Abundance and Distribution of Microplastics in Invertebrate and Fish Species and Sediment Samples along the German Wadden Sea Coastline

• الحاوية / القاعدة: Animals
• المؤلفون الرئيسيون: Laura Polt, Larissa Motyl, Elke Kerstin Fischer
• التنسيق: مقال
• اللغة: الإنجليزية
• منشور في: MDPI AG 2023-05-01
• الموضوعات: <i>Arenicola marina</i>; <i>Littorina littorea</i>; <i>Mytilus edulis</i>; <i>Platichthys flesus</i>; biomonitoring; Nile red
• الوصول للمادة أونلاين: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/10/1698

Monitoring strategies are becoming increasingly important as microplastic contamination increases. To find potentially suitable organisms and sites for biota monitoring in the German Wadden Sea, we collected invertebrates (<i>n</i> = 1585), fish (<i>n</i> = 310), and sediment cores (<i>n</i> = 12) at 10 sites along the coast of Lower Saxony between 2018 and 2020. For sample processing of biota, the soft tissue was digested and the sediment samples additionally underwent a subsequent density separation step. Microplastic particles were identified using Nile red and fluorescence microscopy, followed by polymer composition analysis of a subset of particles via µRaman spectroscopy. All investigated species, sediment cores, and sites contained microplastics, predominantly in the morphology class of fragments. Microplastics were found in 92% of <i>Arenicola marina</i>, 94% of <i>Littorina littorea,</i> 85% of <i>Mytilus edulis</i>, and 79% of <i>Platichthys flesus</i>, ranging from 0 to 248.1 items/g. Sediment core samples contained MPs ranging from 0 to 8128 part/kg dry weight of sediment. In total, eight polymers were identified, predominantly consisting of polyethylene, polyvinylchloride, and polyethylene terephthalate. Considering the sampling, processing, and results, the species <i>Mytilus edulis</i> and <i>Platichthys flesus</i> are suitable species for future microplastic monitoring in biota.