TY - JOUR

T1 - Prey-size plastics are invading larval fish nurseries

AU - Gove, Jamison M.

AU - Whitney, Jonathan

AU - McManus, Margaret A.

AU - Lecky, Joey

AU - Carvalho, Felipe

AU - Lynch, Jennifer

AU - Li, Jiwei

AU - Neubauer, Philipp

AU - Smith, Katherine

AU - Phipps, Jana

AU - Kobayashi, Donald

AU - Balagso, Karla

AU - Contreras, Emily

AU - Manuel, Mark

AU - Merrifield, Mark

AU - Polovina, Jeffrey

AU - Asner, Gregory

AU - Maynard, Jeffrey A.

AU - Williams, Gareth J.

N1 - Copyright © 2019 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

PY - 2019/11/26

Y1 - 2019/11/26

N2 - Life for many of the world's marine fish begins at the ocean surface. Ocean conditions dictate food availability and govern survivorship, yet little is known about the habitat preferences of larval fish during this highly vulnerable life-history stage. Here we show that surface slicks, a ubiquitous coastal ocean convergence feature, are important nurseries for larval fish from many ocean habitats at ecosystem scales. Slicks had higher densities of marine phytoplankton (1.7-fold), zooplankton (larval fish prey; 3.7-fold), and larval fish (8.1-fold) than nearby ambient waters across our study region in Hawai'i. Slicks contained larger, more well-developed individuals with competent swimming abilities compared to ambient waters, suggesting a physiological benefit to increased prey resources. Slicks also disproportionately accumulated prey-size plastics, resulting in a 60-fold higher ratio of plastics to larval fish prey than nearby waters. Dissections of hundreds of larval fish found that 8.6% of individuals in slicks had ingested plastics, a 2.3-fold higher occurrence than larval fish from ambient waters. Plastics were found in 7 of 8 families dissected, including swordfish (Xiphiidae), a commercially targeted species, and flying fish (Exocoetidae), a principal prey item for tuna and seabirds. Scaling up across an ∼1,000 km 2 coastal ecosystem in Hawai'i revealed slicks occupied only 8.3% of ocean surface habitat but contained 42.3% of all neustonic larval fish and 91.8% of all floating plastics. The ingestion of plastics by larval fish could reduce survivorship, compounding threats to fisheries productivity posed by overfishing, climate change, and habitat loss.

AB - Life for many of the world's marine fish begins at the ocean surface. Ocean conditions dictate food availability and govern survivorship, yet little is known about the habitat preferences of larval fish during this highly vulnerable life-history stage. Here we show that surface slicks, a ubiquitous coastal ocean convergence feature, are important nurseries for larval fish from many ocean habitats at ecosystem scales. Slicks had higher densities of marine phytoplankton (1.7-fold), zooplankton (larval fish prey; 3.7-fold), and larval fish (8.1-fold) than nearby ambient waters across our study region in Hawai'i. Slicks contained larger, more well-developed individuals with competent swimming abilities compared to ambient waters, suggesting a physiological benefit to increased prey resources. Slicks also disproportionately accumulated prey-size plastics, resulting in a 60-fold higher ratio of plastics to larval fish prey than nearby waters. Dissections of hundreds of larval fish found that 8.6% of individuals in slicks had ingested plastics, a 2.3-fold higher occurrence than larval fish from ambient waters. Plastics were found in 7 of 8 families dissected, including swordfish (Xiphiidae), a commercially targeted species, and flying fish (Exocoetidae), a principal prey item for tuna and seabirds. Scaling up across an ∼1,000 km 2 coastal ecosystem in Hawai'i revealed slicks occupied only 8.3% of ocean surface habitat but contained 42.3% of all neustonic larval fish and 91.8% of all floating plastics. The ingestion of plastics by larval fish could reduce survivorship, compounding threats to fisheries productivity posed by overfishing, climate change, and habitat loss.

KW - larval fish

KW - microplastics

KW - nursery habitat

KW - surface slicks

UR - https://www.pnas.org/content/116/48/24143/tab-figures-data

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1907496116

DO - 10.1073/pnas.1907496116

M3 - Article

C2 - 31712423

VL - 116

SP - 24143

EP - 24149

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA

SN - 0027-8424

IS - 48

ER -