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Exploring the relation between plastic ingestion in species and its presence in seafloor bottoms
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This study examined the relationship between microplastic abundance on the western Mediterranean seafloor and microplastic ingestion by marine species caught in the same bottom trawl hauls. Fish and invertebrates that live near plastic-rich seafloor sediments had higher rates of microplastic ingestion, suggesting that benthic plastic accumulation drives exposure in bottom-feeding organisms.
In order to have a wider understanding of the impacts of plastics on marine ecosystems, studies should approach different environmental compartments, such as seafloor and biota, at the same time. The aim of this research is to study the relation between microplastic ingestion in species and the amount of seafloor plastics caught in the same bottom trawls hauls of the western Mediterranean Sea to describe a potential overlap between these two indicators of plastic pollution. According to results, 15% of the sampled individuals ingested microplastics with a mean value of 0.30 ± 0.40 microplastics/individuals. Regarding seafloor plastics, these were present in 58% of the hauls with a mean value of 1.31 ± 0.09 kg/km. The highest overlap between ingestion of microplastic in species and seafloor plastics was observed in the bay of Palma, the most urbanized area, but also in areas close to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
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Presence of microplastics in benthic and epibenthic organisms: Influence of habitat, feeding mode and trophic level
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This study examined microplastic occurrence in benthic and epibenthic invertebrates from the Western English Channel, finding that habitat type, feeding mode, and trophic level all influenced microplastic ingestion rates. The results suggest that bottom-dwelling filter feeders and deposit feeders are among the most exposed organisms in seafloor food webs.
Are feeding traits and habitat responsible of microplastics ingestion in fish, crustaceans and elasmobranches at the western Mediterranean?
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This western Mediterranean study examined microplastic ingestion across multiple species of fish, crustaceans, and elasmobranchs, finding that feeding traits and habitat influenced but did not fully explain plastic uptake rates. The results indicate that a range of commercially important marine species are exposed to microplastics, with mean ingestion rates up to 2.3 particles per individual.
Integrated approach for marine litter pollution assessment in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea: Information from bottom-trawl fishing and plastic ingestion in deep-sea fish.
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This study combined bottom-trawl fishing data with analysis of plastic ingestion in deep-sea fish from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea to assess seafloor litter pollution. Plastic was the most abundant litter type on the seafloor, and plastic fragments were found in fish digestive tracts, demonstrating that microplastic contamination extends to deep-sea ecosystems and enters the food web.
Field evidence for microplastic interactions in marine benthic invertebrates
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Field evidence was gathered for microplastic interactions with two polychaete species of different feeding strategies in the Mediterranean benthos, finding that both sessile filter feeders and mobile deposit feeders ingested and accumulated microplastics from benthic environments.
Microplastics ingestion by deep-sea decapod crustaceans from the Western Mediterranean
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Researchers investigated microplastic ingestion by four deep-sea decapod crustacean species in the Sardinian and Catalan regions of the Western Mediterranean, analyzing gastrointestinal tracts from 210 individuals to assess abundance, characterization, and species- and region-level differences, finding ingestion prevalence of approximately 70%.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.