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Microplastic pollution has become a global concern, and studies focusing on their fate in aquatic environments give insight on possible transportation routes and environmental impacts. The suspected microplastic occurrence in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) was studied. Pinfish is a benthic carnivore species and prey to piscivorous birds the most popular game fishes. The fish samples (n = 25) were taken in September 2022 from Grand Isle, Louisiana, USA, which is described as "sport fisherman's paradise". The average length of the fish was 13.15±2.8 cm. The GIT of fish was extracted and digested using H2O2 (30%) at 65°C in separate beakers. The digested material was filtered and suspected microplastics were examined under microscope. All analyzed fish had suspected microplastics in their GITs. No correlation was determined between the fish length and abundance. The average number per fish was 5.12±0.36 (mean ± SE). The shapes of the particles were dominated by fiber (42.14%), followed by fragment (34.73%), pellet (14.96%) and film (8.17%). The average size was 1232.18±73.45 μm. The colors were black (48.43%), blue (18.38%), transparent (11.63%), red (7.32%), brown (6.92%), multicolor (5.33%), orange (1.99%). The result demonstrates a preliminary insight to possible microplastic ingestion by pinfish from Grand Isle. Since it is a prey for other species in upper trophic level, comprehensive studies using spectrometric methods are crucial for understanding the abundance and polymers ingested by the species.
Keywords | microplastic, pollution, ingestion, forage fish |
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