Microplastics in the marine food chain: comparission between a carnivore and omnivorous fishes from Ubatuba

• Grant number: 25/08778-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Applied Zoology
• Principal Investigator: George Mendes Taliaferro Mattox
• Grantee: Gustavo Kendiy Miyamoto
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Humanas e Biológicas (CCHB). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Sorocaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The increase in the plastic production and its inadequate litter in the environment has triggered global worry, especially referring to the formation of miscroplastics (MPs) and their impacts on the aquatic biota. Microplastics, in particular those less than 5 mm in size, can be ingested by several marine organisms, entering the food chain and causing both bioacummulation and biomagnification. Although the wide records of ingestion of plastic by marine fish, studies relating their food habit to the amount of contamination are still scarce. The present project aims at comparing the ingestion of microplastic in two estuarine species with distinct diets, Atherinella brasiliensis (an oportunistic carnivore species) and Eucinostomus melanopterus (an omnivorous species), collected in 2014 at Praia do Prumirim, Ubatuba (SP). Samples will be analyzed in relation to the presence and amount of microplastics in their gastrointestinal content, correlating these data to the biomoetrics of individuals. Based on such information, we hope to contribute to the understanding the dynamics of incorporation of miscroplastic in the marine food chain and of putative ecological risks associated. if possible, the nature of MPs will be evaluated in order to cast light in the origin of these polimers.