Abstract
This study aims to assess the litter ingestion in some demersal elasmobranchs, combining a classical gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) analysis with a procedure methodology to reduce airborne fibres contamination. In order to prevent the overestimation of litter ingestion, we applied severe mitigation measures to avoid airborne contamination during the analyses, integrating a new approach for the correction of estimates of fibres abundance using control procedure. In this study, we assessed the anthropogenic litter ingestion in four elasmobranch species from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea: Scyliorhinus canicula (n= 27), Etmopterus spinax (n= 16), Galeus melastomus (n= 12) and Raja clavata (n= 6). The gastro-intestinal tract of each specimen was analysed by visual sorting and the polymers identified by FT-IR spectroscopy technique. Overall, 19 litter particles were found in the gastro-intestinal tract of 13 demersal elasmobranchs (%O= 21) and for the first time, evidence of litter ingestion by R. clavata in Mediterranean waters was also reported. In G. melastomus and R. clavata all anthropogenic particles were plastics, whereas in S. canicula other litter categories were also found. No litter ingestion was instead observed in E. spinax. More than 50% of litter particles belonged to microlitter category (< 5 mm). Polyamide was the only polymer typology found in all examined species. We described the procedures to control the airborne contamination applied at each step of laboratory analysis and, thanks to the application of our control method, it was possible to exclude the 95% of fibres found in samples from the assessment. Moreover, we compared fibres abundances observed in samples and controls. This study, combining an approach for minimizing the bias associated to airborne fibre contamination, provided a reliable assessment of marine litter ingestion in demersal elasmobranchs.
Highlights
In the last decades, the marine litter (ML) pollution has generated many concerns about the potential global implications on marine environment and organisms (Laist, 1997; Kühn et al, 2015; Rochman et al, 2016)
This study aims to couple a standard gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) analysis with an airborne contamination control method, in order to estimate ML ingestion in some demersal elasmobranchs from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (GFCM Geographical Sub-Area – GSA 10): Scyliorhinus canicula (Linnaeus, 1758), Etmopterus spinax (Linnaeus, 1758), Galeus melastomus Rafinesque 1810, and Raja clavata Linnaeus, 1758
This paper provides useful information on the typology and features of ML ingested by these Mediterranean demersal elasmobranchs, providing data which could be used for the assessment of the ML impact on these predators
Summary
The marine litter (ML) pollution has generated many concerns about the potential global implications on marine environment and organisms (Laist, 1997; Kühn et al, 2015; Rochman et al, 2016). The semi-enclosed basin of the Mediterranean Sea is largely affected and threatened by ML pollution and several monitoring programs and mitigation actions have been launched in order to reduce its impacts. In this context, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD; EC 2017/848) aims to achieve the Good Environmental Status (GES) in European waters, i.e., to ensure that “the amount of litter and micro-litter ingested by marine animals is at a level that does not adversely affect the health of the species concerned” (Descriptor 10, criterion D10C3). Member States are required to follow standardized methods for monitoring and assessment the amount and composition of litter and micro-litter ingestion in the following groups: birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, or invertebrates
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