Microplastics in commercial seafood: Pleoticus muelleri as a case study in an estuarine environment highly affected by human pressure (Southwestern Atlantic).

COLOMBO, CAROLINA VICTORIA; FERNÁNDEZ-SEVERINI, MELISA DAIANA; FORERO-LÓPEZ, ANA DEISY; ARDUSSO, MAIALEN GISEL; RIMONDINO, GUIDO NOÉ; MALANCA, FABIO ERNESTO; BUZZI, NATALIA SOL

ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH

ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

Año: 2023 vol. 216 p. 114738 - 114738

0013-9351

lastic pollution in seafood has become a worldwide safety concern due to its possible harm to humans. This is the first study which has investigated the length-weight relationship, growth patterns and condition factor, together with the concentrations of microplastics (MPs) and mesoplastics (MesoPs) in Pleoticus muelleri from the Bahia Blanca Estuary (BBE), Argentina. Forty-nine individuals were collected from three sampling stations in the BBE, and each abdominal muscle with the gastrointestinal tract was analyzed. P. muelleri showed an isometric growth pattern (b = 3.0054) with values of K similar among the individuals collected (ranged between 0.80 and 0.91), considering them in good condition compared to other crustacean species around the world. 96% of shrimp presented transparent or black synthetic fibers as prevalent types, with an abundance average of (3.0 ± 2.90) MPs/g w. w. And (0.053 ± 0.16) MesoPs/g w. w. as well as a dominant size range of 0.5–1.5 mm, in accordance with r