Monk seal faeces as a non-invasive technique to monitor the incidence of ingested microplastics and potential presence of plastic additives.
Mar Pollut Bull
; 193: 115227, 2023 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37393681
ABSTRACT
Anthropogenic debris, including plastics, has recently been identified as a major threat for marine mammals and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive aims to achieve the good environmental status of European waters by addressing among other criteria, the effects of marine litter on biota. This study implemented for the first time a non-invasive technique for collecting monk seal samples to assess microdebris ingestion in combination with identifying plastic additives and porphyrins biomarkers. A total of 12 samples of monk seal faeces were collected from marine caves in Zakynthos Island, Greece. A total of 166 microplastic particles were identified; 75 % of the particles were smaller than 3 mm. Nine phthalates and three porphyrins were detected. A strong correlation was found between the number of microplastics and the concentration of phthalates. The values of both phthalates and porphyrins were found lower than in other marine mammal tissues, suggesting that seals might not be impacted by them yet.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Poluentes Químicos da Água
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Focas Verdadeiras
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Monges
Tipo de estudo:
Incidence_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
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Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mar Pollut Bull
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article