Adapting to a pollution hotspot? Catsharks shift to plastic substrates for oviposition

Abstract

Plastic pollution is widely recognized as one of the major threats to marine ecosystems. However, our knowledge on the ecological interactions between plastic and marine fauna is still limited. Here, we analyzed the substrate preferences for oviposition in the small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) and explored the influence of pollution, environmental conditions, and fishing pressure as potential drivers. For the first time, we report this catshark species using marine debris for oviposition, unraveling a behavioral shift in the oviposition substrate preferences towards plastics, particularly ghost fishing gear, when biological substrates are unavailable. Our results indicate that this behavioral change may be driven by the combined effects of plastic pollution and habitat degradation. Preferences also change with depth, with a larger preference for the hydrozoan Lytocarpia myriophyllum on the continental shelf, followed by sponges, as in this region mesophotic and deep benthic communities are still more abundant although impacted by human pressures. In contrast, on the continental slope, the preference shifts to tube-dwelling polychaetes and plastics, primarily ghost fishing gear, due to the limited availability of biological substrates in this region. We highlight that plastic-fish interactions may become increasingly recurrent as plastic substrates increase and habitat forming invertebrates decline due to trawl fishing and other anthropogenic activities, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. The implications of this behavior for catshark fitness are still largely unknown, which prompts further research concerning the potential impact on its survival and/or dispersal in the plastic age and highlights the urgency of preserving biogenic habitats.