A new paper on microplastic ingestion in HK mangrove crabs is out

Stefano just published a paper on microplastic ingestion by HK mangrove crabs in collaboration with Dr Christelle Not and Ms. Cheuk Yan Iris Lui, of the Environmental Geochemistry and Oceanography Research Group , Department of Earth Sciences & SWIMS, HKU. In this study, we quantified microparticles found in the cardiac stomachs and gill chambers of four species of common crabs in HK mangroves. All specimens collected had anthropogenic microparticles present either in their digestive trait or in their gill chambers. We observed significant variability in the abundance and types of anthropogenic microparticles across sites and species. Interspecific differences appear to be explained by their particular feeding habits, with less selective species (i.e. sesarmid crabs) ingesting more particles.

The open access paper is available here

Marine debris, macro- and microplastic are affecting mangrove crabs in Hong Kong (photo by Ying Y. Luo)