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Study on the Presence of Microplastics in Zooplankton Collected from Ennore Estuary, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Summary
Researchers studied seasonal variations in microplastic ingestion by zooplankton (especially copepods) in Ennore Estuary, Chennai, India, a coastal area affected by industrial and urban pollution. Their findings showed that copepods consumed microplastics throughout the year, raising concerns about contamination entering the marine food chain through this key trophic link.
Microplastic contamination has been considered as a global environmental problem in marine ecosystem. Due to small size (< 5 mm) in overlapping with that of microalgae, microplastics can easily be ingested by a wide range of marine copepods. Microplastics are mistakenly ingested by zooplankton as food, subsequently disrupting the biological process of zooplankton, a crucial food source for many secondary consumers. As copepods dominate zooplankton biomass and provide an essential trophic link in marine ecosystem, copepods are at an increased risk of microplastic ingestion. The seasonal change in microplastics in copepods and the key environmental factors influencing the retention of microplastics in copepods are largely unknown. In the present study we collected copepods from Ennore estuary and identified them up to the species level. The samples were digested and visually examined by using microscope for presence of microplastic. Our results showed that the copepods collected from Ennore estuary contained microplastics in their body.