Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
Volume 214, Issue -, Pages 517-523Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2016.04.054
Keywords
Feeding; Fish; Marine litter; Mediterranean Sea
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Funding
- European project: Towards COast to COast NETworks of marine protected areas (from the shore to the high and deep sea), coupled with sea-based wind energy potential [287844]
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For the first time this study reports on the presence of microplastics (1 nm to <5 mm) in the gastrointestinal tracts of small semipelagic fish (Boops boops) in the Balearic Islands (Mediterranean Sea) from March to May 2014. The results show microplastic ingestion in 68% of full stomach samples with an average of 3.75 items per fish. Only filament type microplastics were observed in B. boops full gastrointestinal tracts. The frequency of occurrence of microplastics was high, with values ranging from 42% to 80%, in comparison to the other ingested items. Spatial variability among locations is high, which suggests that this type of contamination is ubiquitously distributed and originates from multiple sources. The results are important and indirectly provide further evidence of the presence of microplastics, which can be ingested by biota, in the marine environment. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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