RESUMO
Microplastic pollution represents a serious threat to coastal marine systems. We evaluated the presence of microplastics (MPs) in 168 specimens of six commercially exploited bivalve species in the Golfo de Nicoya, Costa Rica. MPs were present in 100â¯% of the specimens of Leukoma asperrima and L. ecuadoriana, 74â¯% of Mytella strigata, 82â¯% of M. guyanensis, 84â¯% of Asthenometis asthenodon, and 82â¯% of Tagelus affinis. When considering all specimens, we found on average 4.8⯱â¯8.0 pieces per individual and 2.1⯱â¯3.3 items g-1 of wet tissue. There were significant differences between species with L. asperrima and L. ecuadoriana containing the highest number of pieces. Fibers and particles comprised 92â¯% and 8â¯%, respectively. This is the first study from the Central America's Pacific region showing the presence of MPs in bivalve species.