Plastic ingestion by carnivore fish in a neotropical floodplain: seasonal and interspecific variations

First record of plastic ingestion by a freshwater stingray

“…Considering the increasing amount of plastic released into the environment, especially in freshwater ecosystems (Slootmaekers et al, 2019;Cardozo et al, 2023), we expected that Neotropical stingrays are increasingly exposed to plastic pollution and, therefore, possibly this contamination causes both physiological and toxicological impacts on these sensible species soon. In this context, to improve conservation policies for this species and its habitats, it is important to assess whether white-blotched river stingrays are exposed to plastic pollution and based on their feeding behavior if this species can serve as an indicator of plastic pollution in the environment.…”