Koutsikos Nicholas, Koi Angeliki Maria, Zeri Christina, Tsangaris Catherine, Dimitriou Elias, Kalantzi Olga-Ioanna
Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene 81100, Greece.
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Anavyssos, 19013, Attica, Greece.
Heliyon. 2023 Apr 5;9(4):e15069. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15069. eCollection 2023 Apr.
Studies of plastic contamination in freshwater ecosystems and their biota remain scarce, despite the fact that the vast majority of plastic waste initially passes through lotic ecosystems. Biomonitoring provides valuable information regarding plastic pollution and microplastic threats to biota and human health. The aim of this study was to explore the potential use of a non-indigenous fish species as a bioindicator of microplastic pollution in an Eastern Mediterranean River. Our study area is located in a heavily modified and vastly impacted urban river which flows through the largest part of the Metropolitan area of Athens, Greece. We used an introduced chub species () to assess microplastic ingestion in the river. The results indicated moderate occurrence and abundance of microplastics in the fish gastrointestinal tracts; one-third of specimens (35%) contained microplastics, although the average number of microplastics per specimen was relatively low (1.7 ± 0.2). Overall, the abundance of microplastics in the water confirmed the moderate level of microplastics contamination in our study area. The major polymer types of microplastics identified by FT-IR analysis were: polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polypropylene (PP); reflecting the fragmentation of larger litter from industrial packaging and/or household goods. Surface runoff of the urban environment, via motorways and major road networks, could be the contributing factor to the reported microplastics. Our results suggest that generalist's non-indigenous species such as chubs could be used as bioindicators of microplastics in inland waters. Introduced fishes can be a feasible, nondestructive, and cost-effective option for the assessment of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems, while freshwater chubs' high abundance and omnipresence in European rivers further serve this scope. However, it is worth noting that the suitability of any particular species as a bioindicator of microplastics may depend on a variety of factors, including their feeding behavior, habitat, and exposure to microplastics in their environment.
尽管绝大多数塑料垃圾最初都会流经流水生态系统，但关于淡水生态系统及其生物群中塑料污染的研究仍然很少。生物监测提供了有关塑料污染以及微塑料对生物群和人类健康威胁的宝贵信息。本研究的目的是探索一种非本地鱼类作为地中海东部河流微塑料污染生物指示物的潜在用途。我们的研究区域位于一条经过大量改造且受到严重影响的城市河流，该河流经希腊雅典大都市区的大部分地区。我们使用一种引入的鲦鱼物种（）来评估河流中微塑料的摄入量。结果表明，鱼类胃肠道中微塑料的出现频率和丰度适中；三分之一的样本（35%）含有微塑料，尽管每个样本中微塑料的平均数量相对较低（1.7 ± 0.2）。总体而言，水中微塑料的丰度证实了我们研究区域微塑料污染处于中等水平。通过傅里叶变换红外光谱分析确定的微塑料主要聚合物类型为：聚乙烯（PE）、聚乙烯醇（PVA）和聚丙烯（PP）；这反映了来自工业包装和/或家庭用品的较大垃圾的碎片化。城市环境通过高速公路和主要道路网络的地表径流可能是所报告的微塑料的促成因素。我们的结果表明，像鲦鱼这样的广适性非本地物种可以用作内陆水域微塑料的生物指示物。引入的鱼类对于评估淡水生态系统中的微塑料来说可能是一种可行、无损且具有成本效益的选择，而淡水鲦鱼在欧洲河流中的高丰度和广泛分布进一步适用于此目的。然而，值得注意的是，任何特定物种作为微塑料生物指示物的适用性可能取决于多种因素，包括它们的摄食行为、栖息地以及在其环境中接触微塑料的情况。
