Plastic ingestion and trophic transfer between Easter Island flying fish (Cheilopogon rapanouiensis) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) from Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Environmental Pollution
Catherine ChagnonNicolas Christian Ory

Abstract

Millimetre-sized fragments have been documented in many fish species, but their transfer through food webs is still poorly understood. Here we quantified and described plastic fragments in the digestive tracts of 43 Easter Island flying fish (Cheilopogon rapanouiensis) and 50 yellowfin tunas (Thunnus albacares) from coastal waters around Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the South Pacific subtropical gyre, and of fish preyed upon by T. albacares. Overall, seven C. rapanouiensis (16%) individuals had ingested microplastics, most of which resembled the common planktonic prey of the fish. One microplastic was found in the gut of a fish ingested by a tuna, which indicates that trophic transfer may occur between tuna and prey. A single T. albacares (2%) had ingested five mesoplastics (15.2-26.3 mm) that were probably not mistaken for prey items, but rather accidentally ingested during foraging on fish prey. The absence of microplastics in T. albacares suggests that such small particles, if transferred from the prey, do not accumulate in the relatively large digestive tract of large predators. On the other hand, larger plastic items may accumulate in the gut of tunas, to which they may induce deleterious effects that still need to be exami...Continue Reading

Citations

Aug 9, 2019·Food Additives & Contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, Analysis, Control, Exposure & Risk Assessment·Razegheh AkhbarizadehBehnam Keshavarzi
Sep 19, 2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Jung-Hwan KwonJaehak Jung
Dec 7, 2018·Marine Pollution Bulletin·Agung Dhamar SyaktiPierre Doumenq
May 16, 2021·Marine Pollution Bulletin·Stefanie ReinoldMay Gómez
May 18, 2021·Marine Pollution Bulletin·Daniel MenendezEva Garcia-Vazquez
Aug 3, 2021·Aquatic Conservation : Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems·K David HyrenbachJennifer M Lynch
Oct 31, 2019·Environmental Science & Technology·France CollardBruno Tassin
Aug 31, 2021·Environmental Pollution·Nina WoottonBronwyn M Gillanders
Sep 12, 2021·Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology·Hewawasam Udumullage Erangi Imasha, Sandhya Babel

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