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Microplastics accumulation in pelagic and benthic species along the Thoothukudi coast, South Tamil Nadu, India
Summary
Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in the digestive tracts of fish and shellfish along the Thoothukudi coast in southern India. They found microplastics in both open-water and bottom-dwelling species, with bottom-dwellers accumulating slightly more particles, predominantly polyethylene fibers. The findings confirm that microplastic contamination is widespread across marine habitats in the region and underline the need for better plastic waste management.
Microplastics contamination poses a serious threat to marine biota, so the current study was carried out to assess the incidence of microplastics in the gastrointestinal tracts of pelagic and benthic species collected from the six sampling sites along Thoothukudi region from January 2021 to December 2021. In the present study, benthic species (0.67 ± 0.14 MPs/indiv) showed a higher abundance of microplastics than pelagic species (0.53 ± 0.11 MPs/indiv). The dominance of microplastic shapes, sizes, colours and polymers found were comparable among both pelagic and benthic species, this being fibre (27.56% and 48.33%), 0.5-1mm (39.78% and 42.94%), blue (50% and 40.85%), and PE (46.24% and 48.18%), respectively. The present study showed that microplastics are ubiquitous in both habitats, which raises serious concerns for public health. Hence, measures focusing on reducing local emissions and plastic waste disposal should be implemented to control microplastic pollution in the marine environment.