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Microplastic in clams: An extensive spatial assessment in south Brazil
Summary
Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in clams collected from extensive coastal regions of southern Brazil. They found microplastics in the soft tissues of clams across all sampling sites, with contamination levels influenced by proximity to urban areas, rivers, and local water flow patterns. The study highlights that even organisms in less urbanized coastal areas are accumulating microplastics, raising concerns about widespread contamination in shellfish habitats.
Microplastic pollution is becoming a continuously growing environmental concern, while bivalve mollusks are particularly vulnerable due to their sessile habits and feeding through water filtration processes. Microplastic incidence in soft tissues of the clam Amarilladesma mactroides was assessed along unconsolidated substrates distributed in extensive coastal regions of southern Brazil. Influence of urbanization levels, distance to rivers and local hydrodynamics on microplastic accumulation by the clam was tested. The average concentration of microplastics was high (3.09 ± 2.11 particles.g), considering 16 sampled sites. Particles were mainly composed by polyamide, polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate, while were mainly smaller, fibrous and colorless. High urbanization and closer proximity to rivers insured higher contamination, which is a trend observed globally. No influence of coastal hydrodynamics was seen. Considering obtained findings, A. mactroides presents good potential to be used as a valuable tool to assess microplastic contamination in unconsolidated substrates of beach areas.