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Marine debris ingestion by the South American Fur Seal from the Southwest Atlantic Ocean

Marine Pollution Bulletin 2017 45 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 35 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Pablo Denuncio M. Agustina Mandiola, M. Agustina Mandiola, M. Agustina Mandiola, M. Agustina Mandiola, Pablo Denuncio Pablo Denuncio Sofía Belén Pérez Salles, Sofía Belén Pérez Salles, Rodrigo Machado, Philipp Sebastian Ott, M. Agustina Mandiola, M. Agustina Mandiola, D. Rodríguez, Larissa Rosa de Oliveira, D. Rodríguez, Pablo Denuncio Rodrigo Machado, D. Rodríguez, Rodrigo Machado, Pablo Denuncio

Summary

Marine debris was found in 7% of South American fur seals examined from beaches in Argentina and Brazil, with plastic being the most common type. While the ingestion rate was relatively low, the findings confirm that this marine mammal species is exposed to plastic pollution throughout its range.

Body Systems

Digestive

Study Type Environmental

In this paper, we examined the ingestion of marine debris (MD) in South American fur seals (SAFS), Arctocephalus australis, found dead in coastal beaches of northern Argentina and southern Brazil. Seven percent of 133 SAFS analyzed presented marine debris in their stomach (n=10), with no differences between sampling countries (Brazil n=7, Argentina n=3) and sexes (female=3; male=6). However, significant differences were observed between ages classes, with MD exclusively present in stomach contents of young specimens. Plastics represents 90% of MD ingested by the SAFS, whereas regarding the source, fishery-related items (e.g. monofilament lines) were the main MD (70%), with a lesser proportion of packaging (e.g. pieces of bags). Low numbers but large size pieces of MD were found in each stomach affected. Negative effects on the individuals could not be fully evaluated. Therefore, the potential impacts of the marine debris to the SAFS deserve further elucidation.

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