Understanding the interactions between cephalopods and marine litter: A research evaluation with identification of gaps and future perspectives.

Litter is known to negatively affect numerous marine organisms, but the extent of such impacts is not well known for several groups, including cephalopods. Considering the ecological, behavioral and economic importance of these animals, we reviewed the types of interactions between cephalopods and litter in the scientific literature, to evaluate impacts and knowledge gaps. We found 30 papers, which included records of microplastic ingestion and the transfer of synthetic microfibers along the food web. The largest number of records involved litter use as shelter, and the common octopus was the most frequent species. At first sight, litter use as shelter could appear to be a potential positive effect, but it is necessary to clarify the implications of this choice and its long-term consequences. Regarding ingestion and trophic transfer, further research is needed to elucidate its occurrence and impacts on cephalopods and their predators, including humans.

• Publication year

  2023

• Venue

  Marine Pollution Bulletin

• Publication date

  2023-03-16

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114814PMID 36933358
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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