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Tracing the route: Using stable isotope analysis to understand microplastic pathways through the pelagic-neritic food web of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean)
The Science of The Total Environment2023
19 citations
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Score: 45
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Marco Matiddi
Daniela Berto,
Alice Sbrana,
Tommaso Valente,
Maria Letizia Costantini,
Alice Sbrana,
Alice Sbrana,
Marco Matiddi
Tommaso Valente,
Tommaso Valente,
Raffaella Piermarini,
Tommaso Valente,
Federico Rampazzo,
Tommaso Valente,
Alice Sbrana,
Daniela Berto,
Tommaso Valente,
Tommaso Valente,
Alice Sbrana,
Alice Sbrana,
Federico Rampazzo,
Tommaso Valente,
Tommaso Valente,
Daniele Ventura,
Alice Sbrana,
Alice Sbrana,
Tommaso Valente,
Tommaso Valente,
Maria Letizia Costantini,
Tommaso Valente,
Tommaso Valente,
Tommaso Valente,
Tommaso Valente,
Tommaso Valente,
Giulio Careddu,
Giulio Careddu,
Maria Letizia Costantini,
Maria Letizia Costantini,
Daniele Ventura,
Federico Rampazzo,
Federico Rampazzo,
Marco Matiddi
Daniele Ventura,
Daniele Ventura,
Giulio Careddu,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Tommaso Valente,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Marco Matiddi
Cecilia Silvestri,
Giulio Careddu,
Tommaso Valente,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Daniela Berto,
Daniela Berto,
Daniela Berto,
Daniela Berto,
Alice Sbrana,
Alice Sbrana,
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Raffaella Piermarini,
Raffaella Piermarini,
Raffaella Piermarini,
Daniela Berto,
Daniela Berto,
Raffaella Piermarini,
Marco Matiddi
Raffaella Piermarini,
Raffaella Piermarini,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Alice Sbrana,
Maria Letizia Costantini,
Daniela Berto,
Marco Matiddi
Cecilia Silvestri,
Daniela Berto,
Federico Rampazzo,
Federico Rampazzo,
Federico Rampazzo,
Daniela Berto,
Federico Rampazzo,
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Cecilia Silvestri,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Raffaella Piermarini,
Giulio Careddu,
Alice Sbrana,
Marco Matiddi
Federico Rampazzo,
Tommaso Valente,
Daniela Berto,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Tommaso Valente,
Daniela Berto,
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Federico Rampazzo,
Alice Sbrana,
Alice Sbrana,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Alice Sbrana,
Maria Letizia Costantini,
Raffaella Piermarini,
Raffaella Piermarini,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Raffaella Piermarini,
Maria Letizia Costantini,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Marco Matiddi
Daniela Berto,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Daniela Berto,
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Daniele Ventura,
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Cecilia Silvestri,
Marco Matiddi
Alice Sbrana,
Marco Matiddi
Cecilia Silvestri,
Raffaella Piermarini,
Marco Matiddi
Cecilia Silvestri,
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Cecilia Silvestri,
Daniele Ventura,
Maria Letizia Costantini,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Marco Matiddi
Federico Rampazzo,
Federico Rampazzo,
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Marco Matiddi
Raffaella Piermarini,
Cecilia Silvestri,
Daniela Berto,
Daniela Berto,
Marco Matiddi
Tommaso Valente,
Tommaso Valente,
Alice Sbrana,
Marco Matiddi
Cecilia Silvestri,
Marco Matiddi
Summary
Stable isotope analysis of three pelagic fish species in the Tyrrhenian Sea found no significant effect of trophic position on microplastic ingestion frequency, but species at higher trophic levels ingested a greater diversity of microplastic types including larger particles.
This study provides a pilot investigation of the relationship between microplastic ingestion and the trophic ecology of three pelagic fish species (Engraulis encrasicolus, Scomber scombrus, and Trachurus trachurus) from Anzio coast, Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean). Stable isotope analysis has been performed to determine the trophic position and the isotopic niche of the three species. Then, data on the occurrence, abundance, and diversity of ingested microplastics have been analyzed considering the observed foraging patterns. The detected differences in the estimated trophic position (E. encrasicolus = 3.08 ± 0.18; S. scombrus = 3.57 ± 0.21; T. trachurus = 4.07 ± 0.21), together with the absence of overlap in the isotopic niches confirm that the three examined species cover different ecological roles within the coastal-pelagic food web. Results from the analysis of ingested microplastics show that the trophic position has no remarkable effects on the incidence of microplastic ingestion, with no significant differences detected in terms of both frequency of occurrence and number of ingested microplastics per individual. However, differences among species emerge when considering the diversity of ingested microplastic types in terms of shape, size, color, and polymer composition. Species at higher trophic levels have shown to ingest a greater diversity of microplastics, including a significant increase in the size of the ingested particles (median surface area: 0.011 mm in E. encrasicolus; 0.021 mm in S. scombrus; 0.036 mm in T. trachurus). The ingestion of larger microplastics might be due to the larger gape sizes but also to active selection mechanisms, likely stimulated by the similarity of these particles to natural or potential prey of both S. scombrus and T. trachurus. Overall, this study suggests that microplastic ingestion can be affected by the different trophic position of fish species, providing new insights about the impact of microplastic contamination on the pelagic community.