COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PLASTIC PARTICLE CONTAMINATION IN TWO SPECIES OF PUFFERFISH (TETRAODONTIFORMES: TETRAODONTIDAE) FROM DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN RELATION TO ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACTS

Abstract

Plastics, versatile and low-cost materials, are ubiquitous in our daily lives, but their improper disposal has become one of the main sources of marine pollution. In aquatic environments, these plastics degrade into microplastics, adversely affecting marine life in various ways. Species such as the pufferfish Sphoeroides psittacus and Lagocephalus laevigatus, common in estuarine and coastal marines regions, may ingest these particles during feeding. This study was to evaluate microplastic contamination in the digestive tracts of these species in Amazonian estuaries and the São Paulo coastline, comparing the locations and analyzing ontogenetic and sexual differences, with the goal of conserving these species.

Keywords: microplastics, fish, conservation