Journal article
Ocean predators as indicators of nano- and microplastic prevalence in pelagic food webs
Scientific Reports, Vol.Advanced access
06-Oct-2026
Abstract
Quantifying nano- and microplastics (NMPs) in ocean predators is fundamental to understanding the prevalence of these contaminants and potential impacts on ecosystem health. Pyrolysis gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with lipid correction was used to determine NMP concentrations and polymer composition in the muscle tissue of two pelagic predators (dolphinfish [Coryphaena hippurus], yellowfin tuna [Thunnus albacares]) across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Five polymers (polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, nylon-66) accounted for ~ 99% of the total NMP concentration detected in both species. Differences in NMP concentrations were observed between the two species, with body burdens often markedly lower in yellowfin tuna relative to dolphinfish within the same region or ocean basin. Polyethylene was the dominant polymer present in the muscle tissue of both species followed by nylon-66, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride. Spatial variation in polymer composition and NMP concentrations was observed, indicating that NMP signatures may serve as markers of an individual’s recent or integrated exposure history. No relationship between NMP body burden and trophic position was observed for either species, with trophic position of yellowfin tuna consistently higher than dolphinfish in nearly all regions examined despite displaying lower NMP concentrations. Our findings establish that NMPs are pervasive in the muscle tissue of higher-order predators in pelagic ecosystems across all three ocean basins.
Details
- Title
- Ocean predators as indicators of nano- and microplastic prevalence in pelagic food webs
- Authors
- Jay R. Rooker (Corresponding Author) - Texas A&M University at GalvestonKarl Kaiser (Author) - Texas A&M University at GalvestonR. J. David Wells (Author) - Texas A&M University at GalvestonMichelle Zapp Sluis (Author) - Texas A&M University at GalvestonM. Bryan Gahn (Author) - Texas A&M University at GalvestonAlexandra Prouse (Author) - Texas A&M University at GalvestonAlejandro Acosta (Author) - Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissionPiero Addis (Author) - University of CagliariMichael A. Dance (Author) - Louisiana State UniversityBeatrice Padovani Ferreira (Author) - Universidade Federal de PernambucoManel Gazo (Author) - Universitat de BarcelonaBonnie Holmes (Author) - University of the Sunshine CoastSébastien Jaquemet (Author) - University of Reunion IslandChi-Ju Yu (Author) - National Taiwan Ocean UniversityShoou-Jeng Joung (Author) - National Taiwan Ocean UniversityFirdes Saadet Karakulak (Author) - Istanbul UniversityDaniel L. Lippi (Author) - Universidade Federal de PernambucoJulian G. Pepperell (Author) - Pepperell Research and Consulting (Noosaville, Australia)Landes L. Randall (Author) - Texas A&M University at GalvestonPhillip J. Sanchez (Author) - Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteBrad L. Smith (Author) - Brigham Young University–HawaiiOwyn E. Snodgrass (Author) - National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationRyan M. Tharp (Author) - North Carolina State UniversityAnna Traina (Author) - Istituto di Scienze Marine del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
- Publication details
- Scientific Reports, Vol.Advanced access
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41598-026-72552-5
- ISSN
- 2045-2322
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- All data needed to evaluate conclusions of the paper are present in the paper and/or Supplementary Information. Raw data (% lipid, NMP concentrations of all polymer types, and CSIA-AA per individual fish) available upon request.
- Grant note
- Analysis and development of the manuscript was supported by the Gulf Research Institute for Highly Migratory Species (J.R.R.), the McDaniel Charitable Foundation (J.R.R.), and Texas A&M University Edges Fellowship (R.J.D.W.). Tissue collections used for microplastic analysis were obtained from a variety of projects and sources with financial assistance from several entities.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991267096102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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