Micro‐ and nano‐plastic loads in fish and macroinvertebrates in a tropical river

Abstract

Abstract This study examines microplastic contamination in river macroinvertebrates and fish within a rapidly urbanising tropical catchment, and provides data on the quantity of microplastics ingested by various taxonomic and functional feeding groups. We employed both a widely used low‐resolution visual inspection method, capable of identifying microplastics ranging from 0.1 to 5 mm, and a novel automated method specifically designed to identify smaller plastics in the nano size range, from 0.004 to 0.1 mm. Analysis using the low‐resolution method indicated that a significant portion of fish (95%) and macroinvertebrates (44%) contained larger microplastics. The composition of microplastic within the animals differed from that in river water and on the river bed: microplastics in the water and on the bed were predominantly fibres (98% and 92% respectively), whereas the animals exhibited a more even mix of fibres (c. 35%), fragments (c. 43%), and film (c. 22%). Microplastic loads in aquatic organisms correlated with feeding group and body size, although patterns were not always consistent. Larger individuals generally contained more microplastic, especially among macroinvertebrates, but this trend was not observed uniformly among fish species. Additionally, differences in body loads among macroinvertebrate taxa and feeding groups varied depending on whether loads were expressed per individual or per unit weight. Use of the high‐resolution enumeration method revealed a substantially higher microplastic count compared to the low‐resolution method, highlighting the potential underestimation of contamination levels by the latter. The study underscores the non‐random uptake of microplastics by aquatic biota, influenced by feeding mode, and stresses the necessity of high‐resolution sample processing for accurate quantification of contamination levels and risk assessment for smaller organisms.