Method for the determination presence of plastic in organic matter of intestinal tracts of fish from Ubatuba-SP

• Grant number: 20/16425-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2021
• End date: December 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Carlo Rossi Del Carratore
• Grantee: Jéssica Aparecida Colombo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias (FCA). Universidade de Marília (UNIMAR). Marília , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The presence of plastics in the marine environmnent is a prevailing reality. The presence of this anthropogenic material in the oceans shows itself more and more due to the improper disposal of waste. The bigger particles of plastic end up being ingested by fish, testudines, ocean birds and marine mammals, while the smaller particles (microplastics, size minor than 5 mm) enter in the food chain when ingested by arthropods, filter feeders, echinoderms, zooplankton and phytoplankton. The impact of the ingestion of plastic sediment includes bowel obstruction, malnutrition and intoxication. Considering that the ingestion of plastic is a significant cause of death among marine animals, a method of quantification of the ingestion of this pollutant proves to be necessary to determinate de cause of death and the extent of the marine pollution. Methods more expensive and difficult to reproduce already exist. The method presented in this piece is simple, inexpensive and easily reproducible in less equipped laboratories, using a hot plate, an analytical balance, some laboratory glasswar, and a mesh of 300 µm. Beside this, hydrogen peroxide and iron sulfate where used. The method will be employed to indentify and quantify plastic in the intestinal tract of fish from Ubatuba-SP.