Microplastics presence in cultured and wild-caught cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis

Oliveira, Ana R., Sardinha-Silva, Andreia, Andrews, Paul L. R., Green, Dannielle, Cooke, Gavan M., Hall, Sarah, Blackburn, Kirsty and Sykes, António V. (2020) Microplastics presence in cultured and wild-caught cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 160. p. 111553. ISSN 1879-3363

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Abstract

Amongst cephalopods microplastics have been reported only in jumbo squid gut. We investigated microplastics in the digestive system of wild cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) as they are predators and prey and compared the stomach, caecum/intestine and digestive gland (DG) of wild and cultured animals, exposed to seawater from a comparable source. Fibers were the most common type (≈90% of total count) but were ≈2× higher in relation to body weight in wild vs. cultured animals. Fibers were transported to the DG where the count was ≈2× higher /g in wild (median 1.85 fibers/g) vs. cultured. In wild-caught animals the DG was the predominant location but in cultured animals the fibers were more evenly distributed in the digestive tract. The potential impact of microplastics on health of cuttlefish is discussed. Cuttlefish represent a previously unrecognized source of microplastic trophic transfer to fish and finding fibers in cultured animals has implications for aquaculture.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Keywords:	Aquaculture, Cuttlefish, Food web, Human consumption, Ingestion, Microplastics
Faculty:	Faculty of Science & Engineering
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic User
Depositing User:	Symplectic User
Date Deposited:	30 Oct 2020 10:01
Last Modified:	09 Sep 2021 18:52
URI:	https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/706013

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