Abstract
AbstractAs marine plastic debris is primarily sourced from terrestrial input, coastal environments are particularly affected by deposition. Because of their pneumatophores, mangroves have been recognized for their importance in confining plastic waste. Crabs are a dominant component of the mangrove ecosystem and play a critical role in maintaining healthy and resilient mangrove forests. Therefore, the presence of debris fragmented from waste, in their habitat is a potential threat. However, the potential ingestion of microplastic pieces by mangrove crabs has not yet been investigated. Here, we quantified microparticles found in the cardiac stomachs and gill chambers of four species of crabs. All specimens collected had anthropogenic microparticles present either via their digestive or respiratory systems. We observed significant variability in the abundance and types of anthropogenic microparticles across sites and species. Interspecific differences appear to be explained by their particular feeding habits, with less selective species ingesting more particles.
Highlights
As marine plastic debris is primarily sourced from terrestrial input, coastal environments are affected by deposition
Crabs were collected between October 21st, 2017 and November 3rd, 2017 from three mangrove forests in Hong Kong: (1) Ha Pak Nai (HPN, 14 individuals sampled), located in the north west of Hong Kong, (2) Pak Tam Chung (PTC, 19 individuals sampled), and (3) Yung Shue O (YSO, 16 individuals sampled), both located on the east coast (Fig. 1; Table 1)
This is based on a limited number of analyses and we recognize the need for additional investigations to further verify the abundance of microplastics in mangrove crab organs
Summary
As marine plastic debris is primarily sourced from terrestrial input, coastal environments are affected by deposition. Because of their pneumatophores, mangroves have been recognized for their importance in confining plastic waste. The potential ingestion of microplastic pieces by mangrove crabs has not yet been investigated. We quantified microparticles found in the cardiac stomachs and gill chambers of four species of crabs. All specimens collected had anthropogenic microparticles present either via their digestive or respiratory systems. We observed significant variability in the abundance and types of anthropogenic microparticles across sites and species. Interspecific differences appear to be explained by their particular feeding habits, with less selective species ingesting more particles
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