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Microplastics pollution in the intertidal limpet, Nacella magellanica, from Beagle Channel (Argentina).

Authors :
Ojeda M
Cossi PF
Rimondino GN
Chiesa IL
Boy CC
Pérez AF
Source :
The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2021 Nov 15; Vol. 795, pp. 148866. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Jul 03.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) have been identified in diverse marine invertebrates; however, there are few studies on limpets. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the presence of MPs in Nacella magellanica among sites of the Beagle Channel with different degree of anthropogenic influence. Intertidal limpets were sampled in three sites: Ushuaia Bay (UB) (inside Ushuaia city), a site with high anthropogenic influence owing to population growth, and fisheries, industrial and port activities; Ensenada Zaratiegui (EZ) and Playa Larga (PL) (west and east of Ushuaia city, respectively), both sites with a certain degree of environmental protection and low anthropogenic influence. MPs were isolated from the whole soft tissue of individuals by oxidative digestions with H <subscript>2</subscript> O <subscript>2</subscript> (30%; 1:10 w/v). MPs occurrence was 100% in organisms from UB and EZ, whereas 90% in PL. Limpets from UB showed 10 ± 6.69 MPs/ind and 2.22 ± 0.78 MPs/g ww, while in PL and EZ there were 2.90 ± 2.02 MPs/ind and 0.96 ± 0.94 MPs/g ww; and 5.60 ± 2.59 MPs/ind and 2.41 ± 1.47 MPs/g ww, respectively. Fibres were the most abundant MPs type, followed by fragments and films. Fibres and films were identified as semi-synthetic cellulose and, although the polymer matrix of fragments was masked by copper phthalocyanine, one of them could be identified as polystyrene. As expected, the highest abundance of MPs was found in UB. However, a lower abundance of particles was detected in PL (downstream of UB) than in EZ (upstream of UB). This could be due to the influence of both the main current of the Beagle Channel and fluvial discharges, reducing the buoyancy of MPs. More studies are needed to understand the contribution of regional and local features to the accumulation of MPs in these environments and their interaction with the biota.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.<br /> (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1879-1026
Volume :
795
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
The Science of the total environment
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
34247089
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148866