Anthropogenic microparticles in the emerald rockcod Trematomus bernacchii (Nototheniidae) from the Antarctic

Abstract

Anthropogenic microparticles (AMs) were found for the first time in specimens of Trematomus bernacchii collected in 1998 in the Ross Sea (Antarctica) and stored in the Antarctic Environmental Specimen Bank. Most of the identified AMs were fibers of natural and synthetic origin. The natural AMs were cellulosic, the synthetic ones were polyester, polypropylene, polypropylene/polyester, and cellulose acetate. The presence of dyes in the natural AMs indicates their anthropogenic origin. Five industrial dyes were identified by Raman spectroscopy with Indigo occurring in most of them (55%). Our research not only adds further data to the ongoing knowledge of pollution levels in the Antarctic ecosystem, it provides an interesting snapshot of the past, highlighting that microplastics and anthropogenic fiber pollution had already entered the Antarctic marine food web at the end of the ‘90 s. These findings therefore establish the foundations for understand the changes in marine litter pollution over time.

Microplastics on Beaches in the Nautla-Vega de Alatorre Turtle Nesting Area, Veracruz

“…Smaller plastics facilitate availability for ingestion in different species as they confuse it with their food [34]. The high demand for textile products generates large amounts of fragments or microfibers, this may their presence in the study area [35][36][37]. Some studies carried out in turtle nesting areas, such as that of [38] have reported a higher abundance of MPs, while a study carried out directly in deeper nests (60 cm) [39] reported a similar abundance to that of the present study 3.85 item/kg dw.…”

Environmental contamination and climate change in Antarctic ecosystems: an updated overview

“…Near the Italian scientific station “Mario Zucchelli”, synthetic fibers have been found in zoobenthic species 146 and in the fish Trematomus bernacchii . 147 Other scientific stations along the Ross Sea coasts such as McMurdo and Scott Base have been in operation for several decades. Zhang et al 148 found more MPs in fish from the Ross Sea than in those from the nearby Amundsen Sea, where there are no scientific stations.…”

Anthropogenic particle concentrations and fluxes in an urban river are temporally variable and impacted by storm events

“…AP also occur in the environment in the form of microfibers derived from natural textiles (e.g., cotton and bamboo), which commonly have added chemicals (e.g., dyes and flame retardants) and are therefore not considered “natural” (Athey et al, 2020). In this study, we use the term AP to describe particles of anthropogenic origin found in nature (Adams et al, 2021; Bottari et al, 2022). AP are categorized as primary or secondary, based on their origin.…”

“…AP have been found in terrestrial (Rillig & Lehmann, 2020), aquatic (Castañeda et al, 2014; Miller et al, 2017), and atmospheric (Allen et al, 2019; Tao et al, 2022; Wright et al, 2020) habitats across the world, including urban (Castañeda et al, 2014; Wright et al, 2020) and remote locations (Allen et al, 2019; Bergmann et al, 2019; Bottari et al, 2022; Di Mauro et al, 2022; Lasdin et al, 2023; Shahul Hamid et al, 2018). For aquatic habitats, urbanization tends to be associated with higher AP concentrations (Baldwin et al, 2016; Treilles et al, 2022).…”