Is the feeding type related with the content of microplastics in intertidal fish gut?

Microplastics pollution is a growing global concern that affects all aquatic ecosystems. Microplastics in the environment can be in the form of fibers and/or particles, being the former the most abundant in the marine environment, representing up to 95% of total plastics. The aim of this work was to compare the content of microplastics among intertidal fish with different feeding type. Our results show that omnivorous fish presented a higher amount of microplastic fibers than registered in herbivores and carnivores. Moreover, lower condition factors (K) were found in omnivorous specimens with higher microplastic content. We hypothesized that the type of feeding resulted in different microplastic ingestion, with species with wider range of food sources as omnivores with higher rates. Futures studies carried out to evaluate the biological impacts of microplastics on marine organisms, and microplastics cycling on the marine environment should consider the type of feeding of the studied species.