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Microplastics across biomes in diadromous species. Insights from the critically endangered Anguilla anguilla
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Researchers examined microplastic ingestion in young European eels across freshwater and marine environments, finding these critically endangered diadromous fish are exposed to microplastic contamination in both habitats throughout their life cycle.
Microplastic pollution affects freshwater and marine biota worldwide, microplastics occurring even inside the organisms. With highly variable effects, from physical damage to toxicity of plastic compounds, microplastics are a potential threat to the biodiversity, community composition and organisms' health. This emerging pollutant could overstress diadromous species, which are exposed to both sea and river water in their life cycle. Here we have quantified microplastics in young European eel Anguilla anguilla, a critically endangered catadromous fish, entering three rivers in southwestern Bay of Biscay. River water, sediments and seawater were also analysed for microplastics. The microplastic type was identified using Fournier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy and then searched for their hazard potential at the European Chemical Agency site. Both riverine and sea microplastic pollution were predictors of eels' microplastic profile (types of microplastics by shape and colour): A. anguilla juveniles entering European rivers already carry some marine microplastics and acquire more from river water. Potentially hazardous plastic materials were found from eels, some of them dangerous for aquatic life following the European Chemical Agency. This confirms microplastics as a potential threat for the species. Between-rivers differences for microplastics profiles persistent over years highlight the convenience of analysing and preventing microplastics at a local spatial scale, to save diadromous species from this stressor. Since the origin of microplastics present in glass eels seems to be dual (continental + seawater), new policies should be promoted to limit the entry of microplastics in sea and river waters.
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Low microplastic loads in riverine European eel (Anguilla anguilla) from southwest England during their marine–freshwater transition
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This study found very low levels of microplastic contamination in juvenile European eels (elvers) from three rivers in southwest England, with only 3.3% of individuals carrying particles. While contamination levels were low, the results establish a baseline for monitoring trends in this critically endangered migratory fish species.
Occurrence of microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract of pelagic and demersal fish from the English Channel
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Researchers examined the gastrointestinal tracts of both pelagic and demersal fish species and found microplastics in individuals from both groups, suggesting that microplastic ingestion occurs across fish species regardless of their position in the water column.
Euryhaline fish larvae ingest more microplastic particles in seawater than in freshwater
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Researchers found that euryhaline fish larvae ingested significantly more microplastic particles in seawater than in freshwater, likely due to physiological differences in drinking rates, with implications for understanding marine fish contamination.
Endangered, exploited glass eels (Anguilla anguilla) with critical levels of heavy metals and microplastics reveal both shipping and plastic spill threats
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Researchers measured heavy metals and microplastics in endangered European glass eels and the estuarine waters they pass through in the Bay of Biscay region. They found that cadmium levels in eels from all estuaries exceeded legal European limits, and some waterways showed microplastic concentrations above ecotoxicological thresholds. The findings highlight the compounding threats that chemical and microplastic pollution pose to this already critically endangered species.
Anthropogenic particles ingestion in fish species from two areas of the western Mediterranean Sea.
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Anthropogenic particles including microplastics were found in the digestive tracts of fish from two aquatic environments, with ingestion rates and particle types varying by species and location. The study documents widespread microplastic ingestion across fish species in different habitat types.
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