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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to From megafauna to microplastics: Understanding habit use reveals potential threats to Indonesia's manta rays
ClearMicroplastics on the Menu: Plastics Pollute Indonesian Manta Ray and Whale Shark Feeding Grounds
Plastic abundance was surveyed at feeding grounds for manta rays and whale sharks in three coastal Indonesian locations using plankton net trawls and visual surveys, finding microplastics throughout waters in a global marine biodiversity hotspot. The study highlights the risk posed by plastic pollution to large filter-feeding megafauna in one of the world's most plastic-polluted regions.
No escape from microplastics: Contamination of reef manta ray feeding areas in a remote, protected archipelago
Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) feeding areas within a remote, protected archipelago, finding that even isolated marine protected areas are not free from microplastic pollution, raising concerns about filter-feeding marine megafauna in decline.
Plastic pollution and ocean giants: Investigating the extent and impacts of plastic ingestion by marine megafauna
Researchers investigated the extent and impacts of plastic pollution on ocean giants including large marine vertebrates such as whales, basking sharks, and manta rays, which are exposed to microplastics through filter feeding and ingestion of contaminated prey. The review found growing evidence of microplastic ingestion in these species, with potential consequences for their health and conservation.
What's in the soup? Visual characterization and polymer analysis of microplastics from an Indonesian manta ray feeding ground
Microplastics collected from an Indonesian manta ray feeding ground were characterized for polymer type and physical properties, finding a diverse mix of synthetic polymers that mirrors the plastic pollution profile of Indonesian coastal waters.
Urban manta rays: potential manta ray nursery habitat along a highly developed Florida coastline
This study examined whether a highly urbanized Florida coastline serves as nursery habitat for giant oceanic manta rays, finding juvenile manta rays regularly using the area. This marine ecology paper is not directly related to microplastic research, though manta rays are documented to ingest microplastics through filter feeding.
Microplastics: No Small Problem for Filter-Feeding Megafauna
This study highlights the emerging threat of microplastic pollution to filter-feeding marine megafauna, including mobulid rays, whale sharks, and baleen whales. These animals are particularly vulnerable because their feeding strategies cause them to ingest large volumes of water along with suspended microplastics and associated toxins. The authors call for more research and public awareness to understand the full scope of microplastic impacts on these flagship species.
Remote hideaways: first insights into the population sizes, habitat use and residency of manta rays at aggregation areas in Seychelles
Photo-identification surveys at aggregation sites in the Seychelles provided first insights into manta ray population sizes, habitat use, and residency patterns, finding that small resident populations make repeated use of specific aggregation areas and are vulnerable to localized threats.
Microplastics in fecal samples of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and from surface water in the Philippines
Researchers documented microplastic ingestion by whale sharks in the Philippines through fecal sample analysis and compared it with surface water contamination, providing direct evidence that these filter-feeding megafauna ingest microplastics in a recognized pollution hotspot.
Research Priorities to Support Effective Manta and Devil Ray Conservation
This paper reviews current knowledge gaps and identifies research priorities for manta ray and devil ray conservation, covering topics including migration, reproduction, feeding ecology, and threats such as bycatch and pollution. Understanding how plastic pollution affects these filter-feeding elasmobranchs is identified as an important area for future research.
Large filter feeding marine organisms as indicators of microplastic in the pelagic environment: The case studies of the Mediterranean basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) and fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
This study investigated whether baleen whales and basking sharks — large filter feeders — ingest microplastics in the Mediterranean and found evidence that both species are exposed to plastic contamination through their filtration feeding behavior. The authors used feeding ecology modeling to estimate plastic ingestion rates and identify associated toxicological risks.
Field measurements reveal exposure risk to microplastic ingestion by filter-feeding megafauna
Researchers combined ocean microplastic data with high-resolution whale feeding measurements to estimate how much plastic blue, fin, and humpback whales ingest in the California Current Ecosystem. They found that whales likely consume millions of microplastic particles per day, primarily through contaminated prey rather than direct filtration of water. The study reveals that filter-feeding whales face far greater microplastic exposure than previously estimated.
Does the microplastics ingestion patterns and polymer composition vary across the oceanic zones? A case study from the Indian coast
Researchers examined microplastic ingestion in 27 species of deep-sea fish from the Central Indian Ocean and found contamination in 19 of them, with PET being the most common polymer. The study suggests that feeding behavior, rather than habitat depth or trophic level, is the primary factor influencing how much microplastic deep-sea fish ingest, and proposes these fish could serve as indicators for monitoring deep-sea plastic pollution.
