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Microplastics Occurrence in Fish from Tocagua Lake, Low Basin Magdalena River, Colombia
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Scientists sampled fish and water from Tocagua Lake — a Colombian Caribbean wetland that is also the last wild habitat of the critically endangered cotton-top tamarin — and found microplastics in all six fish species examined and throughout the water column. An average of nearly 1 microplastic particle per liter of water was detected, with fibers being the most common type. This study is especially significant because it shows microplastic pollution threatening both wildlife and a biodiversity hotspot in a region where such data are scarce.
Following global trends, research to determine the presence and abundance of microplastics (MPs) in environmental matrices in Colombia has focused on the coastal and marine environments. However, little scientific information is available on the impact of this pollutant on wetlands and fish. In this study, we provided scientific data on the occurrence and abundance of MPs in water and fish from Tocagua Lake, an important wetland in the Colombian Caribbean, and the unique habitat of wild cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus). Water (72) and fish (228 individuals of six species) samples were collected during four sampling events and two climatic seasons (wet and dry). A total of 1174 microplastic particles were collected in water with an average abundance of microplastics at the six stations sampled during four sampling events of 0.96 ± 0.40 MPs/L, and 648 MPs were identified in the gastrointestinal tract of 191 individuals, corresponding to a frequency of occurrence of 83.7%. Black- and blue-colored fiber MPs were particles that predominated in both matrices (water and fish), and seven types of polymers were identified through attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. The abundance, type, and color of MPs in water and fish were not significantly different between seasons.
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Researchers surveyed microplastic abundance across an altitudinal gradient in a Colombian Andean river, finding highest concentrations in downstream urban and agricultural zones, with fibers and polypropylene dominating across water, sediment, and fish samples—the first report of microplastics in freshwater fish from the Tolima region.
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Researchers examined three commercially important fish species from the Colombian Caribbean and found microplastics in over 82% of individuals across both continental and island waters. Fiber and fragment shapes were the most common types, with higher concentrations found in coastal areas and during the wet season. The findings suggest that microplastic ingestion is widespread among Caribbean fish, with potential implications for seafood consumers in the region.
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Researchers evaluated microplastic contamination in surface waters and the gastrointestinal tracts of commercially important and invasive fish species along the Colombian Caribbean coast and San Andrés Island, examining the relationship between microplastic distribution and species ecology and geography.
Microplastics and other anthropogenic particles contamination and their potential trophic transfer in a tropical Andean reservoir, Colombia
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Researchers assessed microplastic contamination across water, sediment, and aquatic organisms in a tropical Andean reservoir in Colombia, finding plastic particles present in all environmental compartments and at every level of the food chain studied. The most common particles were fibers and fragments made of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester. The study provides evidence that microplastics are being transferred up through the food web in this freshwater ecosystem, from tiny crustaceans to fish.
Differential accumulation of microplastics in the gills and gastrointestinal tract of fish species of commercial and ecological importance in the Colombian Caribbean Sea
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Scientists found tiny plastic particles (microplastics) in the guts and gills of virtually every fish they tested from Colombia's Caribbean coast, including species people commonly eat. The plastics, likely from textiles, fishing gear, and packaging, were more abundant during rainy season and varied by fish species and size, suggesting that seafood in this region is widely contaminated with microplastics that could potentially make their way up the food chain to humans who eat fish.
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