Ingestion and elimination of anthropogenic fibres and microplastic fragments by the European anchovy ( Engraulis encrasi
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Ingestion and elimination of anthropogenic fibres and microplastic fragments by the European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) of the NW Mediterranean Sea Alessandro Capone1 · Mario Petrillo1 · Cristina Misic1 Received: 27 March 2020 / Accepted: 29 September 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract This study analysed the anthropogenic microparticles in the stomach content of the European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) in the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean). The results showed that 30–40% of the anchovies had ingested anthropogenic microparticles (on average, 0.34 ± 0.29 fibres ind−1 and 0.12 ± 0.12 fragments ind−1). The fibres were probably ingested via filtration, and were significantly correlated with the gut fullness. Fibres were mostly dark, but the presence of other colours was frequent, indicating a general lack of selectivity. Plastic fragments composed of polyethylene and polypropylene were prevalently transparent, suggesting active predation, especially for larger fragments resembling zooplankton. No significant differences were recorded for the frequency of fish containing particles among females, males, and undetermined individuals. The presence of, generally, only one anthropogenic item per fish, as observed for 95.8% of fish containing microparticles, indicated that the permanence of these particles in the stomachs was short, likely no more than 1 day, although it could also depend on low environmental concentrations. The evaluation of the intestinal lumen indicated that a portion of the plastic fragments found in the stomach could not be ejected. Hard fragments that were larger than the intestinal lumen could be held for longer times, but probably regurgitation, fragmentation, and embedding in a biological matrix may facilitate their quick elimination. It is pivotal to understand the processes that regulate the abundance and the residential time of anthropogenic particles in commercial organisms captured for human nutrition, given the potential biomagnification of toxic substances carried by ingested particles.
Introduction Anthropogenic materials are distributed in all the oceans and seas, playing destructive roles in the ecosystem. Toxicity, gas exchange limitations, and mechanical forcing on organisms are related to the presence of anthropogenic materials, and, in recent years, plastic has gained a leading position among these threats to the environment (Teuten et al. 2009; Deudero and Alomar 2015; Jovanović 2017). More recently, natural and synthetic textile fibres have become a matter of concern. As both have been found to sorb chemical Responsible Editor: S. Hamilton. Reviewed by undisclosed experts. * Cristina Misic [email protected] 1
Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences, University of Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genova, Italy
pollutants and potentially block feeding appendages or the passage of food, they can exert on the organisms the same deleterious effects of plastic fibres (Lusher et al. 2013; Ladewig et al. 2015; Remy et al. 2015). Anthropog
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