Event Abstract Back to Event Eating trash: ingestion of anthropogenic fragments by fish and crabs in Brazilian waters Geslaine Rafaela L. Gonçalves1*, Isabel M. Soares1, Valter M. Azevedo-Santos1, Milena R. Wolf1 and Atonio L. Castilho1 1 Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University, Brazil Plastic pollution in ecosystems is undoubtedly a threat of global proportions. One of the biggest problems is that much of the plastic produced reaches the environment (Jambeck et al. 2015) and interacts with the biota. For more than 40 years, scientists have shown ingestion of fragments of this material by marine species (e.g., Carpenter et al., 1972). Recently, Lusher (2015) listed 140 species that eat plastic particles in marine environments; but this is only a minimum number. In our study, we investigated whether fish and crabs collected in the oceanic-estuarine-lagoon system of the Cananéia-Iguape area of São Paulo State, Brazil (25º04’43” S; 47º50’34” W), are ingesting plastic particles. This area supports such high faunal and floral biodiversity that it is a global biosphere reserve (Diegues, 1987; UNESCO, 1999; UNESCO, 2005). We collected specimens by trawling with a double-rig net. Fish and crab stomachs were removed and dissected and the contents were examined under a stereoscopic microscope (Zeiss Stemi SV6) with an image capture system (Zeiss Stemi 2000-C) for recording the presence or absence to plastic. We examined 139 fish and 143 crabs, comprising respectively 16 and 4 species. Plastic particles were found in all fish species (and 47.5% of the individuals) of the following: Menticirrhus saxatilis, Micropogonias furnieri, Stellifer brasiliensis, Eugerres brasilianus, Polydactylus virginicus, Conodon nobilis, Isopisthus parvipinnisi, Paralonchurus brasiliensis, Haemulopsis corvinaeformis, Peprilus crenulatus, Oligoplites saurus, Trichiurus lepturus, Chloroscombrus chrysurusl, Genidens barbusl, Cathorops spixii, Aspistor luniscutis, Callinectes danae, and Callinectes ornatus. In addition, an aluminum fragment was found in one Menticirrhus saxatilis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) specimen (Fig 1). For crabs, the presence of plastic was lower, occurring in only two species (3% of the individuals) (Fig 2). It is noteworthy that many of the collected species have commercial value and are exploited as human food. Of all the species listed, only five have previous records of plastic ingestion in the scientific literature: Polydactylus virginicus, Haemulopsis corvinaeformis, Oligoplites saurus, Trichiurus lepturus, Callinectes ornatus (Vendel et al. 2017; Schmid et al. 2018; Silva et al. 2018; Santana et al., 2017). Ours is the first record for the others. The high incidence of plastic particles in fish stomachs in our study is alarming because this material likely generates negative effects in live organisms. Therefore, Brazilian authorities together with the society must act to cease plastic use and pollution. However, because this material is transported by currents throughout the Atlantic Ocean (if not globally) -control efforts must be global. Figures Fig. 1 Marine fish collected in the Cananéia area, São Paulo, Brazil, showing absence and presence of particles entire stomachs and guts: a) aluminum inside Menticirrhus saxatilis; b) and c) microplastic inside Polydactylus virginicus and Aspistor luniscutis, respectively. Fig. 2 Marine crabs collected in the Cananéia area, São Paulo, Brazil, showing absence and presence of particles in stomachs: a) and b) microplastic inside Callinectes danae and Callinectes ornatus, respectively. Crab photo by PhD. Daphine Ramiro Herrera. Figure 1 Figure 2 Acknowledgements To Robert M. Hughes per the english revision, a financial support that GRLG recive by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, Projects 2018/01659-0, 2019/00105-3) and VMAS by CAPES. References Carpenter, E. J., Anderson, S. J., Harvey, G. R., Miklas, H. P., & Peck, B. B. (1972). Polystyrene spherules in coastal waters. Science, 178(4062): 749-750. Diegues, A. C. (1987). Conservação e desenvolvimento sustentado de ecossistemas litorâneos no Brasil. Secretaria do Meio Ambiente, São Paulo, Brazil. Jambeck, J. R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T. R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R., & Law, K. L. (2015). Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science 347(6223): 768–771. Lusher, A. L., Hernandez-Milian, G., O'Brien, J., Berrow, S., O'Connor I., & Officer, R. (2015). Microplastic and macroplastic ingestion by a deep diving, oceanic cetacean: the True's beaked whale Mesoplodon mirus. Environmental Pollution, 199: 185–191. Santana, M. F. M., Moreira, F. T., & Turra, A. (2017). Trophic transference of microplastics under a low exposure scenario: insights on the likelihood of particle cascading along marine food-webs. Marine pollution bulletin, 121(1-2), 154-159.Thompson, R. C., Y. Olsen., R. P. Mitchell., A. Davis., S. J. Rowland., A. W. G. John., D. McGonigle & A. E. Russell, 2004. Lost at sea: where is all the plastic? Science 304(5672): 838–838. Schmid, K., Winemiller, K. O., Chelazzi, D., Cincinelli, A., Dei, L., & Giarrizzo, T. (2018). First evidence of microplastic ingestion by fishes from the Amazon River estuary. Marine pollution bulletin, 133: 814-821. Silva, J. D., Barletta, M., Lima, A. R., & Ferreira, G. V. (2018). Use of resources and microplastic contamination throughout the life cycle of grunts (Haemulidae) in a tropical estuary. Environmental pollution, 242: 1010-1021. UNESCO. (1999). World Heritage Nomination - IUCN Technical Evaluation Atlantic Forests (southeast) (Brazil). UNESCO, 8 p. UNESCO. (2005). World Network of Biosphere Reserves – SC/EES – June 2005. The MAB Program. UNESCO, 19 p. Vendel, A. L., Bessa, F., Alves, V. E. N., Amorim, A. L. A., Patrício, J., & Palma, A. R. T. (2017). Widespread microplastic ingestion by fish assemblages in tropical estuaries subjected to anthropogenic pressures. Marine pollution bulletin, 117(1-2): 448-455. Keywords: Aluminum, Commercial fish, Trophic web, Anthropogenic influences, Plastic Conference: XX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies (SIEBM XX) , Braga, Portugal, 9 Sep - 12 Sep, 2019. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Ecology, Biodiversity and Vulnerable Ecosystems Citation: Gonçalves GL, Soares IM, Azevedo-Santos VM, Wolf MR and Castilho AL (2019). Eating trash: ingestion of anthropogenic fragments by fish and crabs in Brazilian waters. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies (SIEBM XX) . doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2019.08.00193 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 17 Sep 2019; Published Online: 27 Sep 2019. * Correspondence: Mx. Geslaine Rafaela L Gonçalves, Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University, Botucatu, Sao Paulo, 11330-900, Brazil, geslainelemos@yahoo.com.br Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Geslaine Rafaela L Gonçalves Isabel M Soares Valter M Azevedo-Santos Milena R Wolf Atonio L Castilho Google Geslaine Rafaela L Gonçalves Isabel M Soares Valter M Azevedo-Santos Milena R Wolf Atonio L Castilho Google Scholar Geslaine Rafaela L Gonçalves Isabel M Soares Valter M Azevedo-Santos Milena R Wolf Atonio L Castilho PubMed Geslaine Rafaela L Gonçalves Isabel M Soares Valter M Azevedo-Santos Milena R Wolf Atonio L Castilho Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.