School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, PR China.
Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquaculture and Enhancement of Anhui Province, Fisheries Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, 230001, PR China.
Environ Pollut. 2022 Sep 15;309:119785. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119785. Epub 2022 Jul 14.
In recent years, microplastics (MPs) have become emerging contaminant causing widespread concern about their ecotoxicological effects. However, little is known regarding the accumulation of MPs in different tissues of fishes, especially for freshwater fishes in natural environments. In this study, MPs in guts and gills of 11 fish species from Lake Chao, China were examined to explore the accumulation differences and foraging preferences of MPs. In general, MPs in fish guts varied from 2.85 to 8.38 items/individual, while ranged from 3.06 to 8.90 items/individual in fish gills. In terms of characteristic composition (shape, color, size, and polymer type), our results demonstrate higher occurrence of fibrous, black, small sized (<1 mm), and polypropylene MPs. Meanwhile, MPs concentrations in fish guts differed significantly among various feeding groups, with none significant difference detected in fish gills. In addition, fish guts exhibit more distinct foraging preferences for specific featured MPs in contrast with fish gills. These results indicate selective MPs accumulation in fish guts whereas random MPs accumulation in fish gills. Fish gills, adhering MPs by non-selective water exchange, may be more related to the real-time MPs abundance in water. To some extent, fish gills may be employed as important instruments to reflect MPs contamination in aquatic environments. Influenced by diverse feeding behaviors such as visual cues and sensory systems, MPs accumulation in fish guts reflect intrinsic differences, thus making fish guts sensitive organ in monitoring MPs' ecological risk for their health.
近年来，微塑料（MPs）已成为新兴污染物，其生态毒理学效应引起了广泛关注。然而，关于 MPs 在鱼类不同组织中的积累情况，特别是在自然环境中的淡水鱼类中，人们知之甚少。本研究检测了中国潮湖 11 种鱼类的肠道和鳃中的 MPs，以探讨 MPs 的积累差异和摄食偏好。一般来说，鱼类肠道中的 MPs 数量为 2.85 至 8.38 个/个体，而鱼类鳃中的 MPs 数量为 3.06 至 8.90 个/个体。就特征组成（形状、颜色、大小和聚合物类型）而言，我们的结果表明，纤维状、黑色、小尺寸（<1mm）和聚丙烯 MPs 的出现频率更高。同时，不同摄食群体的鱼类肠道中 MPs 浓度存在显著差异，而鱼类鳃中则没有显著差异。此外，与鱼类鳃相比，鱼类肠道对特定特征的 MPs 表现出更明显的摄食偏好。这些结果表明 MPs 在鱼类肠道中存在选择性积累，而在鱼类鳃中则存在随机积累。通过非选择性水交换附着 MPs 的鱼类鳃，可能与水中 MPs 的实时丰度更相关。在某种程度上，鱼类鳃可能被用作反映水环境污染中 MPs 污染的重要工具。受视觉线索和感官系统等多种摄食行为的影响，鱼类肠道中 MPs 的积累反映了内在差异，因此使鱼类肠道成为监测 MPs 对其健康的生态风险的敏感器官。
