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Microplastics in Lampanyctus crocodilus (Risso 1810, Myctophidae), a Common Lanternfish Species from the Ibiza Channel (Western Mediterranean)
Summary
Nearly half of lanternfish (Lampanyctus crocodilus) sampled in the western Mediterranean's Ibiza Channel contained microplastics, predominantly blue and black fibers, with a median of 3 MPs per fish. Because lanternfish occupy a mid-level position in the food web and are prey for larger commercially fished species, their contamination represents a key pathway for microplastic transfer up the marine food chain.
Microplastics’ presence in the pelagic environment is still largely unknown due to the difficulty of sampling in this part of the ocean. In this study, we quantify microplastics’ exposure in a pelagic lanternfish species from the western Mediterranean, Lampanyctus crocodilus (Risso 1810), which occupies an intermediate position in the marine food web. L. crocodilus were captured in the Ibiza Channel by a trawling vessel and microplastics were extracted by digestion of their gastrointestinal systems. Almost half of the analysed lanternfish contained microplastics, mostly blue and black fibres (40.9% and 34.66%, respectively). In fishes with at least one microplastic, the median was 3 MPs/fish (CI 95% = 3.46–6.8), similar to other studies performed in other fish species in the area. Biometric parameters of fish, such as total length and body condition, were not correlated with the number of microplastics. Data presented here contribute to quantifying the severity of microplastic pollution in the pelagic environment and in a wild, non-commercial species.