title: Plastic ingestion by pelagic and demersal fish from the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
abstract: Plastic ingestion by marine biota has been reported for a variety of different taxa. In this study, we investigated 290 gastrointestinal tracts of demersal (cod, dab and flounder) and pelagic fish species (herring and mackerel) from the North and Baltic Sea for the occurrence of plastic ingestion. In 5.5% of all investigated fishes, plastic particles were detected, with 74% of all particles being in the microplastic (<5mm) size range. The polymer types of all found particles were analysed by means of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Almost 40% of the particles consisted of polyethylene (PE). In 3.4% of the demersal and 10.7% of the pelagic individuals, plastic ingestion was recorded, showing a significantly higher ingestion frequency in the pelagic feeders. The condition factor K was calculated to test differences in the fitness status between individuals with and without ingested plastic, but no direct effect was detected.
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Biologische Anstalt Helgoland (BAH), Kurpromenade, D-27498 Helgoland, Germany. Electronic address: christoph.rummel@ufz.de.
authors.forename: Christoph D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Rummel
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Biologische Anstalt Helgoland (BAH), Kurpromenade, D-27498 Helgoland, Germany. Electronic address: Martin.Loeder@uni-bayreuth.de.
authors.forename: Martin G J
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Löder
authors.affiliation: Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Germany. Electronic address: nicofricke@gmx.de.
authors.forename: Nicolai F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Fricke
authors.affiliation: Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Germany. Electronic address: Thomas.Lang@ti.bund.de.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Institute of Zoology, Department of Ecology, Germany. Electronic address: em.griebeler@uni-mainz.de.
authors.forename: Eva-Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Griebeler
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Biologische Anstalt Helgoland (BAH), Kurpromenade, D-27498 Helgoland, Germany. Electronic address: Michael.janke@awi.de.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Janke
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Biologische Anstalt Helgoland (BAH), Kurpromenade, D-27498 Helgoland, Germany. Electronic address: gunnar.gerdts@awi.de.
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gerdts
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004435:Eating; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D009659:North Sea; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis*; D020959:Polyethylene / Q000032:analysis; D011108:Polymers; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D011108:Polymers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D020959:Polyethylene
keywords: Baltic Sea; Fish; Ingestion; Marine debris; North Sea; Plastic