TY - JOUR
T1 - Are anthropogenic fibres a real problem for red mullets (Mullus barbatus) from the NW Mediterranean?
AU - Rodríguez-Romeu, Oriol
AU - Constenla, María
AU - Carrassón, Maite
AU - Campoy-Quiles, Mariano
AU - Soler-Membrives, Anna
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology with the “BIOMARE” project ( CTM2006- 13508- C02- 01MAR ) and the Complementary Action ( CTM2006- 28145- E/MAR ), the Catalan Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) with the project “SOMPESCA” ( ARP059/19/00003 ) and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities with the “PLASMAR” project ( RTI2018-094806-B-100 ) and the “Severo Ochoa” excellence program of ICMAB (SEV-2015-0496). MCQ thanks the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades MICINN for the “Severo Ochoa” excellence program of ICMAB with reference SEV-2015-0496. Authors would like to thank Mrs. Maria José Ramos-Sosa for her invaluable research assistance. We also thank all staff of the oceanographic vessel “García del Cid”, the fleet of the commercial fishing vessels of Barcelona and Blanes, and fisherman associations “Confraria de Pescadors de Barcelona” and “Confraria de Pescadors de Blanes” for their support during sampling cruises. We are very grateful to Amy MacLeod (EditingZoo) for the English editing.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier B.V.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Microfibres are among the most prevalent type of microplastics in marine environments. Man-made fibres derived from cellulose are distributed worldwide, but are often confused with synthetic plastic fibres and consequently neglected. All these fibres may adversely affect aquatic organisms, but their levels and potential effects in wild fish remain unknown. We analysed anthropogenic fibre (AF) ingestion in the red mullet (Mullus barbatus), at both temporal and geographical scales, to assess potential effects of these fibres on fish health condition. AFs were present in 50% of fish digestive tracts, with a mean of 1.48 AFs per individual (SD = 1.98). In Barcelona, an increase of 46% in AF ingestion was observed in 2018 compared to 2007. AF ingestion also increases by 20% when Barcelona is compared to a less urban area (the town of Blanes). Visual characterization of fibres by typologies—corroborated by Raman spectroscopy—allowed classification and identification of 88% of AFs as cellulosic (57%), and synthetic polymers (PET) (31%). In all sampling stations, the only histopathological alterations were cysts of unknown etiology, and the most abundant parasites were nematodes. None of these alterations, parasite load, or other fish health indicators (condition indices) indicate an effect of AF ingestion.
AB - Microfibres are among the most prevalent type of microplastics in marine environments. Man-made fibres derived from cellulose are distributed worldwide, but are often confused with synthetic plastic fibres and consequently neglected. All these fibres may adversely affect aquatic organisms, but their levels and potential effects in wild fish remain unknown. We analysed anthropogenic fibre (AF) ingestion in the red mullet (Mullus barbatus), at both temporal and geographical scales, to assess potential effects of these fibres on fish health condition. AFs were present in 50% of fish digestive tracts, with a mean of 1.48 AFs per individual (SD = 1.98). In Barcelona, an increase of 46% in AF ingestion was observed in 2018 compared to 2007. AF ingestion also increases by 20% when Barcelona is compared to a less urban area (the town of Blanes). Visual characterization of fibres by typologies—corroborated by Raman spectroscopy—allowed classification and identification of 88% of AFs as cellulosic (57%), and synthetic polymers (PET) (31%). In all sampling stations, the only histopathological alterations were cysts of unknown etiology, and the most abundant parasites were nematodes. None of these alterations, parasite load, or other fish health indicators (condition indices) indicate an effect of AF ingestion.
KW - Anthropogenic fibres
KW - Fibre ingestion
KW - Mediterranean Sea
KW - Microplastics
KW - Mullus barbatus
KW - Plastic pollution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084525367&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139336
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139336
M3 - Article
C2 - 32422462
AN - SCOPUS:85084525367
VL - 733
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
M1 - 139336
ER -