Habitat modeling of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) in the Eastern Gulf of Thailand
This study modeled habitat preferences of Irrawaddy dolphins in Thailand's Gulf of Thailand to inform marine spatial planning and conservation. While not directly about microplastics, dolphins are top predators accumulating contaminants including plastic-associated chemicals through food chains.
The distribution of manta rays in the western North Atlantic Ocean off the eastern United States
Researchers combined decades of sighting data to model where giant manta rays — listed as a threatened species — move along the eastern United States coast throughout the year, finding they favor warm, productive shelf-edge waters. These seasonal distribution maps will help managers protect rays from fishing bycatch, boat strikes, and pollutants like microplastics.
Are baleen whales exposed to the threat of microplastics? A case study of the Mediterranean fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
This case study estimated how many microplastics Mediterranean fin whales and basking sharks might ingest through filter feeding, using feeding rate data and measured microplastic concentrations. The study raised concern that large filter feeders accumulate significant plastic loads and that the associated chemical burden from sorbed pollutants may pose health risks to these protected species.
Coupling Gastro-Intestinal Tract Analysis With an Airborne Contamination Control Method to Estimate Litter Ingestion in Demersal Elasmobranchs
This study assessed plastic and microplastic ingestion by demersal elasmobranchs (bottom-dwelling sharks and rays) in the Mediterranean, combining stomach analysis with strict airborne contamination controls. By demonstrating that plastic ingestion occurs even in these deepwater predators, the study shows microplastic contamination has reached the upper levels of Mediterranean marine food webs.
Investigation of Microplastic Exposure to Marine Fish in the Marine Tourism Area of Makassar City
Researchers investigated microplastic exposure in marine fish from a tourism area in Makassar City, Indonesia, finding microplastics in fish digestive tracts with fragments and filaments predominating, indicating that plastic pollution has entered local marine food chains in a heavily visited coastal zone.
Linking the Tourism Activity to the Occurrence and Distribution of Microplastics
Researchers assessed microplastic abundance, type, and spatial distribution in coastal water, sediments, and fish across three zones of Gili Trawangan, Indonesia, finding that tourism-related activities concentrated microplastics at recreational beaches with concentrations reaching 19.25 particles/L.
Ingestion of microplastics in commercially important species along Thoothukudi coast, south east India
Researchers found microplastics in the guts of 12 commercially important marine species along India's Thoothukudi coast, with herbivores showing the highest ingestion rates and evidence of biomagnification across trophic levels, suggesting feeding habits — not habitat or body size — drive microplastic accumulation.
Assessing microplastic exposure of large marine filter-feeders
Researchers analyzed whale scat to estimate microplastic exposure in baleen whales feeding in coastal New Zealand waters. Using stochastic simulation modeling, they estimated whales ingest over 3.4 million microplastics per day, a figure four orders of magnitude higher than would be predicted from surface water measurements alone. The study suggests that trophic transfer through prey is the dominant exposure route for large filter-feeding marine animals, not direct environmental ingestion.
Interactions between marine megafauna and plastic pollution in Southeast Asia
Researchers reviewed published cases of marine megafauna — including sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, and seabirds — entangled in or having ingested plastics across Southeast Asia, a region that contributes roughly a third of global marine plastic pollution. Despite the scale of the problem, scientific documentation of plastic impacts on wildlife in the region remains far behind other parts of the world, highlighting a critical data gap.
Plastic pollution and ocean giants: Investigating the extent and impacts of plastic ingestion by marine megafauna
This review examined the extent to which large ocean-going animals such as whales and whale sharks ingest and are harmed by plastic pollution, synthesizing data from stranding records and feeding observations. The evidence indicates that plastic ingestion is widespread among ocean giants, with documented cases of mortality and sublethal effects.
Microplastic burden in marine benthic invertebrates depends on species traits and feeding ecology within biogeographical provinces
Researchers analyzed microplastic levels in the bodies of marine bottom-dwelling invertebrates across different ocean regions and found that the amount of microplastic ingested depended more on the animals' feeding strategies and body traits than on local pollution levels alone. Filter-feeding and deposit-feeding species accumulated the most particles. The study suggests that simply measuring environmental microplastic concentrations may not accurately predict how much wildlife in an area is actually ingesting.
The presence of microplastics in fishes of South Maldives
Researchers found microplastics in the gut, gills, and flesh of two fish species collected from South Maldives, with 80% of one species containing plastic particles, indicating widespread ingestion by reef fish in this remote island nation and potential transfer into the human food chain.