Abstract
Estuaries contain some of the highest concentrations of accumulated microplastics (MPs) that can be ingested by abundant deposit-feeding crabs. We investigate MPs in gill, hepatopancreatic, and gastrointestinal tissues of seven intertidal crab species in Kokubu River, Kochi, Japan. By applying a reliable method that considers limits of detection and quantification, we report MPs in 63 of 116 crabs (>50%), with a mean of 3.2 MPs individual−1. Concentrations are greatest in gastrointestinal tracts (62.15%), suggesting that feeding is the main route for MP uptake. PET is the dominant polymer (44%), and fragments are the dominant shape (50%–77%). A greater MPs burden g−1 body weight is reported for deposit-feeding small ocypodid crabs than for larger herbivorous/omnivorous grapsoid crabs. Factors possibly influencing MP uptake by crabs include feeding habit, crab size, and ambient MP composition.
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