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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.
Marine litter loads are increasing worldwide and impacts and effects on marine ecosystems and their inhabitants are still unknown [1,2]. Whereas interaction effects of macrolitter, especially on species as sea turtles and marine mammals has been more investigated, the microscopic fraction has been less addressed. Therefore, several key species of fish, crustaceans and elasmobranches have been studied to assess microplastics ingestion in the Western Mediterranean. Mean ingested microplastics (MPs) ranged up to 2.3 MPs/ind indicating a threat of this man made contaminant on species which are commercialised
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