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High prevalence of microplastics in the digestive tract of Scyliorhinus canicula (Linneaus, 1758) shows the species biomonitoring potential
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Researchers analyzed different types of plastics in the digestive tracts of female small-spotted catsharks (Scyliorhinus canicula) caught in Mediterranean waters. The study found high prevalence of plastic ingestion in this demersal shark species, documenting the types and quantities of plastic particles present.
Plastic pollution is widespread in oceans and the ingestion of plastic by marine organisms is causing concern about potential adverse effects. The purpose of this study was to analyze the different types of plastics in the digestive tract of female small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula). An alkaline digestion method using 10 % potassium hydroxide (KOH), was used. The samples were filtered and visually observed to classify the plastics according to size, shape, and color. Raman spectroscopy was further employed to identify the polymer types. The study found the presence of plastics in 89.5 % of the 200 females analyzed, including 10 polymers, with polystyrene (PS), polyamide-6 (PA6), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and silicone rubber (SR) being the most common. The polymers identified largely reflect the results of similar studies in the marine environment and were similar to global polymer diversity of microplastics, which highlights the potential of S. canicula females for biomonitoring microplastic pollution.
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