The impact of plastic pollution in the Indian Ocean on filter-feeding megafauna, particularly reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi)

印度洋塑料污染对滤食性巨型动物的影响，特别是礁蝠鲼 (Mobula alfredi)

• 批准号: 2390157
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Royal Holloway University of London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2390157
• 关键词: impact; plastic; pollution; Indian; Ocean

Plastic is ubiquitous in the environment and is known to have major negative impacts on marine ecosystems. Marine organisms can entangle in discarded fishing gear, ingest plastic debris, and accumulate leached toxic chemicals in their systems. The reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi), a large charismatic filter-feeding elasmobranch, is exposed to the risks of plastic pollution, due to its low trophic level and its habitat overlap with areas of plastic accumulation. The central Indian Ocean is home to many reef manta ray populations, but little is known about plastic pollution in that region, and its impacts on reef manta rays is unclear. This project firstly aims to assess the global exposure of reef manta rays to plastic pollution, by overlapping their habitat range, movement patterns and feeding grounds with plastic distribution maps, to allow the identification of ingestion and entanglement risk hotspots. To validate the risk assessment, the project then explores the presence of microplastic in reef manta ray feeding grounds in the Chagos Archipelago and evidence of entanglement injury from Photo ID pictures. Finally, the project will investigate the origins of plastic pollution in the Chagos Archipelago, including the proportion of debris stemming from shipping lanes and fishing activities. We hope this project will allow us to translate plastic pollution exposure to actual risk and impact on a species that is highly important for tourism and livelihoods in the region and is already threatened by other anthropogenic stressors. We also hope the project will enable targeted action to reduce plastic pollution at its source and mitigate its impacts in key habitats for reef manta rays. This is especially important in the context of the current negotiations of the UN Global Plastics Treaty.

塑料在环境中无处不在，众所周知，它对海洋生态系统有重大负面影响。海洋生物可能会被丢弃的渔具缠住，吞食塑料碎片，并在其体内积累淋洗的有毒化学物质。珊瑚礁螳螂(Mobula Alfredi)是一种大型有魅力的滤食性弹簧纲动物，由于其营养水平低，其栖息地与塑料聚集区重叠，因此面临塑料污染的风险。印度洋中部是许多珊瑚礁螳螂种群的家园，但人们对该地区的塑料污染知之甚少，塑料污染对珊瑚礁螳螂的影响也不清楚。该项目首先旨在通过将其栖息地、运动模式和觅食地与塑料分布图重叠，评估全球珊瑚礁蝠螂对塑料污染的暴露情况，以便识别摄食和缠绕风险热点。为了验证风险评估，该项目随后探索了查戈斯群岛珊瑚礁螳螂捕食场中微塑料的存在，以及照片ID照片中缠绕损伤的证据。最后，该项目将调查查戈斯群岛塑料污染的来源，包括来自航道和捕鱼活动的垃圾比例。我们希望这个项目将使我们能够将塑料污染暴露转化为对一个物种的实际风险和影响，该物种对该地区的旅游业和生计非常重要，并且已经受到其他人为压力的威胁。我们还希望该项目能够采取有针对性的行动，从源头上减少塑料污染，并减轻其对珊瑚礁螳螂主要栖息地的影响。在当前《联合国全球塑料条约》谈判的背景下，这一点尤为重要。