Microplastics in gentoo penguins from the Antarctic region
Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2019, granted to MARE and through a post-doc scholarship grant (SFRH/BPD/99747/2014) and the contract with the University of Coimbra (IT057-18-7252). This work is part of the monitoring long-term project...
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ftnewulisboa:oai:run.unl.pt:10362/147033 2023-05-15T13:39:45+02:00 Microplastics in gentoo penguins from the Antarctic region Bessa, Filipa Ratcliffe, Norman Otero, Vanessa Sobral, Paula Marques, João C. Waluda, Claire M. Trathan, Phil N. Xavier, José C. DCR - Departamento de Conservação e Restauro LAQV@REQUIMTE MARE - Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente 2019-12-01 http://hdl.handle.net/10362/147033 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50621-2 eng eng 2045-2322 PURE: 17259805 PURE UUID: 98dd0cf0-aad8-43e1-b089-2c38254842a0 Scopus: 85072928584 PubMed: 31578393 PubMedCentral: PMC6775258 WOS: 000488481500054 ORCID: /0000-0003-2336-0773/work/70627602 http://hdl.handle.net/10362/147033 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50621-2 openAccess General SDG 14 - Life Below Water article 2019 ftnewulisboa https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50621-2 2023-01-11T01:06:09Z Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2019, granted to MARE and through a post-doc scholarship grant (SFRH/BPD/99747/2014) and the contract with the University of Coimbra (IT057-18-7252). This work is part of the monitoring long-term project BAS-CEPH and SCAR Ant-ERA, SCAR EGBAMM and ICED research programs. There is growing evidence that microplastic pollution (<5 mm in size) is now present in virtually all marine ecosystems, even in remote areas, such as the Arctic and the Antarctic. Microplastics have been found in water and sediments of the Antarctic but little is known of their ingestion by higher predators and mechanisms of their entry into Antarctic marine food webs. The goal of this study was to assess the occurrence of microplastics in a top predator, the gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua from the Antarctic region (Bird Island, South Georgia and Signy Island, South Orkney Islands) and hence assess the potential for microplastic transfer through Antarctic marine food webs. To achieve this, the presence of microplastics in scats (as a proof of ingestion) was investigated to assess the viability of a non-invasive approach for microplastic analyses in Antarctic penguins. A total of 80 penguin scats were collected and any microplastics they contained were extracted. A total of 20% of penguin scats from both islands contained microplastics, consisting mainly of fibers and fragments with different sizes and polymer composition (mean abundance of microplastics: 0.23 ± 0.53 items individual−1 scat, comprising seven different polymers), which were lower values than those found for seabirds in other regions worldwide. No significant differences in microplastic numbers in penguin scats between the two regions were detected. These data highlight the need for further assessment of the levels of microplastics in this sensitive region of the planet, specifically studies on temporal trends and potential effects on penguins and other organisms in the Antarctic ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Bird Island Gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua Signy Island South Orkney Islands Repositório da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) Antarctic Arctic Bird Island ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) Signy Island ENVELOPE(-45.595,-45.595,-60.708,-60.708) South Orkney Islands ENVELOPE(-45.500,-45.500,-60.583,-60.583) The Antarctic Scientific Reports 9 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Repositório da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) |
op_collection_id |
ftnewulisboa |
language |
English |
topic |
General SDG 14 - Life Below Water |
spellingShingle |
General SDG 14 - Life Below Water Bessa, Filipa Ratcliffe, Norman Otero, Vanessa Sobral, Paula Marques, João C. Waluda, Claire M. Trathan, Phil N. Xavier, José C. Microplastics in gentoo penguins from the Antarctic region |
topic_facet |
General SDG 14 - Life Below Water |
description |
Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2019, granted to MARE and through a post-doc scholarship grant (SFRH/BPD/99747/2014) and the contract with the University of Coimbra (IT057-18-7252). This work is part of the monitoring long-term project BAS-CEPH and SCAR Ant-ERA, SCAR EGBAMM and ICED research programs. There is growing evidence that microplastic pollution (<5 mm in size) is now present in virtually all marine ecosystems, even in remote areas, such as the Arctic and the Antarctic. Microplastics have been found in water and sediments of the Antarctic but little is known of their ingestion by higher predators and mechanisms of their entry into Antarctic marine food webs. The goal of this study was to assess the occurrence of microplastics in a top predator, the gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua from the Antarctic region (Bird Island, South Georgia and Signy Island, South Orkney Islands) and hence assess the potential for microplastic transfer through Antarctic marine food webs. To achieve this, the presence of microplastics in scats (as a proof of ingestion) was investigated to assess the viability of a non-invasive approach for microplastic analyses in Antarctic penguins. A total of 80 penguin scats were collected and any microplastics they contained were extracted. A total of 20% of penguin scats from both islands contained microplastics, consisting mainly of fibers and fragments with different sizes and polymer composition (mean abundance of microplastics: 0.23 ± 0.53 items individual−1 scat, comprising seven different polymers), which were lower values than those found for seabirds in other regions worldwide. No significant differences in microplastic numbers in penguin scats between the two regions were detected. These data highlight the need for further assessment of the levels of microplastics in this sensitive region of the planet, specifically studies on temporal trends and potential effects on penguins and other organisms in the Antarctic ... |
author2 |
DCR - Departamento de Conservação e Restauro LAQV@REQUIMTE MARE - Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bessa, Filipa Ratcliffe, Norman Otero, Vanessa Sobral, Paula Marques, João C. Waluda, Claire M. Trathan, Phil N. Xavier, José C. |
author_facet |
Bessa, Filipa Ratcliffe, Norman Otero, Vanessa Sobral, Paula Marques, João C. Waluda, Claire M. Trathan, Phil N. Xavier, José C. |
author_sort |
Bessa, Filipa |
title |
Microplastics in gentoo penguins from the Antarctic region |
title_short |
Microplastics in gentoo penguins from the Antarctic region |
title_full |
Microplastics in gentoo penguins from the Antarctic region |
title_fullStr |
Microplastics in gentoo penguins from the Antarctic region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microplastics in gentoo penguins from the Antarctic region |
title_sort |
microplastics in gentoo penguins from the antarctic region |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10362/147033 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50621-2 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) ENVELOPE(-45.595,-45.595,-60.708,-60.708) ENVELOPE(-45.500,-45.500,-60.583,-60.583) |
geographic |
Antarctic Arctic Bird Island Signy Island South Orkney Islands The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Arctic Bird Island Signy Island South Orkney Islands The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Bird Island Gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua Signy Island South Orkney Islands |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Bird Island Gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua Signy Island South Orkney Islands |
op_relation |
2045-2322 PURE: 17259805 PURE UUID: 98dd0cf0-aad8-43e1-b089-2c38254842a0 Scopus: 85072928584 PubMed: 31578393 PubMedCentral: PMC6775258 WOS: 000488481500054 ORCID: /0000-0003-2336-0773/work/70627602 http://hdl.handle.net/10362/147033 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50621-2 |
op_rights |
openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50621-2 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766122818224783360 |