Investigating microplastic contamination and biomagnification in a remote area of South Australia

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorOgunola, S.O.
dc.contributor.authorReis-Santos, P.
dc.contributor.authorWootton, N.
dc.contributor.authorGillanders, B.M.
dc.contributor.editorPitt, K.
dc.date.issued2023
dc.descriptionPublished: 8 June 2023
dc.description.abstractContext. Microplastics are widespread in aquatic ecosystems and are commonly recorded in water, sediment and a broad spectrum of marine biota. Yet, the extent to which organisms ingest microplastics directly or indirectly by trophic transfer is largely unknown. Aims. This study characterises microplastic abundance across intertidal water, sediment, and marine biota species of different trophic levels, and investigates whether biomagnification occurs. Methods. Water, sediment, molluscs, crustaceans and fish were sampled from a single area in southern Australia. Key results. Microplastics were recorded in 35% of water, 45% of sediment and 39% of biota samples. Plastic load was 0.36 ± 0.08 microplastics g(-1) DW for sediment, 0.50 ± 0.17 microplastics L(−1) for water, and 0.70 ± 0.25 microplastics individual(−1) for biota. Biomagnification was not found, although similarities in plastic characteristics across biota may imply trophic transfer. Most of the microplastics were fibres (97.5%) of blue, black and transparent colour. Spectral analysis (μ-FTIR) indicated that polyester (50%) and polyethylene (42.3%) dominated the polymer compositions. Conclusions. There were no significant differences in microplastic contamination among biota species, with no biomagnification identified. Implications. We provide information on biomagnification of microplastics alongside a still uncommon characterisation of contamination in water, sediment and biota.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilitySolomon O. Ogunola, Patrick Reis-Santos, Nina Wootton and Bronwyn M. Gillanders
dc.identifier.citationMarine and Freshwater Research, 2023; 74(11):917-927
dc.identifier.doi10.1071/mf22236
dc.identifier.issn1323-1650
dc.identifier.issn1448-6059
dc.identifier.orcidWootton, N. [0000-0001-5624-8441]
dc.identifier.orcidGillanders, B.M. [0000-0002-7680-2240]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2440/138739
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCSIRO Publishing
dc.rights© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Non Derivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND). OPEN ACCESS
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1071/mf22236
dc.subjectBiomagnification; biota; contamination; marine debris; microplastic; plastic pollution; southern hemisphere; trophic transfer
dc.titleInvestigating microplastic contamination and biomagnification in a remote area of South Australia
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
hdl_138739.pdf
Size:
1.47 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published version
Download

Collections

Earth and Environmental Sciences publications