Microplastic in northern anchovies (Engraulis mordax) and common murres (Uria aalge) from the Monterey Bay, California USA - Insights into prevalence, composition, and estrogenic activity

Microplastic (particle size <5 mm) is considered an emerging threat to the marine environment, yet data are limited for coastal ecosystems. To provide information related to microplastic in a coastal system, we used alkaline tissue digestion and Raman spectroscopy to quantify the prevalence and composition (e.g. fiber, fragment, foam, etc.) of anthropogenic microparticles in the digestive tracts of northern anchovies (Engraulis mordax, anchovy, n = 24), and common murres (Uria aalge, murre, n = 19) from the Monterey Bay, California USA. We also determined microplastic prevalence and composition in seawater (n = 12 17-h sampling periods representing ∼46,000 L sampled) from two Monterey Bay intake systems (Moss Landing, CA and Santa Cruz, CA USA). Microparticles recovered from murre digestive tracts were assessed for estrogenic activity using an in-vitro estrogen receptor activation assay. Suspected anthropogenic microparticles based on visual characteristics were recovered from all sample types with ∼2 particles per 1000 L from the seawater sampling periods, 58% prevalence in anchovies, and 100% prevalence in murres. Across samples of seawater, anchovies, and murres, the most abundant microparticle type found were fibers (78%), followed by fragments (13%), foam (6%), film (2%), and beads (1%). Raman spectroscopy identified 57% of microparticles (excluding dye-prominent and unknown) as plastic (synthetic, semi-synthetic, or blends). Almost one quarter (23%) of the murre digestive tracts contained microparticles that exhibited estrogenic activity. Our study describes the widespread occurrence, composition, and potential estrogenic activity of microplastic in the Monterey Bay and provides important information to aid in the understanding of microplastic contamination in coastal systems.