Analysis of population size of Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus and its intake of microplastics in streams with different land uses

Abstract Most freshwater habitats have been substantially affected by anthropogenic factors such as fish introductions, plastic pollution, and river regulation. Urban rivers are highly vulnerable to impacts associated with land use changes resulting from increasing urbanization, including altering habitat and establishing aquatic biological communities in these areas. In turn, the introduction of exotic species into sensitive and threatened ecosystems such as tropical urban streams and their rapid establishment, such as Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus , was used as an ecological model to determine the relative population size of the species. Also, the species was used to evaluate the presence of microplastics (MPs) in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of fish in rivers with different land use history. Our results showed significant differences in pleco abundance between areas with high and low urban (LU) development in the watersheds. The study demonstrated that abiotic environmental factors directly influence the relative abundance of plecos at the range and watershed scales. In a total of 42 fish examined, only 85.7% showed MPs retained in the GIT, with fibers and fragments being the most common. A total of 22 pieces of microplastic were identified with Nile Red staining by slide analysis. A significant difference was found between the abundance of microplastic ingested per total fish length between streams with high and LU development reaches. Therefore, in relatively small amounts, microplastic ingestion appears to be common in P. multiradiatus species, regardless of the habitat in which they are found and the diet present.