High prevalence of plastic ingestion by Eriocheir sinensis and Carcinus maenas (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) in the Thames Estuary

McGoran, Alexandra R.; Clark, Paul F.; Smith, Brian D.; Morritt, David

High prevalence of plastic ingestion by Eriocheir sinensis and Carcinus maenas (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) in the Thames Estuary

2020

McGoran, Alexandra R. | Clark, Paul F. | Smith, Brian D. | Morritt, David

This study presents evidence for microplastic contamination in two resident species of brachyuran crab from the Thames Estuary: the native shore crab, Carcinus maenas (Linneaus, 1758) and the invasive Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis (H. Milne Edwards, 1853). The gills, gastric mill and intestine of 94 C. maenas and 41 E. sinensis were examined. Crabs were sampled periodically (ca. every three months) between December 2018 and October 2019. A total of 874 plastics were recovered, ranging 34 μm–34 mm in length. Overall, 71.3% and 100% of C. maenas and E. sinensis, respectively, contained at least one item (fibre, film, fragment or tangle of fibres) in the gill chamber, gastric mill or gastrointestinal tract. The most common items were fibres (78.5%) but in some cases, particularly in the gastric mill, these were aggregated into tangles (7.8%). Almost all E. sinensis contained tangles of fibres (95.1%), whereas, relatively few C. maenas contained similar tangles (10.6%).

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