Microplastic contamination in Corpus Christi Bay blue crabs,Callinectes sapidus

Abstract

Microplastic pollution has been observed in marine environments around the world and has the potential to negatively impact marine organisms if ingested. Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) are susceptible to this pollution because they feed in sediment where dense plastics accumulate. Microplastic ingestion by blue crabs was assessed in Corpus Christi Bay, TX. Crab stomachs were extracted and digested using a hydrogen‐peroxide based tissue destruction method followed by material confirmation using microattenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (μ‐FTIR). From the 39 blue crabs sampled, 28 fully synthetic fragments and fibers and 24 semisynthetic fibers were found within their stomachs. After correcting for possible contamination, 36% of collected blue crabs contained fully synthetic fragments and fibers and semisynthetic fibers with an estimate of 0.87 items per crab. This study demonstrates the need for further studies that assess the impacts of plastic ingestion on blue crabs.

Analysis of microplastics in drinking water and other clean water samples with micro-Raman and micro-infrared spectroscopy: minimum requirements and best practice guidelines

“…4). The determination of LOD based on blank values is in agreement with several recently published papers on microplastic analysis by μ-FTIR [53,64,122,123]. We suggest using 10 blank samples to initially calculate the LOD.…”

From the Well to the Bottle: Identifying Sources of Microplastics in Mineral Water

“…In total, 14 procedural blanks were prepared during this study. Similar to other opuses, the limit of detection (LOD) for each sample type was calculated from the blanks as follows [23][24][25]:…”

Microplastics in Food: A Review on Analytical Methods and Challenges

“…Microplastics were also extensively monitored in shellfish, such as blue mussels, shrimps, and clams [ 11 , 20 , 40 , 45 , 52 , 59 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 ] ( Table 3 ). Unlike fish, soft tissues were dissected and digested to separate microplastics in mussels, clams, and oysters.…”

“… Fractions of plastic materials identified in seafood and salt. Data from References [ 11 , 14 , 15 , 21 , 24 , 29 , 30 , 34 , 39 , 40 , 45 , 47 , 48 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 62 , 71 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 80 , 81 , 86 , 90 , 91 , 95 , 96 , 98 , 99 ]. (PE: polyethylene, PP: polypropylene, PS: polystyrene, PET: polyethylene terephthalate, PA: polyacrylate).…”

“…Filled circles indicate outliers. Data from References [ 14 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 45 , 47 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 62 , 68 , 71 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 ].…”