Siña Mariella, Kunz Alexander, Not Christelle, Liou Sofia Ya-Hsuan
Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, 106319, Taipei, Taiwan.
Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, No. 128, Sec. 2, Academia Road, 115201, Taipei, Taiwan.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 2;15(1):23516. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-07672-5.
Plastic ingestion by terrestrial mammals, especially wildlife near urbanized areas, remains underexplored, with limited studies exploring species-specific differences. This study addresses these gaps by examining microplastics (MPs) in feces of five wild species from Hong Kong's countryside: buffalo, cattle, wild boar, macaques, and porcupines. These species were selected for their high interaction with humans and consumption of anthropogenic food. Fecal samples were digested, visually inspected, and MPs characterized using spectroscopy. Microplastics were detected across all sites: macaques (0.2-6.9 MPs/gram dry weight [d.w.], 50-90% occurrence), boars (0.5-3.7 MPs/gram d.w., 60-100% occurrence), porcupines (2.1 MPs/gram d.w., 80% occurrence), buffalo (17.7 MPs/gram d.w., 100% occurrence), and cattle (4.1-65.5 MPs/gram d.w., 90-100% occurrence). Secondary microplastics, primarily polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester (common in food packaging and textiles) were predominant. Feeding behaviour significantly influenced microplastic abundance. Non-selective grazers (buffalo and cattle) exhibited higher concentrations (median: 15.8 and 17.7 MPs/gram d.w., respectively) compared to selective feeders (macaques, porcupines, and boars; median: 1.8, 2.1, and 1.2 MPs/gram d.w.). Regarding MPs size, the larger mammals, cattle and buffalo, excreted significantly larger microplastics (522 and 391 µm) compared to macaques and porcupines (301 and 268 µm). We present the first evidence of plastic ingestion by common wildlife species from Hong Kong, emphasizing the vulnerability of animals to plastic pollution in peri-urban habitats. The findings underscore the need for research on the health impacts of plastic ingestion and the development of strategies to mitigate plastic pollution to natural ecosystems.
陆生哺乳动物，尤其是城市化地区附近的野生动物摄入塑料的情况仍未得到充分研究，探索物种特异性差异的研究有限。本研究通过检测香港乡村五种野生动物粪便中的微塑料（MPs）来填补这些空白，这五种动物分别是水牛、牛、野猪、猕猴和豪猪。选择这些物种是因为它们与人类的互动频繁且会食用人为来源的食物。粪便样本经过消化、目视检查，并使用光谱法对微塑料进行表征。在所有采样点均检测到了微塑料：猕猴（0.2 - 6.9个微塑料/克干重[d.w.]，出现率为50 - 90%）、野猪（0.5 - 3.7个微塑料/克干重，出现率为60 - 100%）、豪猪（2.1个微塑料/克干重，出现率为80%）、水牛（17.7个微塑料/克干重，出现率为100%）和牛（4.1 - 65.5个微塑料/克干重，出现率为90 - 100%）。次生微塑料，主要是聚乙烯、聚丙烯和聚酯（常见于食品包装和纺织品中）占主导地位。摄食行为对微塑料丰度有显著影响。与选择性摄食者（猕猴、豪猪和野猪；中位数分别为1.8、2.1和1.2个微塑料/克干重）相比，非选择性食草动物（水牛和牛）体内微塑料浓度更高（中位数分别为15.8和17.7个微塑料/克干重）。关于微塑料的大小，较大的哺乳动物牛和水牛排出的微塑料明显更大（分别为522和391微米），而猕猴和豪猪排出的微塑料较小（分别为301和268微米）。我们首次提供了香港常见野生动物摄入塑料的证据，并强调了动物在城郊栖息地中易受塑料污染影响的情况。研究结果强调了对塑料摄入对健康影响进行研究以及制定减轻对自然生态系统塑料污染策略的必要性。
