Seasonal microplastic ingestion by carnivorous chaetognaths in Jiaozhou Bay, China: Field evidence revealing microplastic trophic transfer

Microplastics (MPs) are widely distributed in marine environments and ingested by marine organisms, especially zooplankton. Chaetognaths, typical carnivorous zooplankton, are pivotal in the food chain from secondary producers, such as copepods, to higher trophic level species. However, little is known about their MP ingestion. In this study, based on field observation data, for the first time, we studied seasonal characteristics and risks of MPs ingested by chaetognaths in Jiaozhou Bay and assessed effects of key prey copepods on MP ingestion by chaetognaths. MP/chaetognath values in February, May, August, and November were 0.19, 0.17, 0.15, and 0.39, respectively, showing no significant seasonal variation. Chaetognaths predominantly ingested MPs that were fiberous in shape, 101-400 µm in size and polyester in polymer type, with no significant seasonal variations. The risk of MP load in chaetognaths was low, but there are higher polymeric hazards and potential ecological risks. MP/chaetognath values were positively correlated with the copepod abundance and MP/copepod values. The characteristics of MPs ingested by chaetognaths were also highly similar to those of MPs ingested by copepods. However, the overall risk of biomagnification in the copepod-chaetognath food chain was low. This study provided field evidence for MP transfer in the planktonic food chain.