Microplastics in some fish species and their environs in Eastern Visayas, Philippines

Microplastics are a global concern, and yet, Philippine studies about it are still wanting. This study investigated microplastic ingestion among detritus-feeding mullet versus the herbivorous rabbitfish, and between freshwater and marine fishes. The first part aimed to compare microplastics in fishes' guts differing in feeding guilds, in-dividual sizes, and body weights. The second part compared MPs in fishes' guts and their surrounding waters. Part one revealed that herbivores (58.57%) ingested more MPs than their detritivore-counterparts (30.0%). Pearson correlation, averaging 0.06, suggests a weak correlation between fish weight and MPs amount for both species. Part two showed marine fishes (66.0%) ingested more MPs than its freshwater counterparts (45.0%). A very weak correlation was observed between fish weight and amount of MPs ingested. Fish along the estuary ingested more MPs than those in other stations. No significant differences (p = 0.23) between the MPs in the water samples from each sampling stations was found.

Automated summary

This study compared the amount of microplastics in the guts of fish with different feeding habits, body sizes, and weights, and also compared the ingestion of microplastics between marine and freshwater fish. The results showed that herbivorous fish and marine fish ingested more microplastics, and there was a weak correlation between fish weight and the amount of microplastics ingested.