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Marine & Wildlife
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Microplastic contamination in coral reef fishes and its potential risks in the remote Xisha areas of the South China Sea
Marine Pollution Bulletin2022
66 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 45
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Lang Lin,
J. Bimali Koongolla,
J. Bimali Koongolla,
J. Bimali Koongolla,
Lei Huang,
Lei Huang,
Lei Huang,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Qian Li,
Qian Li,
Qian Li,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
J. Bimali Koongolla,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lei Huang,
Lei Huang,
J. Bimali Koongolla,
Huawei Li,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Xiaojie Yuan,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Qian Li,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Xiaojie Yuan,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Hengxiang Li,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Hengxiang Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Hengxiang Li,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Hengxiang Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Qian Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Lang Lin,
Xiaojie Yuan,
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
J. Bimali Koongolla,
Huawei Li,
Hengxiang Li,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Huawei Li,
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Lang Lin,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Hengxiang Li,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
J. Bimali Koongolla,
Lei Huang,
Hengxiang Li,
Xiang‐Rong Xu
Summary
Coral reef fish in remote ocean regions were found to contain microplastics across multiple species and trophic levels, with abundance increasing in higher-trophic species suggesting biomagnification. The study provides baseline data from understudied remote reef ecosystems and frames microplastic ingestion as a threat to reef fish biodiversity.
Microplastics are recognized as a newly emerging threat to marine organisms as they can be ingested and accumulated through multiple trophic levels. However, microplastic contamination and its potential risk assessment in coral reef fishes have been less addressed, particularly in remote ocean regions. In this study, microplastics in 167 samples of coral reef fish (a total of eighteen species) from the Xisha areas of the South China Sea were studied. There were fifteen species of coral reef fish contaminated by microplastics with an average occurrence rate of 29.3 %. The shape of microplastics in the fishes was mostly fibrous with small sizes (400-900 μm) and light colors (transparent and blue). The dominant types of microplastic polymers are polyamide and polyethylene terephthalate, accounting for 77 % and 11 % of microplastics in the fish body. There were generally more microplastics in the herbivorous fishes than the carnivorous ones. The highest microplastic abundance and occurrence was found in parrotfish due to its direct feeding on the microplastics-contaminated corals. In addition, there were much more microplastics in the gastrointestinal tracts than in the gills of the Xisha fishes. Microplastic abundance was found negatively correlated with the trophic level of the Xisha fishes supporting a stronger microplastic impact at lower levels of marine animals. Finally, a risk assessment using the polymer hazard index (PHI) revealed that microplastic contamination in the Xisha fishes was lower than those in the eutrophic coast. Our study provides new evidence for the widespread presence of microplastic contamination in the fishes of the remote Xisha coral reefs.