A closer look at anthropogenic fiber ingestion in Aristeus antennatus in the NW Mediterranean Sea: Differences among years and locations and impact on health condition

Ester Carreras-Colom,María Constenla,Anna Soler-Membrives,Joan E Cartes,Mireia Baeza,Maite Carrassón

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114567

Abstract

Marine litter is one of the most concerning threats for marine wildlife especially regarding plastics and their micro-sized forms, widely known as microplastics. The present study evaluates mesoscale spatial (230 km, Catalan coast) and temporal (2007 vs 2017–2018, Barcelona area) differences on the ingestion of anthropogenic fibers in the deep-sea shrimp Aristeus antennatus in the NW Mediterranean Sea and its relation with shrimp’s health condition. Synthetic fibers with lengths ranging between 0.16 and 37.9 mm were found in both stomach (where sometimes they were tangled up in balls) and intestine contents. The percentage of fiber occurrence was >65% at each sampling point. Tangled balls of fibers observed in stomach contents exhibited a wide range of sizes (up to a diameter of 1 cm) and were usually composed of fibers of different polymers, sizes and colours. Differences between locations (2018) were found, with greater fiber loads towards the south during spring and a great variability in summer, as shrimps caught off Barcelona showed a nearly thirty-times higher fiber load compared to shrimps from other localities. Highest concentrations were more likely to be related to major sources of fibers and currents in the area. Fiber load in shrimps from 2007 was comparable to that of shrimps captured in 2017 and 2018 (spring) yet a shift in the proportion of acrylic and polyester polymers was detected. No consistent effect on shrimp’s health condition was found, with only a significant negative correlation found between gonadosomatic index and fibers for those shrimps with the highest values of fiber load (caught off Barcelona, summer 2018). Our findings contribute to the knowledge on plastic pollution for the NW Mediterranean Sea and highlight the potential use of this species as a sentinel species for plastic fiber contamination.

Highlights

Marine debris in particular plastic as the most common litter type has been identified as one of the major threats for marine ecosystems (UNEP, 2009). Jambeck et al (2015) estimated that between 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons (Mt) were entering the ocean in 2010 and more recently, Geyer et al (2017) highlighted that if current production and waste management trends were to continue, up to 12000 Mt could end up in the environment by 2050
The ubiquity of microplastics has raised awareness in all communities leading to an exponential increase in the number of studies focusing on this topic during the last decades (Lusher et al, 2017)
Many experimental studies have attempted to assess the potential impact of microplastics on the health of organisms but consistent results are yet to be found since both negative and neutral responses on feeding, growth, reproduction and survival have been observed (Foley et al, 2018)

Summary

Introduction

Marine debris in particular plastic as the most common litter type has been identified as one of the major threats for marine ecosystems (UNEP, 2009). Jambeck et al (2015) estimated that between 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons (Mt) were entering the ocean in 2010 and more recently, Geyer et al (2017) highlighted that if current production and waste management trends were to continue, up to 12000 Mt could end up in the environment by 2050. The first synthetic plastic produced, Bakelite, only dates back to the 1950s, which means that plastic production and pollution have had unprecedented growth. The ubiquity of microplastics has raised awareness in all communities leading to an exponential increase in the number of studies focusing on this topic during the last decades (Lusher et al., 2017). Many experimental studies have attempted to assess the potential impact of microplastics on the health of organisms but consistent results are yet to be found since both negative and neutral responses on feeding, growth, reproduction and survival have been observed (Foley et al, 2018). Other fibers with anthropogenic origin such as rayon/viscose, essentially made of regenerated cellulose, or dyed cotton fibers, even though being made of naturally occurring polymers (e.g. cellulose) may raise environmental concerns like their synthetic (i.e. plastic) counterparts (Ladewig et al, 2015)

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