Minimal meso-plastics detected in Australian coastal reef fish

Peter S Puskic; Amy R Coghlan

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113074

Minimal meso-plastics detected in Australian coastal reef fish

Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Dec;173(Pt A):113074. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113074. Epub 2021 Oct 28.

Authors

Peter S Puskic¹, Amy R Coghlan²

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia; Centre for Marine Sociology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
² Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Electronic address: amy.coghlan@utas.edu.au.

PMID: 34872169
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113074

Abstract

Recording plastic ingestion across various species and spatial scales is key to elucidating the impact of plastic pollution on coastal and marine ecosystems. The effect of plastic ingestion on the diets, physiologies, and behaviors of selected fish species are well documented under laboratory settings. However, prevalence of plastic ingestion in wild fish across latitudinal gradients is yet to be widely documented; with a substantial lack of research in the Southern Hemisphere. We analyzed the gut content of reef fish across ~30^o latitude of the east coast of Australia. Of 876 fish examined from 140 species (83 genera and 37 families), 12 individuals had visible (meso-plastics detectable to the naked eye) plastics present in the gut. Here, we present a first-look at plastic ingestion for coastal species with this region.

Keywords: Baseline; Coastal litter; Diet; Fish; Ingestion; Plastic pollution.

MeSH terms

Animals
Australia
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Humans
Plastics*
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical