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Microplastics, ranging in size from 1 micron to less than 5 millimeters, are pervasive pollutants found in every part of the world’s oceans and entering the marine food web. researcherThe research team, led by scientists from the Marine and Fisheries Research Institute at the University of British Columbia, UBC, and Ecuadorian researchers from the Galapagos and ESPOL Polytechnic Schools in Guayaquil, Ecuador, investigated how bioaccumulation of microplastics affects endangered Galapagos penguins. We conducted a detailed investigation to determine whetherSpheniscus mendiculus) used as an indicator species to track how deep microplastic bioaccumulation has penetrated into the isolated Galapagos Islands food web.
Plastic particles were detected in seawater collected around Santa Cruz Island, an inhabited island with a nearby Galapagos penguin colony. The researchers used a model that focused on Galápagos penguin diet (barracuda, sardines, herring, salema, anchovies) and penguin excrement, and developed a unique model using Ecopath and Ecosim (EwE) ecosystem modeling and the Ecotracer approach. intuitively tracked the Galápagos penguin food web model. Potential bioaccumulation of microplastics in the penguin food web. They also applied the model more broadly to parts of the penguin habitat in the Bolivar Strait ecosystem (between Fernandina and Isabela islands) and the western region of the Galapagos Islands.
Model predictions show a rapid increase in microplastic accumulation and contamination across penguin prey, with Galapagos penguins having the highest levels of microplastics per biomass, followed by barracuda, anchovies, and Sardines, herring, salema and predatory zooplankton followed.
“Model predictions highlight the accumulation behavior and residence time of microplastics in the gut,” said lead author Carly McMullen, a former master’s student at the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Oceans and Fisheries. . “As microplastics have emerged as a prominent marine pollutant, entering the environment every day, marine fauna and coastal There is growing concern for wildlife.”
Dr. Juan José Alaba, senior author, research emeritus and principal investigator in the Marine Pollution Research Unit at the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Oceans and Fisheries, agreed. “The goal of this food chain bioaccumulation modeling work is to provide science and data to support the risk management of hazardous plastic waste, reduce microplastic emissions in the oceans and remote marine UNESCO heritage sites such as the Galapagos Islands, and The objective was to inform local and international ocean policy: to protect endangered and endemic seabird species in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.”
“It is essential to prioritize efforts to reduce the introduction of microplastics into fragile ecosystems and food webs, especially the endangered Galapagos penguin.”
– This press release was originally published by UBC Marine and Fisheries Research Institute website
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