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Biology
Special Issues
Effects of Microplastic Pollution on Marine Ecology
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Effects of Microplastic Pollution on Marine Ecology

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 10716

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carme Alomar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO-CSIC), Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares (COB), Madrid, Spain
Interests: marine litter; coastal ecosystems; marine ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Montserrat Compa

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Centro Nacional Instituto Español de Oceanografía, CSIC Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, Muelle de Poniente s/n, 07015 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Interests: marine litter; spatiotemporal distributions; biodiversity; plastic pollution
Dr. Xavier Capo

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, Muelle de Poniente s/n, 07015 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Interests: oxidative stress; biomarkers; antioxidants; pollution; microplastics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Increased reporting of scientific evidence indicates that global seas and oceans are impacted by marine litter. Among the different fractions of marine litter, plastic items are the most common, having been identified as floating on the sea surface, suspended in the water column, and settled on the seafloor. A wide range of potential effects such as ingestion, entanglement, colonization, and physiological effects, among others, in key species have already been documented both in wild and experimental conditions. The topics of interest in this Special Issue on “Effects of Microplastic Pollution on Marine Ecology” includes the quantification and identification of plastics in the marine environment from the sea surface to the seafloor and from the microscale to the macroscale and the effects of plastic on marine habitats (coastal and offshore/pelagic environments). This Special Issue also calls for contributions investigating physiological effects caused by microplastic ingestion in marine species with different trophic levels and ecological traits. Research conducted both in the field and under laboratory conditions is welcome. Additionally, we encourage the submission of research that explores the overlap between plastics in the marine environment and their ingestion by species that feed in the same area, as well as risk assessments for biota under plastic pollution. Finally, this Special Issue also calls for research on assessing plastic impacts due to different human activities (maritime traffic, tourism, fishing and aquaculture, inland and coastal human activities) and its impacts on biota. 

The scope of this Special Issue welcomes manuscripts analyzing the concentrations of marine litter at sea, its implications on marine biota, and the development of risk assessments to identify hotspot areas where marine litter and marine diversity overlap.

Dr. Carme Alomar
Dr. Montserrat Compa
Dr. Xavier Capo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biota
  • marine habitats
  • physiological effects
  • risk assessment
  • human impacts

