A baseline study of microplastics in the burrowing crab (Neohelice granulata) from a temperate southwestern Atlantic estuary

VILLAGRAN, DIANA M.; TRUCHET, DANIELA M.; BUZZI, NATALIA S.; FORERO LOPEZ, ANA D.; FERNÁNDEZ SEVERINI, MELISA D.

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2019

0025-326X

Growing evidence has demonstrated that microplastics (MPs) are available for a wide range of marine organisms,with filter-feeding bivalves and crabs being especially vulnerable. The crab Neohelice granulata is considereda key and structuring species in the Bahía Blanca Estuary (BBE) (SW Atlantic) and its ecological rolemakes this species especially vulnerable to several pollutants. In this study, male specimens of N. granulata andwater samples were collected at three sites in the BBE for the presence of MPs. Different types of MPs were foundin all the crabs and the water column samples, although the most frequent were fibers