You Are What You Eat, Microplastics in Porbeagle Sharks From the North East Atlantic: Method Development and Analysis in Spiral Valve Content and Tissue
Researchers worldwide are studying the environmental distribution and impacts of manufactured or environmentally fragmented small pieces of plastics, so called microplastics (<5 mm). These microplastics eventually build up in the marine environment, threatening marine ecosystems. The magnitude, f...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7b670603d01e4d358034e743b7eadda6 2023-05-15T17:06:29+02:00 You Are What You Eat, Microplastics in Porbeagle Sharks From the North East Atlantic: Method Development and Analysis in Spiral Valve Content and Tissue Thomas Maes Jael van Diemen de Jel A. Dick Vethaak Marieke Desender Victoria A. Bendall Martin van Velzen Heather A. Leslie 2020-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00273 https://doaj.org/article/7b670603d01e4d358034e743b7eadda6 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00273/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00273 https://doaj.org/article/7b670603d01e4d358034e743b7eadda6 Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 7 (2020) marine litter microplastics top predator porbeagle shark Lamna nasus Raman spectroscopy Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00273 2022-12-31T08:22:21Z Researchers worldwide are studying the environmental distribution and impacts of manufactured or environmentally fragmented small pieces of plastics, so called microplastics (<5 mm). These microplastics eventually build up in the marine environment, threatening marine ecosystems. The magnitude, fate and effects of these microplastics across the food web are largely unknown. Here, we measured digested microplastics in a top predator and critically endangered species, the North-East Atlantic Porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus), and compared this with general health conditions. A method for quantifying microplastics in spiral valves of porbeagle sharks was developed. Microplastics were detected in all spiral valves, up to 10.4 particles per g wet weight (w.w.) content and 9.5 particles per g w.w. tissue. This equates to individual microplastics loads as high as 3850 particles per spiral valve, most likely a result of trophic transfer. No statistically significant correlations were found between the average number of plastic particles in spiral valve content and tissue and the Condition and Hepatosomatic Index of porbeagle sharks. The results of this research show that North-East Atlantic porbeagle sharks ingest and digest microplastics and that there is a potential for microplastic biomonitoring using this species. More research is needed to detect possible health effects of microplastic contamination in these apex predators. Article in Journal/Newspaper Lamna nasus North East Atlantic Porbeagle Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Marine Science 7 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
marine litter microplastics top predator porbeagle shark Lamna nasus Raman spectroscopy Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
marine litter microplastics top predator porbeagle shark Lamna nasus Raman spectroscopy Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Thomas Maes Jael van Diemen de Jel A. Dick Vethaak Marieke Desender Victoria A. Bendall Martin van Velzen Heather A. Leslie You Are What You Eat, Microplastics in Porbeagle Sharks From the North East Atlantic: Method Development and Analysis in Spiral Valve Content and Tissue |
topic_facet |
marine litter microplastics top predator porbeagle shark Lamna nasus Raman spectroscopy Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
Researchers worldwide are studying the environmental distribution and impacts of manufactured or environmentally fragmented small pieces of plastics, so called microplastics (<5 mm). These microplastics eventually build up in the marine environment, threatening marine ecosystems. The magnitude, fate and effects of these microplastics across the food web are largely unknown. Here, we measured digested microplastics in a top predator and critically endangered species, the North-East Atlantic Porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus), and compared this with general health conditions. A method for quantifying microplastics in spiral valves of porbeagle sharks was developed. Microplastics were detected in all spiral valves, up to 10.4 particles per g wet weight (w.w.) content and 9.5 particles per g w.w. tissue. This equates to individual microplastics loads as high as 3850 particles per spiral valve, most likely a result of trophic transfer. No statistically significant correlations were found between the average number of plastic particles in spiral valve content and tissue and the Condition and Hepatosomatic Index of porbeagle sharks. The results of this research show that North-East Atlantic porbeagle sharks ingest and digest microplastics and that there is a potential for microplastic biomonitoring using this species. More research is needed to detect possible health effects of microplastic contamination in these apex predators. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thomas Maes Jael van Diemen de Jel A. Dick Vethaak Marieke Desender Victoria A. Bendall Martin van Velzen Heather A. Leslie |
author_facet |
Thomas Maes Jael van Diemen de Jel A. Dick Vethaak Marieke Desender Victoria A. Bendall Martin van Velzen Heather A. Leslie |
author_sort |
Thomas Maes |
title |
You Are What You Eat, Microplastics in Porbeagle Sharks From the North East Atlantic: Method Development and Analysis in Spiral Valve Content and Tissue |
title_short |
You Are What You Eat, Microplastics in Porbeagle Sharks From the North East Atlantic: Method Development and Analysis in Spiral Valve Content and Tissue |
title_full |
You Are What You Eat, Microplastics in Porbeagle Sharks From the North East Atlantic: Method Development and Analysis in Spiral Valve Content and Tissue |
title_fullStr |
You Are What You Eat, Microplastics in Porbeagle Sharks From the North East Atlantic: Method Development and Analysis in Spiral Valve Content and Tissue |
title_full_unstemmed |
You Are What You Eat, Microplastics in Porbeagle Sharks From the North East Atlantic: Method Development and Analysis in Spiral Valve Content and Tissue |
title_sort |
you are what you eat, microplastics in porbeagle sharks from the north east atlantic: method development and analysis in spiral valve content and tissue |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00273 https://doaj.org/article/7b670603d01e4d358034e743b7eadda6 |
genre |
Lamna nasus North East Atlantic Porbeagle |
genre_facet |
Lamna nasus North East Atlantic Porbeagle |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 7 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00273/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00273 https://doaj.org/article/7b670603d01e4d358034e743b7eadda6 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00273 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
7 |
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1766061632337739776 |