Abundance and microplastic ingestion by commercial shrimp Pleoticus muelleri at an impacted coastal environment (Southwestern Atlantic).

COLOMBO, C.V.; RIMONDINO, G.N.; FORERO LÓPEZ A.D.; BUZZI, N.S.; FERNÁNDEZ SEVERINI, M.D.; ARDUSSO M.,

Lanzarote and Beyond

Conferencia; MICRO2020, fate and impacts of microplastics: knowledge and responsibilities; 2020

Microplastics (particles of size < 5 mm) are recognized as emerging pollutants that havebeen found in most of the world´s aquatic environments. They are of particular concern dueto their capability to be ingested, enabling bioaccumulation and/or bio-magnificationthrough marine food webs 1 . Focusing on Argentina´s coastal wetlands, the Bahía BlancaEstuary (BBE) is considered one of the most important in this country due to its higheconomic impact and also for being habitat of important commercial species likemacrocrustaceans and fishes. The shrimp Pleoticus muelleri is an important economicresource for artisanal fishing and highly consumed in Argentina. For this reason, weinvestigated the abundance and characteristic of MPs in the abdominal muscle andgastrointestinal tract of the shrimp P. muelleri, as well as in the surface waters from theinner zone of BBE. The results showed that the dominant shape of MPs were fibers both insurface waters and shrimps. The fibers´ colors were mainly blue and black in surfacewaters, while in shrimps, they were transparent and black. The mean abundance of MPs insurface water and the shrimp´s abdominal tissues were 31.03 ± 3.01 items.L -1 and 3.91items. g -1 wet weight, respectively. Infrared Spectroscopy suggests that these fibers found inboth environmental matrices correspond to semi-synthetic cellulose-based remains,poly(amide), polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP). Therefore, the informationprovided by this study generates new knowledge about the materials of the sewagedischarges, which should be considered for stakeholders in the management andconservation of this large coastal wetland.