Ingestion of plastic by fish : A comparison of Thames Estuary and Firth of Clyde populations. / McGoran, Alexandra R.; Cowie, Phillip R; Clark, Paul F; McEvoy, James; Morritt, David.
In: Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 137, 12.2018, p. 12-23.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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Abstract
This study compared plastic ingestion between pelagic and benthic fish populations from two UK watersheds: the Thames Estuary and the Firth of Clyde. The alimentary canals of 876 individuals were examined. Of twenty-one estuarine species investigated, fourteen ingested plastics, including predator (fish) and prey (shrimp) species. Overall, 32% of organisms ingested plastic, mostly fibres (88% of total plastics). More flatfish (38%) ingested plastics than other benthic species (17%). In the Thames, more plastic was ingested by pelagic species (average number of plastic pieces ingested: 3.2) and flatfish (average number of plastic pieces ingested: 2.9) than by shrimp (average number of plastic pieces ingested: 1). More fish from the Clyde ingested plastic than similar Thames species (39% compared to 28% respectively); however, the average amount of plastic ingested did not differ between the sites.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 12-23 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Marine Pollution Bulletin |
| Volume | 137 |
| Early online date | 4 Oct 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2018 |
This open access research output is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
ID: 31340083