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Ingestion of microplastics by natural zooplankton groups in the northern South China Sea
Summary
Researchers studied microplastic ingestion by five groups of natural zooplankton in the South China Sea using two different net sizes, finding microplastics — mainly fibers — at all sampling stations. The study provides the first data on microplastic ingestion by zooplankton in this region and highlights how small-mesh nets capture more contaminated organisms.
The ingestion of microplastics by five natural zooplankton groups in the northern South China Sea was studied for the first time and two types of sampling nets (505μm and 160μm in mesh size) were compared. The microplastics were detected in zooplankton sampled from 16 stations, with the fibrous microplastics accounting for the largest proportion (70%). The main component of the found microplastics was polyester. The average length of the microplastics was 125μm and 167μm for Nets I and II, respectively. The encounter rates of microplastics/zooplankton increased with trophic levels. The average encounter rate of microplastics/zooplankton was 5%, 15%, 34%, 49%, and 120% for Net I, and 8%, 21%, 47%, 60%, and 143% for Net II for copepods, chaetognaths, jellyfish, shrimp, and fish larvae, respectively. The average abundance of microplastics that were ingested by zooplankton was 4.1pieces/m for Net I and 131.5pieces/m for Net II.