An Assessment of Microplastic Ingestion in the Commercially Important Black Sea Bass, Centropristis striata: A Lab and Field Study

Jincy Joseph1, Cheyenne Stienbarger2, Samantha N. Athey3, Bonnie Bonnie Monteleone4, Anthony L Andrady5, Wade O Watanabe1, Pamela J. Seaton3, Alison R Taylor6 and Susanne M Brander7, (1)UNC Wilmington, United States, (2)NOAA OAR, Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program, Silver Spring, United States, (3)University of North Carolina Wilmington, Chemistry and Biochemisty, Wilminton, NC, United States, (4)UNC Wilmington, Wilmington, United States, (5)North Carolina State University, Chemical Engineering, Raleigh, NC, United States, (6)University of North Carolina Wilmington, Biology and Marine Biology, Wilmington, NC, United States, (7)Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
Abstract:
Microplastics (<5 mm in one dimension) are omnipresent in all aquatic and terrestrial environments and are a major ecological threat. These debris items can cause physical disruption and may also act as a sink for hydrophobic organic pollutants. Intake of microplastics by marine organisms may therefore induce stress and also introduce harmful pollutants. Though a number of organisms have been found to ingest microplastics, few studies have been performed on commercial fishery species such as black sea bass (Centropristis striata), an important fishery off the East coast of the United States.

To assess the effects of plastic pollution in black sea bass, we conducted both field and laboratory studies. In lab experiments, sea bass at three different life stages- larval, early, and late juvenile were exposed to both virgin and contaminated microplastics. Our results showed that larval fish obtained more microplastics through trophic transfer from microscopic prey than from water. Early juvenile fish from some treatments appeared to have a decrease in immune response and increased respiration at high plastic concentrations. We recorded 78% microplastic ingestion in lab-exposed late juvenile fish and fish livers will be analyzed to verify the potential for accumulation of pollutants and associated metabolites. In field study, wild-caught adults were analyzed for the occurrence and concentration of macro- and microplastics. The results showed 3 macroplastics and more than 60 possible microplastics (average of 0.7 suspected particles per fish), which are currently being analyzed through u-FTIR to determine the plastic type. We anticipate that our results will contribute to the current knowledge on the plastic pollution in C. striata and will inform fishery management about the potential concerns regarding harm to black sea bass and other fishery species that have ingested plastics, as well as informing concerns about human exposure to microplastics via seafood.

Back to: Impacts of Microplastics on Marine Organisms and Ecosystem Health II