Impacts of plastic ingestion on post-hatchling loggerhead turtles off South Africa

Ryan, Peter G.; Cole, Georgina; Spiby, Kevin; Nel, Ronel; Osborne, Alexis; Perold, Vonica

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.04.005

Cited by 70 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…As we only tested a sub-sample of gut content for each animal (20 ml), the proportional incidence of anthropogenic contaminants we report is a conservative estimate. Due to the microscopic size of these synthetic fibres, direct internal organ damage is unlikely, when compared to ingestion of larger macro-plastics, although the ability of small fibres to cause inflammatory damage is acknowledged in other contexts 100 – 102 . Translocation of relatively large (150 µm) particles can occur across the vertebrate gut via persorption (the passage of particles through the epithelial layers of the gastro-intestinal tract), whilst smaller particles are taken up through normal digestive processes such as pinocytosis and phagocytosis, circulating through the blood and lymph vessels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the presence of microplastics in demersal sharks of the North-East Atlantic

Parton

Godley

Santillo

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Microplastic pollution is ubiquitous in the marine environment and is ingested by numerous marine species. Sharks are an understudied group regarding their susceptibility to microplastic ingestion. Here, we provide evidence of ingestion of microplastic and other anthropogenic fibres in four demersal sharks species found in the waters of the United Kingdom and investigate whether body burdens of contamination vary according to species, sex or size. Sharks were collected from the northEast Atlantic. Stomachs and digestive tracts of 46 sharks of 4 species were examined and 67% of samples contained at least one contaminant particle. Although we acknowledge modest sample size, estimated particle burden increased with body size but did not vary systematically with sex or species. A total of 379 particles were identified, leading to median estimates ranging from 2 to 7.5 ingested contaminants per animal for the 4 species. The majority were fibrous in nature (95%) and blue (88%) or black (9%) in colour. A subsample of contaminants (N = 62) were subject to FT-IR spectroscopy and polymers identified as: synthetic cellulose (33.3%), polypropylene (25%), polyacrylamides (10%) and polyester (8.3%). The level of risk posed to shark species by this level of contamination is unknown. Nevertheless, this study presents the first empirical evidence and an important baseline for ingestion of microplastics and other anthropogenic fibres in native UK shark species and highlights the pervasive nature of these pollutants. plastics in the marine environment. Research on plastic in the marine environment has accelerated rapidly in the last decade, with numerous publications describing its impact on ecosystems and marine taxa 1-7. It is estimated that between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enter the oceans every year from a variety of sources 6. Plastic is a popular material due to its durability, low production cost and efficiency in its uses 8. It is these properties, alongside its often disposable nature that leads to its prevalence in the environment for many years 9. Microplastics (defined as plastic particles < 5 mm) 10 are ubiquitous in the marine environment 11-13. Despite this knowledge, quantitative assessments of their abundance are still fairly limited 14 , although some estimates place their abundance at 5.25 trillion particles globally, weighing in at over 250,000 tonnes 5. Microplastics, in the form of fibres, fragments or beads/spheres, assimilate in the marine ecosystem via multiple avenues. Larger pieces of plastic can disintegrate over time due to UV radiation exposure, wave action and physical abrasion, eventually fragmenting into microscopic particles 15. Microplastics are also found in many everyday items used by humans including cosmetic products and can be produced by clothing wear 16-19. These can then reach the oceans via wastewater treatment plants 20. ingestion of microplastics in marine species. Ingestion of microplastics is reported in many marine species including turtles, marine mammals and fish 1,21...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the presence of microplastics in demersal sharks of the North-East Atlantic

Parton

Godley

Santillo

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…This could potentially be due to the foraging ecology of turtles sampled from the Pacific. Posthatchlings are known to be epipelagic surface dwelling unlike their neritic coastal counterparts (Bolten, 2003;Clukey, Lepczyk, Balazs, Work, & Lynch, 2017;Ryan et al, 2016) leading to a spatial overlap with surface floating microplastics.…”

