据报道,居住在萨拉索塔湾的普通宽吻海豚(Tursiopstruncatus)摄入微塑料,FL,美国,也普遍接触增塑剂的社区(即,邻苯二甲酸酯)的浓度高于人类参考人群。曝光源目前未知,但是塑料污染的猎物可能是媒介。为了探索营养暴露的可能性,猎物鱼的肌肉和胃肠道(GIT)组织和内容物被筛选为可疑的微塑料,和粒子属性(例如,颜色,形状,表面纹理)与自由放养海豚的胃样本中观察到的样本进行了比较。29条鱼跨越四个物种(硬头鲶鱼,白杨;猪鱼,金翅目正畸;pin鱼,拉哥顿菱形;和海湾蟾蜍,Opsanusbeta)于2022年9月从萨拉索塔湾收集。总的来说,97%的鱼(n=28)怀疑有微塑料,GIT丰度高于肌肉。鱼和海豚样本含有纤维和薄膜;然而,泡沫在海豚样本中很常见,在鱼类中没有观察到。疑似轮胎磨损颗粒(TWP)不在海豚样本中,但23.1%和32.0%的鱼肌肉和GIT样本,分别,包含至少一个疑似TWP。虽然海豚和鱼在粒子上有一些相似之处,小样本量以及泡沫和TWP的不一致发现表明,需要进一步研究以了解营养转移潜力。
Microplastic ingestion was reported for common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting Sarasota Bay, FL, USA, a community that also has prevalent exposure to plasticizers (i.e., phthalates) at concentrations higher than human reference populations. Exposure sources are currently unknown, but plastic-contaminated prey could be a vector. To explore the potential for trophic exposure, prey fish muscle and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) tissues and contents were screened for suspected microplastics, and particle properties (e.g., color, shape, surface texture) were compared with those observed in gastric samples from free-ranging dolphins. Twenty-nine fish across four species (hardhead catfish, Ariopsis felis; pigfish, Orthopristis chrysoptera; pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides; and Gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta) were collected from Sarasota Bay during September 2022. Overall, 97% of fish (n = 28) had suspected microplastics, and GIT abundance was higher than muscle. Fish and dolphin samples contained fibers and films; however, foams were common in dolphin samples and not observed in fish. Suspected tire wear particles (TWPs) were not in dolphin samples, but 23.1% and 32.0% of fish muscle and GIT samples, respectively, contained at least one suspected TWP. While some similarities in particles were shared between dolphins and fish, small sample sizes and incongruent findings for foams and TWPs suggest further investigation is warranted to understand trophic transfer potential.