Aikaterini Anastasopoulou

Anthropogenic microfibres pollution in marine biota. A new and simple methodology to minimize airborne contamination.

Research studies on the effects of microlitter on marine biota have become more and more frequent the last few years. However, there is strong evidence that scientific results based on microlitter analyses can be biased by contamination from air transported fibres. This study demonstrates a low cost and easy to apply methodology to minimize the background contamination and thus to increase results validity. The contamination during the gastrointestinal content analysis of 400 fishes was tested for several sample processing steps of high risk airborne contamination (e.g. dissection, stereomicroscopic analysis, and chemical digestion treatment for microlitter extraction). It was demonstrated that, using our methodology based on hermetic enclosure devices, isolating the working areas during the various processing steps, airborne contamination reduced by 95.3%. The simplicity and low cost of this methodology provide the benefit that it could be applied not only to laboratory but also to field or on board work.

New records of rare deep-water fish species in the Eastern Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea)

We report new species records and information related to meristic, morphometric, bathymetric and biological characteristics that increase our knowledge of the deep ichthyofauna of the Ionian Sea (E. Mediterranean). The material was collected with long lines from 300 to 800 m deep in the Eastern Ionian Sea in June and October 2010. The fish species Schedophilus ovalis (Cuvier, 1833) (Osteichthyes: Centrolophidae), Sudis hyalina Rafinesque, 1810 (Osteicthyes: Paralepididae), Brama brama (Bonnaterre, 1788) (Osteichthyes: Bramidae) and Trachipterus trachypterus (Gmelin, 1789) (Osteichthyes: Trachipteridae) were recorded for the first time in the Eastern Ionian Sea. The absence of these new or rare species from the ichthyofauna of the study area to date is probably related to the absence of adequate sampling and catching techniques, although environmental factors could also be involved.

First evidence of ingested plastics by a high commercial shrimp species (Plesionika narval) in the eastern Mediterranean

This study provides the first evidence of nylon filament occurrence in the stomach of an economically important target shrimp species in the Mediterranean Sea, Plesionika narval (Fabricius, 1787). Samples were collected monthly from November 2014 to October 2015 from shallow (10-30 m) and deeper waters (150-170 m). The occurrence of plastics in the stomachs of the Narwal shrimp was 5.93% and identified as Nylon by FT-IR analysis. Higher percentages of ingested plastics were found in females from shallower depths and in males from deeper waters. The maximum number of plastics was recorded in January and March, possibly related to the higher feeding intensity of females prior to their reproduction period. A total of 10.3% of females and 4.8% of males with ingested plastics had almost empty stomachs. The presence of plastics in the stomach of P. narval is an evidence of passive ingestion which in this study related to fishing activities.

Microplastics in mussels and fish from the Northern Ionian Sea

Microplastic ingestion by marine organisms presents an emerging threat to marine ecosystems; microplastics in different marine species are currently reported worldwide. This study aims to assess microplastic ingestion in four, highly commercial, marine species from Greek waters in the Northern Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea). Microplastics were found in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and all three fish species (Sardina pilchardus, Pagellus erythrinus, Mullus barbatus) examined. The frequency of occurrence of ingested microplastics was 46.25% in mussels, while among fish species, S. pilchardus showed the highest frequency of microplastic ingestion (47.2%). Microplastic abundance ranged from 1.7-2 items/individual in mussels and from 1.5-1.9 items/individual in fish. The majority of ingested microplastics were fragments, while their color and size varied. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) indicated polyethylene as the most common polymer type in mussels and fish. Results can be used to set baseline levels for the assessment of microplastic pollution in the Ionian Sea.