Microplastics in seafood: preliminary results on the occurrence and anatomical distribution in wild populations of Nephrops norvegicus from the Adriatic Sea.
Michela Martinelli1; Alessio Gomiero2; Stefano Guicciardi1; Frapiccini Emanuela1; 3; Pierluigi Strafella1; Silvia Angelini1; 3; Filippo Domenichetti1; Andrea Belardinelli1; and Sabrina Colella1;
The omnipresence of plastic litter in the marine aquatic environments is a major envi-
ronmental problem, and micron sized plastic particles have been detected in many species of
fish and shellfish consumed by humans. The present study aimed at characterizing the oc-
currence, the shapes, dimensional classes, counts and polymer type of plastic ingestion by N.
norvegicus individuals (n = 20) collected from two wild populations of the Adriatic Sea (Fig.
1), focusing on three different anatomical compartments (gut, hepatopancreas and tail), sep-
arately analysed. The outcomes of the present study point out that MPs were found in all
the investigated individuals with an average of about 17 MPs/individual. Particles were pre-
dominant over fibers with a ratio of about 3:1. The majority of both the particles and fibers
were in the dimensional range of 50 – 100 ?m while the majority of the fibers were in the
dimensional range of 50 ?m- 300 ?m (Table 1). The predominant polymers were Polyester,
Polyamide 6, Polyvinyl Chloride and Polyethylene which were found in all the investigated
individuals and that, together, constitute about 61% of all the MPs found. Among the three
investigated compartments, particles concentrated more in the hepatopancreas than gut and
tail, with no significant difference between the latter. While, fibres concentrated more in gut
and hepatopancreas than in tail, with no significant difference between the first two. The
dimensional class of the MPs significantly affected their anatomical distribution, finding only
the smaller ones in the tail (p < 0.05). Overall, no statistical differences between individuals
from the two sampling sites (off Ancona and Pomo Pits) were observed. Neither sex, length
nor weight of the individual influenced the level of retained MPs.
2020 - Abstract in atti di convegno
MICRO 2020. Fate and Impact of Microplastics: Knowledge and Responsibilities., Lanzarote/on line, 23-27/11/2020
Keywords: N. norvegicus, MPs uptake, Seafood safety, Tissue Partition, ?-FTIR imaging