Section: Synthetic Particle Ingestion In Marine Turtlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It remains unknown if and how these synthetic particles will impact turtles. Their size means they will pass through the gut lumen with relative ease (especially, for larger specimens) and therefore their presence does not lead to blockage or obstruction which is frequently reported in association with macroplastic ingestion (Ryan et al, 2016). Importantly, future work should focus on whether microplastics may be affecting aquatic organisms more subtly, for example, exposure to associated contaminants (heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants and polychlorinated biphenyls) and pathogens, or by acting at cellular or subcellular level (Critchell & Hoogenboom, 2018;Foley et al, 2018;Jovanović et al, 2018;Nelms et al, 2016;Velzeboer, Kwadijk, & Koelmans, 2014).…”

Section: Potential Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic ingestion ubiquitous in marine turtles

Duncan

Broderick

Fuller

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

236

100

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Despite concerns regarding the environmental impacts of microplastics, knowledge of the incidence and levels of synthetic particles in large marine vertebrates is lacking. Here, we utilize an optimized enzymatic digestion methodology, previously developed for zooplankton, to explore whether synthetic particles could be isolated from marine turtle ingesta. We report the presence of synthetic particles in every turtle subjected to investigation (n = 102) which included individuals from all seven species of marine turtle, sampled from three ocean basins (Atlantic [ATL]: n = 30, four species; Mediterranean (MED): n = 56, two species; Pacific (PAC): n = 16, five species). Most particles (n = 811) were fibres (ATL: 77.1% MED: 85.3% PAC: 64.8%) with blue and black being the dominant colours. In lesser quantities were fragments (ATL: 22.9%: MED: 14.7% PAC: 20.2%) and microbeads (4.8%; PAC only; to our knowledge the first isolation of microbeads from marine megavertebrates). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) of a subsample of particles (n = 169) showed a range of synthetic materials such as elastomers (MED: 61.2%; PAC: 3.4%), thermoplastics (ATL: 36.8%: MED: 20.7% PAC: 27.7%) and synthetic regenerated cellulosic fibres (SRCF; ATL: 63.2%: MED: 5.8% PAC: 68.9%). Synthetic particles being isolated from species occupying different trophic levels suggest the possibility of multiple ingestion pathways. These include exposure from polluted seawater and sediments and/or additional trophic transfer from contaminated prey/forage items. We assess the likelihood that microplastic ingestion presents a significant conservation problem at current levels compared to other anthropogenic threats.

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“…Due to its light weight nature it can travel far from its original source covering vast distances being carried by wind and ocean currents and its durability means it can take many years to fully breakdown (Singh and Sharma, 2008). The impact of plastic on marine mammals (Stelfox et al, 2016), turtles (Ryan et al, 2016) and seabirds (Tanaka et al, 2015) has been widely documented for a number of years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The uptake of macroplastic & microplastic by demersal & pelagic fish in the Northeast Atlantic around Scotland

Murphy

Russell

Ewins

et al. 2017

Marine Pollution Bulletin

184

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This study reports plastic ingestion in various fish found from coastal and offshore sites in Scottish marine waters. Coastal samples consisted of three demersal flatfish species (n=128) collected from the East and West coasts of Scotland. Offshore samples consisted of 5 pelagic species and 4 demersal species (n=84) collected from the Northeast Atlantic. From the coastal fish sampled, 47.7% of the gastrointestinal tracts contained macroplastic and microplastic. Of the 84 pelagic and demersal offshore fish, only 2 (2.4%) individuals from different species had ingested plastic identified as a clear polystyrene fibre and a black polyamide fibre. The average number of plastic items found per fish from all locations that had ingested plastic was 1.8 (±1.7) with polyamide (65.3%), polyethylene terephthalate (14.4%) and acrylic (14.4%) being the three most commonly found plastics. This study adds to the existing data on macroplastic and microplastic ingestion in fish species.

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Impacts of plastic ingestion on post-hatchling loggerhead turtles off South Africa

Cited by 70 publications

References 28 publications

Investigating the presence of microplastics in demersal sharks of the North-East Atlantic

Investigating the presence of microplastics in demersal sharks of the North-East Atlantic

Microplastic ingestion ubiquitous in marine turtles

The uptake of macroplastic & microplastic by demersal & pelagic fish in the Northeast Atlantic around Scotland

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