Widespread microplastic ingestion by fish assemblages in tropical estuaries subjected to anthropogenic pressures.

Our aim was to quantify microplastic ingestion by fish assemblages in two tropical Brazilian estuaries and to evaluate whether biological and ecological factors influence the ingestion of microplastics by fish species. Of 2233 fish from both estuaries (from 69 species) examined in this study, 9% of the individuals (24 species) had microplastics in their gut contents. Microplastic ingestion occurred irrespective of fish size and functional group. The diet of fish species was analyzed based on prey items identified in the fish's full stomach contents and five feeding guilds were defined. Microplastics were common throughout all feeding guilds. Low (average ingestion values 1.06±0.30 items/total fish) but widespread occurrence among estuaries also indicates proliferation of microplastic pollution. Our findings highlight the need to focus on assemblage level studies to understand the real magnitude of the problem and emphasize the urgency of mitigation measures directed at microplastic pollution in estuarine ecosystems.

Functional diversity of fish communities in two tropical estuaries subjected to anthropogenic disturbance.

The functional diversity of fish communities was studied along the salinity gradient of two estuaries in Northeast Brazil subjected to different anthropogenic pressures, to gain a better understanding of the response of fish communities to disturbance. We evaluated functional complementarity indices, redundancy and analysed functional composition through functional groups based on combinations of different traits. The fish communities in both estuaries share similar functions performed by few functional groups. The upstream areas had generally lower taxonomic, functional diversity and lower redundancy, suggesting greater vulnerability to impacts caused by human activities. Biomass was slightly more evenly distributed among functional groups in the less disturbed estuary, but total biomass and redundancy were lower in comparison to the urbanized estuary. The present findings lend strength to the notion that the less disturbed estuary may be more susceptible to anthropogenic impacts, underscoring the need for more effective conservation measures directed at this estuary.

Do different degrees of human activity affect the diet of Brazilian silverside Atherinella brasiliensis?

The aim of the present study was to test whether different degrees of human activity affect the diet of the Brazilian silverside Atherinella brasiliensis in two tropical estuaries. Fish were collected along the salinity gradient of two Brazilian estuaries, the heavily impacted Paraiba Estuary and the less impacted Mamanguape Estuary, in the dry and wet seasons. The findings confirm that A. brasiliensis has generalist feeding habits and is able to change its diet under different environmental conditions. The results indicate clear spatial (i.e. along the estuarine gradient) changes in diet composition in both estuaries, but diet was also influenced by the degree of anthropogenic disturbance. During the wet season in the nutrient enriched Paraiba Estuary, when human activity was higher, the diet of A. brasiliensis was poorer and dominated by few dietary items, reflecting the potential impoverishment of prey items in this heavily disturbed system. The specimens collected in the most affected estuary also had a greater frequency of micro-plastics and parasites in their stomachs, reflecting the greater degree of human disturbance in the estuary. The present findings suggest that the diet of A. brasiliensis could be a useful indicator of changes in the ecological quality of these and other tropical estuaries of the western Atlantic Ocean.