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Microplastics and other anthropogenic particles in Antarctica: Using penguins as biological samplers
The Science of The Total Environment2021
123 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 50
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Joana Fragão,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Claire M. Waluda,
Filipa Bessa,
Joana Fragão,
Joana Fragão,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Joana Fragão,
Joana Fragão,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Andrés Barbosa,
Paula Sobral,
Andrés Barbosa,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Vanessa Otero,
Paula Sobral,
Claire M. Waluda,
Vanessa Otero,
Vanessa Otero,
Vanessa Otero,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Claire M. Waluda,
Claire M. Waluda,
Claire M. Waluda,
Claire M. Waluda,
Vanessa Otero,
Vanessa Otero,
Vanessa Otero,
Vanessa Otero,
Vanessa Otero,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Claire M. Waluda,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Andrés Barbosa,
Filipa Bessa,
Andrés Barbosa,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Claire M. Waluda,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Vanessa Otero,
Claire M. Waluda,
Paula Sobral,
Vanessa Otero,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Vanessa Otero,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Claire M. Waluda,
Claire M. Waluda,
Claire M. Waluda,
Claire M. Waluda,
Claire M. Waluda,
Hugo R. Guímaro,
Hugo R. Guímaro,
Vanessa Otero,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
José C. Xavier
José C. Xavier
José C. Xavier
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Claire M. Waluda,
Filipa Bessa,
Filipa Bessa,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Paula Sobral,
Claire M. Waluda,
José C. Xavier
José C. Xavier
Summary
Researchers analyzed stomach contents of three Antarctic penguin species for microplastics and other anthropogenic particles, finding MPs in all three species and suggesting that penguins could serve as biological samplers to track plastic pollution trends in remote polar waters.
Microplastics (< 5 mm in size) are known to be widespread in the marine environment but are still poorly studied in Polar Regions, particularly in the Antarctic. As penguins have a wide distribution around Antarctica, three congeneric species: Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae), chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) were selected to evaluate the occurrence of microplastics across the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea. Scat samples (used as a proxy of ingestion), were collected from breeding colonies over seven seasons between 2006 and 2016. Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), present in scat samples, contributed 85%, 66% and 54% of the diet in terms of frequency of occurrence to the diet of Adélie, gentoo and chinstrap penguins, respectively. Microplastics were found in 15%, 28% and 29% scats of Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguin respectively. A total of 92 particles were extracted from the scats (n = 317) and 32% (n = 29) were chemically identified via micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (μ-FTIR). From all the particles extracted, 35% were identified as microplastics, particularly polyethylene (80%) and polyester (10%). It was not possible to ascertain the identification of the remaining 10% of samples. Other anthropogenic particles were identified in 55% of samples, identified as cellulose fibres. The results show a similar frequency of occurrence of particles across all colonies, suggesting there is no particular point source for microplastic pollution in the Scotia Sea. Additionally, no clear temporal variation in the number of microplastics in penguins was observed. Overall, this study reveals the presence of microplastics across Antarctica, in three penguin species and offers evidence of other anthropogenic particles in high numbers. Further research is needed to better understand the spatio-temporal dynamics, fate and effect of microplastics on these ecosystems, and improve plastic pollution policies in Antarctica.