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From prey to predators: Evidence of microplastic trophic transfer in tuna and large pelagic species in the southwestern Tropical Atlantic
Environmental Pollution2023
53 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 50
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Véronique Lenoble,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Natascha Schmidt
Anne K.S. Justino,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Vincent Fauvelle,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Véronique Lenoble,
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Anne K.S. Justino,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Latifa Pelage,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Véronique Lenoble,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Natascha Schmidt
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Véronique Lenoble,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Véronique Lenoble,
Véronique Lenoble,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Natascha Schmidt
Vincent Fauvelle,
Véronique Lenoble,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Natascha Schmidt
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Véronique Lenoble,
Natascha Schmidt
Véronique Lenoble,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Latifa Pelage,
Latifa Pelage,
Natascha Schmidt
Vincent Fauvelle,
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Vincent Fauvelle,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Anne K.S. Justino,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Vincent Fauvelle,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Karla Martins,
Natascha Schmidt
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Véronique Lenoble,
Guilherme V.B. Ferreira,
Paulo Travassos,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Véronique Lenoble,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Véronique Lenoble,
Véronique Lenoble,
Véronique Lenoble,
Véronique Lenoble,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Véronique Lenoble,
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Natascha Schmidt
Flávia Lucena‐Frédou,
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Natascha Schmidt
Summary
Researchers found evidence of microplastic trophic transfer from prey to tuna and large pelagic predators in the southwestern Tropical Atlantic, demonstrating that plastic contamination moves through marine food chains to economically important fish species.
Plastic pollution is present in most marine environments; however, contamination in pelagic predators, including species of economic interest, is still poorly understood. This study aims to access the macro- and microplastic contamination in tuna and large pelagic species and verify whether a trophic transfer occurs from prey to tunas captured by two fleets in the Southwestern Tropical Atlantic (SWTA). We combined different methodological approaches to analyse the intake of macro- and microplastics. In addition to examining the plastics in the fish' stomachs, we investigated the contamination in the prey retrieved from the guts of predators. A low frequency of occurrence (3%) of macroplastic was detected in the tuna and large pelagic species; conversely, we observed a high frequency of microplastic in the tuna's stomachs (100%) and prey analysed (70%). We evinced the trophic transfer of microplastics by analysing the ingestion rate of particles in prey retrieved from the tuna stomachs. In the 34 analysed prey, we detected 355 microplastic particles. The most contaminated prey were cephalopods and fishes of the Bramidae family. The most frequent microplastic shapes in both prey and tuna stomachs were foams, pellets and fibres (<1 mm). A variety of polymers were identified; the most frequent were styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene (PE). Our findings enhance scientific knowledge of how the ecological behaviour of marine species can affect microplastic intake.