TY - JOUR
T1 - Low prevalence of microplastic contamination in planktivorous fish species from the southeast Pacific Ocean
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
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd
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
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85037342422&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.016
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.016
M3 - Article
C2 - 29475656
AN - SCOPUS:85037342422
SN - 0025-326X
VL - 127
SP - 211
EP - 216
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
ER -