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Presence of microplastics in six bivalve species (Mollusca, Bivalvia) commercially exploited at the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Central America
Summary
Researchers found microplastics in all six commercially exploited bivalve species sampled from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, with prevalence ranging from 74% to 100% across species, raising concerns about human exposure through seafood consumption in Central American coastal communities.
Microplastic pollution represents a serious threat to coastal marine systems. We evaluated the presence of microplastics (MPs) in 168 specimens of six commercially exploited bivalve species in the Golfo de Nicoya, Costa Rica. MPs were present in 100 % of the specimens of Leukoma asperrima and L. ecuadoriana, 74 % of Mytella strigata, 82 % of M. guyanensis, 84 % of Asthenometis asthenodon, and 82 % of Tagelus affinis. When considering all specimens, we found on average 4.8 ± 8.0 pieces per individual and 2.1 ± 3.3 items g-1 of wet tissue. There were significant differences between species with L. asperrima and L. ecuadoriana containing the highest number of pieces. Fibers and particles comprised 92 % and 8 %, respectively. This is the first study from the Central America's Pacific region showing the presence of MPs in bivalve species.