Low prevalence of microplastic contamination in planktivorous fish species from the southeast Pacific Ocean

Nicolas Ory; Catherine Chagnon; Fernando Felix; César Fernández; Joana Lia Ferreira; Camila Gallardo; Ostin Garcés Ordóñez; Aida Henostroza; Enrique Laaz; Ricardo Mizraji; Hermes Mojica; Vladimir Murillo Haro; Luis Ossa Medina; Mercy Preciado; Paula Sobral; Mauricio A. Urbina; Martin Thiel

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.016

Low prevalence of microplastic contamination in planktivorous fish species from the southeast Pacific Ocean

Nicolas Ory, Catherine Chagnon, Fernando Felix, César Fernández, Joana Lia Ferreira, Camila Gallardo, Ostin Garcés Ordóñez, Aida Henostroza, Enrique Laaz, Ricardo Mizraji, Hermes Mojica, Vladimir Murillo Haro, Luis Ossa Medina, Mercy Preciado, Paula Sobral, Mauricio A. Urbina, Martin Thiel^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

198 Scopus citations

Abstract

The gut contents of 292 planktivorous fish, from four families (Atherinopsidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae and Scombridae) and seven species, captured along the coast of the southeast Pacific, were examined for microplastic contamination. Only a small fraction of all studied fish (2.1%; 6 individuals) contained microplastic particles in their digestive tract. Microplastics found were degraded hard fragments and threads, ranging from 1.1 to 4.9 (3.8 ± SD 2.4) mm in length, and of various colours, which suggests that the planktivorous fish species examined herein did not capture microplastics on the basis of their colour. The low prevalence of microplastic contamination in planktivorous fishes found in this study suggests that the risk of accidental ingestion by these species might be limited in the coastal upwelled waters of the southeast Pacific, perhaps due to small human population and highly dynamic oceanographic processes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	211-216
Number of pages	6
Journal	Marine Pollution Bulletin
Volume	127
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.016
State	Published - Feb 2018
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Funding

This study was financed with funds from the United Nation Environment Programme-Global Programme of Action ( UNEP/SSFA/DEPI/2016/MCEB-GPA/104.M99-32GPL-11207-SB-001034.02.01.08-14AC0003 ) through the Comisión Permanente del Pacífico Sur (CPPS). Additional support was received through the Chilean Millennium Initiative Grant NC 120030 . We thank Diego Alvarez and Delia Stüben for their help during the workshop, and to Joana Antunes for support in the polymer analysis through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013 from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT - PT). NCO was supported by a postdoctoral FONDECYT grant (No. 3150636) from the Chilean Ministry of Education. Authors acknowledge the support of their institutions to this assessment. MAU received financial support from CONICYT-FONDECYT grant 11160019 . Authors acknowledge the support of their institutions to this assessment.

Funders	Funder number
CONICYT-FONDECYT	11160019
Chilean Ministry of Education
United Nation Environment Programme-Global Programme of Action	UID/MAR/04292/2013, UNEP/SSFA/DEPI/2016/MCEB-GPA/104, NC 120030
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico	3150636

Keywords

Humboldt Current System
Microplastic contamination
Planktivorous fish
Southeast Pacific Ocean
Upwelling systems

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.016

Cite this

Ory, N., Chagnon, C., Felix, F., Fernández, C., Ferreira, J. L., Gallardo, C., Garcés Ordóñez, O., Henostroza, A., Laaz, E., Mizraji, R., Mojica, H., Murillo Haro, V., Ossa Medina, L., Preciado, M., Sobral, P., Urbina, M. A., & Thiel, M. (2018). Low prevalence of microplastic contamination in planktivorous fish species from the southeast Pacific Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 127, 211-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.016

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abstract = "The gut contents of 292 planktivorous fish, from four families (Atherinopsidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae and Scombridae) and seven species, captured along the coast of the southeast Pacific, were examined for microplastic contamination. Only a small fraction of all studied fish (2.1%; 6 individuals) contained microplastic particles in their digestive tract. Microplastics found were degraded hard fragments and threads, ranging from 1.1 to 4.9 (3.8 ± SD 2.4) mm in length, and of various colours, which suggests that the planktivorous fish species examined herein did not capture microplastics on the basis of their colour. The low prevalence of microplastic contamination in planktivorous fishes found in this study suggests that the risk of accidental ingestion by these species might be limited in the coastal upwelled waters of the southeast Pacific, perhaps due to small human population and highly dynamic oceanographic processes.",

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year = "2018",

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doi = "10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.016",

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Ory, N, Chagnon, C, Felix, F, Fernández, C, Ferreira, JL, Gallardo, C, Garcés Ordóñez, O, Henostroza, A, Laaz, E, Mizraji, R, Mojica, H, Murillo Haro, V, Ossa Medina, L, Preciado, M, Sobral, P, Urbina, MA & Thiel, M 2018, 'Low prevalence of microplastic contamination in planktivorous fish species from the southeast Pacific Ocean', Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 127, pp. 211-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.016

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AU - Ory, Nicolas

AU - Chagnon, Catherine

AU - Felix, Fernando

AU - Fernández, César

AU - Ferreira, Joana Lia

AU - Gallardo, Camila

AU - Garcés Ordóñez, Ostin

AU - Henostroza, Aida

AU - Laaz, Enrique

AU - Mizraji, Ricardo

AU - Mojica, Hermes

AU - Murillo Haro, Vladimir

AU - Ossa Medina, Luis

AU - Preciado, Mercy

AU - Sobral, Paula

AU - Urbina, Mauricio A.

AU - Thiel, Martin

PY - 2018/2

Y1 - 2018/2

N2 - The gut contents of 292 planktivorous fish, from four families (Atherinopsidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae and Scombridae) and seven species, captured along the coast of the southeast Pacific, were examined for microplastic contamination. Only a small fraction of all studied fish (2.1%; 6 individuals) contained microplastic particles in their digestive tract. Microplastics found were degraded hard fragments and threads, ranging from 1.1 to 4.9 (3.8 ± SD 2.4) mm in length, and of various colours, which suggests that the planktivorous fish species examined herein did not capture microplastics on the basis of their colour. The low prevalence of microplastic contamination in planktivorous fishes found in this study suggests that the risk of accidental ingestion by these species might be limited in the coastal upwelled waters of the southeast Pacific, perhaps due to small human population and highly dynamic oceanographic processes.

AB - The gut contents of 292 planktivorous fish, from four families (Atherinopsidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae and Scombridae) and seven species, captured along the coast of the southeast Pacific, were examined for microplastic contamination. Only a small fraction of all studied fish (2.1%; 6 individuals) contained microplastic particles in their digestive tract. Microplastics found were degraded hard fragments and threads, ranging from 1.1 to 4.9 (3.8 ± SD 2.4) mm in length, and of various colours, which suggests that the planktivorous fish species examined herein did not capture microplastics on the basis of their colour. The low prevalence of microplastic contamination in planktivorous fishes found in this study suggests that the risk of accidental ingestion by these species might be limited in the coastal upwelled waters of the southeast Pacific, perhaps due to small human population and highly dynamic oceanographic processes.

KW - Humboldt Current System

KW - Microplastic contamination

KW - Planktivorous fish

KW - Southeast Pacific Ocean

KW - Upwelling systems

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JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin

JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin

ER -

Low prevalence of microplastic contamination in planktivorous fish species from the southeast Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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