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 8134 KiB  
Article
Functional Trait-Based Evidence of Microplastic Effects on Aquatic Species
by M. Berlino, G. Sarà and M. C. Mangano
Biology 2023, 12(6), 811; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12060811 - 2 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2212
Abstract
Microplastics represent an ever-increasing threat to aquatic organisms. We merged data from two global scale meta-analyses investigating the effect of microplastics on benthic organisms’ and fishes’ functional traits. Results were compared, allowing differences related to vertebrate and invertebrate habitat, life stage, trophic level, [...] Read more.
Microplastics represent an ever-increasing threat to aquatic organisms. We merged data from two global scale meta-analyses investigating the effect of microplastics on benthic organisms’ and fishes’ functional traits. Results were compared, allowing differences related to vertebrate and invertebrate habitat, life stage, trophic level, and experimental design to be explored. Functional traits of aquatic organisms were negatively affected. Metabolism, growth, and reproduction of benthic organisms were impacted, and fish behaviour was significantly affected. Responses differed by trophic level, suggesting negative effects on trophic interactions and energy transfer through the trophic web. The experimental design was found to have the most significant impact on results. As microplastics impact an organism’s performance, this causes indirect repercussions further up the ecological hierarchy on the ecosystem’s stability and functioning, and its associated goods and services are at risk. Standardized methods to generate salient targets and indicators are urgently needed to better inform policy makers and guide mitigation plans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Microplastic Pollution on Marine Ecology)
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13 pages, 1163 KiB  
Article
A Biomarker Approach as Responses of Bioindicator Commercial Fish Species to Microplastic Ingestion: Assessing Tissue and Biochemical Relationships
by Xavier Capó, Merce Morató, Carme Alomar, Beatriz Rios-Fuster, Maria Valls, Montserrat Compa and Salud Deudero
Biology 2022, 11(11), 1634; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11111634 - 8 Nov 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2539
Abstract
Plastic debris is a growing environmental problem on a global scale, as plastics and microplastics (MPs) can be ingested by marine organisms, inducing toxic effects. The aim of this study was to assess MP intake and antioxidant responses in three bioindicator species: red [...] Read more.
Plastic debris is a growing environmental problem on a global scale, as plastics and microplastics (MPs) can be ingested by marine organisms, inducing toxic effects. The aim of this study was to assess MP intake and antioxidant responses in three bioindicator species: red mullet, bogue, and anchovy (Mullus surmuletus, Boops boops, and Engraulis encrasicolus, respectively) for plastic contamination in the Mediterranean Sea. MP intake was assessed in the gastrointestinal tract of the fish. Further, several enzymes from both the liver and brain were analysed. The antioxidant defences, catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), as well as the detoxifying enzyme glutathione-S-transferase (GST), were measured in both tissues. The acetylcholine esterase (AchE), as an indicator of neuronal damage, was measured in the brain. Malondialdehyde (MDA) was analysed as a marker of oxidative damage in the brain and liver samples. Total MP intake and MP typology differed between the three species, with M. surmuletus showing the lowest intake of MPs, while B. boops showed the highest intake of MPs. An increase in both antioxidant enzymes was evidenced in E. encrasicolus liver activity with respect to MP intake. In brain samples, an increase in CAT activity was found in M. surmuletus and B. boops as a consequence of MP ingestion. SOD activity in the brain increased in B. boops and E. encrasicolus that had ingested MPs. GST activity increased in the liver of M. surmuletus’ and in brains of B. boops that had ingested MPs. The intake of MPs is species related, as well as being inherently linked to the habitat they live in and being able to induce a light activation of species-specific detoxifying and antioxidant mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Microplastic Pollution on Marine Ecology)
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15 pages, 2078 KiB  
Article
Occurrence of Anthropogenic Debris in Three Commercial Shrimp Species from South-Western Ionian Sea
by Claudio D’Iglio, Dario Di Fresco, Nunziacarla Spanò, Marco Albano, Giuseppe Panarello, Federica Laface, Caterina Faggio, Gioele Capillo and Serena Savoca
Biology 2022, 11(11), 1616; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11111616 - 4 Nov 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1954
Abstract
Deep Sea environments represent the final collector of anthropogenic debris mainly represented by both plastic and non-plastic materials with different size. This led to potential contamination of deep marine fauna due to direct and indirect ingestion, representing a potential hazard for the species [...] Read more.
Deep Sea environments represent the final collector of anthropogenic debris mainly represented by both plastic and non-plastic materials with different size. This led to potential contamination of deep marine fauna due to direct and indirect ingestion, representing a potential hazard for the species itself and for the final consumer. In this framework, the present study explored the occurrence of anthropogenic debris in the gastrointestinal tract of three Decapoda species of high commercial and ecological value (Parapenaeus longirostris, Aristeus antennatus, and Aristaeomorpha foliacea) from south-western Ionian Sea. After morphometrical measurements and sex determination, the gastrointestinal tract of 136 specimens were extracted and then chemically digested. A total of 230 low density microparticles were isolated, with a high frequency of occurrence in all the analyzed species (76% in P. longirostris, 70% in A. antennatus, and 83% in A. foliacea) mainly represented by fibers (92.6%) with a size between 0.10 and 0.49 mm, and with a dominance of the blue color. The results of the present study report for the first time the anthropogenic debris presence in the studied Decapoda from south-western Ionian Sea, highlighting the necessity to broaden the knowledge about anthropogenic debris pollution status in Mediterranean deep-sea species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Microplastic Pollution on Marine Ecology)
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16 pages, 1902 KiB  
Article
Evaluating the Presence of Marine Litter in Cetaceans Stranded in the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean Sea)
by Antònia Solomando, Francisca Pujol, Antoni Sureda and Samuel Pinya
Biology 2022, 11(10), 1468; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11101468 - 6 Oct 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3001
Abstract
The global distribution and presence of plastic, at all levels of the water column, has made plastic debris one of today’s greatest environmental challenges. The ingestion and entanglement of plastic-containing marine debris has been documented in more than 60% of all cetacean species. [...] Read more.
The global distribution and presence of plastic, at all levels of the water column, has made plastic debris one of today’s greatest environmental challenges. The ingestion and entanglement of plastic-containing marine debris has been documented in more than 60% of all cetacean species. In light of the increasing pressure on cetaceans, and the diversity of factors that they face, the aim of this work is to provide evidence of the impact of plastic debris on stranded cetaceans, in terms of ingestion and entanglement, in the Balearic Islands for the first-time. Detailed examinations, necropsies, and plastic debris analysis were performed on 30 of the 108 cetaceans stranded between 2019 and 2022. Specimens belonging to five different species, Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, Grampus griseus, Balaenoptera physalus, and Physeter macrocephalus, were evaluated. Ten percent of the cetaceans (N = 3) presented plastic debris in their stomach, with one case of obstruction and perforation. Fishery gear fragments (ropes and nets) were found in two adults of T. truncatus, whereas packaging debris (plastic bag, packing straps, and plastic sheets) were found in a juvenile P. macrocephalus. Plastic items analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) reported three polymer types: polypropylene, polyamide, and high-density polypropylene. A total of seven cases of entanglement were recorded during the study, affecting four different species (S. coeruleoalba, T. truncatus, P. macrocephalus, and Megaptera novaeangliae). Only two individuals were freed from the nets, although one died after a week, whereas the rest were already found dead. In conclusion, data collected in the present study provided evidence of plastic ingestion and entanglement in cetaceans of the Balearic Islands for the first-time, thus highlighting the need for the regular examination of stranded cetaceans (as they are top predators) in future research to better understand the effects of these pollutants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Microplastic Pollution on Marine Ecology)
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