
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Researchers examined 145 fish from seven species in Antarctica's Ross Sea and found microplastic contamination in about one-third of all individuals, including three species never previously tested. The study, one of the largest assessments of microplastic ingestion by Antarctic fish to date, found contamination across multiple important ecological locations. The findings demonstrate that microplastic pollution has reached even the most remote marine ecosystems on Earth.
Microplastics contaminate all places on Earth, including remote areas such as polar regions. To date, our knowledge on the impact of synthetic materials on the Antarctic ecosystems is still very limited. To the best of our knowledge and considering the number of individuals analyzed, this study provides the largest assessment currently available of microplastic ingestion by Antarctic fish, including the first evidence of microplastics occurrence in Chionodraco hamatus, Pagothenia borchgrevinki, and Trematomus newnesi. The analysis of 145 samples of seven different species from the Ross Sea (Southern Ocean) reveals diffuse contamination in three important locations such as Tethys Bay, Silverfish Bay, and Inexpressible Island. The overall frequency of microplastic ingestion (32.4 % of individuals examined) is similar to the averages estimated for non-polar marine environments on a global scale. In contrast, the average ± se number of microplastics per individual (0.53 ± 0.04) results to be lower. Differences in habitat use and feeding habits appear to underlie the different ingestion rates across species, with cryopelagic planktivores and demersal piscivores being more exposed to microplastics than benthopelagic planktivores and demersal benthivores. Furthermore, the microplastic ingestion rates detected in white-blooded species are higher than those found in red-blooded species. This evidence suggests that the physiology of these organisms may alter the detection of microplastic ingestion events, indicating that the low metabolic rates that characterize species lacking hemoglobin could determine an increase in the retention time of microplastics in internal organs, raising concern for the possible impacts of these contaminants on cold-adapted species.
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Microplastic ingestion in five demersal, bathydemersal and bathypelagic fish species from the eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica
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Researchers examined microplastic ingestion in five fish species from the eastern Weddell Sea in Antarctica, a remote region proposed for conservation. By analyzing the gastrointestinal tracts of 40 specimens, they found evidence of microplastic contamination even in this isolated ecosystem. The findings suggest that microplastic pollution has reached some of the most remote marine environments on Earth, raising concerns for species that may be particularly sensitive to environmental changes.
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Researchers examined four species of Antarctic fish and found microplastics in all of them, with fibers being the most common shape and polypropylene, polyamide, and polyethylene the most common types. Even in one of the most remote regions on Earth, fish are ingesting plastic particles that come from common household materials. This study demonstrates that microplastic contamination has reached every corner of the planet's oceans.
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