Impacts of microplastics ingestion on fish physiology and behavior
marine pollution; ecotoxicology; animal behavior; reef ecosystems
Plastic pollution has been a major environmental concern. Brazil is the fourth largest producer of this material on the planet, but it is one of the least recycled in the world. Most of the plastic products produced are considered disposable and much of this material ends up in landfills or in nature. These materials undergo physical, chemical and biological processes that transform them into tiny particles (microplastics) that end up being carried to the seas from rain, rivers or wind. These particles can even serve as a vehicle for other persistent contaminants available in the marine environment, known as persistent organic pollutants. The permanence of microplastics in the marine environment is worrying and little is known about the effects of this type of product on marine biota. Reef ecosystems are environments of recognized biological and economic importance. In these ecosystems, a group of fish known as “damselfish” play an important role in balancing the various ecological relationships that exist between various organisms that make up the reef community. Understanding the effects of this pollutant on behavior of this group of animals can be an effective way to monitor the impacts of plastic waste on the organisms that make up reef communities. Therefore, this work intends to use fish of the Stegastes fuscus species as environmental bioindicators and through behavioral tests, physiological and biochemical analyzes to evaluate the effect of microplastics on the behavior and physiology of the species that is endemic and abundant in the Brazilian coast.