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Effects of changing environmental conditions on plastic ingestion and feeding ecology of a benthopelagic fish (Gadus morhua) in the Southwest Baltic Sea
Summary
Atlantic cod in the Southwest Baltic Sea were found to contain microplastics, with ingestion rates varying between years of differing ocean oxygen levels. In years with low oxygen conditions following major Baltic inflows, changes in fish diet corresponded to altered microplastic ingestion patterns. The study shows that environmental conditions indirectly influence microplastic exposure in fish through changes in feeding behavior.
This study documents how the abundance of microplastics (<5 mm) in the Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, relates to the changes of the fish diet during years with contrasting levels of anoxia for example following years of low or high major Baltic inflows (MBI). A MultiNet Maxi trawl and CTD were deployed annually to collect microplastic samples alongside oxygen, temperature, and salinity conditions. Microplastics were homogenously distributed both within the water column and across years. Gadus morhua diet shifted from dominantly benthic invertebrates (61 %) under oxygenated conditions to dominantly Sprattus sprattus (81 %) under anoxic conditions. The proportion of G. morhua with microplastics in their digestive tract increased when they fed on pelagic fish (38 %) versus on benthic invertebrates (15 %). The proportion of S. sprattus which ingested microplastics (~18 %) did not vary. As anoxia at depth is expected to increase due to climate change, microplastic ingestion by G. morhua will potentially increase.