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Ingesta de microplásticos en insectos terrestres y aéreos provenientes de hábitats contrastantes en la ciudad de Guanajuato, México
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Researchers analyzed 266 terrestrial and aerial insects from a protected natural area, agricultural zone, and urban area in Guanajuato, Mexico, finding microplastic ingestion in all habitats with filaments comprising 98.7% of particles, and significant differences in abundance across insect orders and habitat types, with urban and agricultural zones showing the highest contamination in hemipterans.
Este estudio evaluó la ingesta de microplásticos (MPs) en insectos terrestres y aéreos provenientes de tres hábitats contrastantes en Guanajuato, México: un Área Natural Protegida (ANP), una zona de cultivo y una zona urbana. Se analizaron 266 individuos pertenecientes a seis órdenes (coleóptera, ortóptera, hemíptera, lepidóptera, himenóptera y díptera) mediante digestión con peróxido de hidrógeno (30%). Los MPs encontrados se caracterizaron morfológicamente. Los resultados mostraron que los filamentos fueron los más abundantes con un 98.7% mientras que los fragmentos solo correspondieron al 1.3%. La abundancia de MPs varió significativamente entre órdenes y hábitats, donde lepidópteros e himenópteros presentaron altas concentraciones en ANP, mientras que los hemípteros fueron el orden más afectado en zonas urbanas y agrícolas. No se encontró correlación entre el tamaño o peso de los insectos y la cantidad de MPs ingeridos, pero si se encontró una distribución de colores homogénea, donde predominaron los MPs negros y azules en todos los sitios. Se evidenció la presencia de MPs en todos los hábitats estudiados, lo cual presenta un potencial riesgo para los ecosistemas y los roles ecológicos de insectos, por lo que se sugiere implementar estrategias para mitigar y monitorear la contaminación por MPs, además de estudios ecológicos sobre el tema.
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