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The First Record of Ingestion and Inhalation of Micro- and Mesoplastics by Neotropical Bats from the Brazilian Amazon
Summary
This study documented the first recorded cases of micro- and mesoplastic ingestion and inhalation by neotropical bats, extracting digestive and respiratory tract contents from bat specimens. Microplastic contamination was found in both pathways, suggesting multiple routes of plastic exposure for these insectivorous mammals.
Este estudio muestra la abundancia de contaminación por microplásticos (MP) y el primer registro de contaminación por PM en murciélagos. Además, intentamos comprender el mecanismo de contaminación ambiental de los murciélagos. Por lo tanto, se extrajeron para su análisis los tractos digestivo y respiratorio de 81 murciélagos adultos de 25 especies. Los murciélagos fueron capturados en diferentes localidades de la Amazonía brasileña (Altamira, Bragança, Brasil Novo, Medicilândia, Nova Timboteua, Placas, São Félix do Xingu, Uruará y Vitória do Xingu, todos en el estado de Pará). Los resultados mostraron que todas las especies estaban contaminadas con PM en al menos uno de los sistemas analizados. Para el sistema digestivo, la forma de contaminación se produce por bioacumulación y biomagnificación por la ingestión de alimentos o agua contaminados. Mientras que para el sistema respiratorio, la contaminación se produce por la inhalación de PM suspendidas en el aire atmosférico. Las diferentes características de alimentación de los murciélagos, el tipo de estrategia de captura de este alimento y el tipo de hábitat refuerzan la idea de que los contaminantes plásticos están presentes en todos los entornos.
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