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Microplastic transfer from the American horseshoe crab to shorebirds through consumption of horseshoe crab eggs in Jamaica Bay, NY
Summary
Researchers examined microplastic transfer from American horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) to migratory shorebirds through egg consumption in Jamaica Bay, New York, using Nile Red fluorescence microscopy to detect particles across fertilized eggs, unfertilized eggs, shorebird fecal pellets, sand, and water samples. Microplastics ranging from approximately 26-1300 micrometers were found in all sample types, with unfertilized and fertilized eggs containing significantly higher particle counts.
Microplastic transfer between horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) and migratory shorebirds through consumption of crab eggs was examined in Jamaica Bay, New York. Fertilized and unfertilized crab eggs, shorebird fecal pellets, beach sand, and bay water were processed with a hydrogen peroxide solution to remove organic material, then stained with a Nile Red to identify microplastics using fluorescence microscopy. Microplastics were present in all samples and ranged from approximately26-1300 μm. Unfertilized and fertilized eggs contained significantly higher numbers of microplastic particles per gram than shorebird fecal pellets, beach sand, and bay water. The presence of microplastics in unfertilized egg samples indicates that microplastics undergo maternal transfer during oogenesis. We estimated that 1 g of horseshoe crab eggs could contain approximately 426 to 840 microplastic particles, suggesting that shorebirds feeding on this resource could be ingesting a substantial burden of microplastics during their migratory stopover, much of which appears to be retained by shorebirds, rather than being eliminated in their fecal pellets.