Spatial variability and influence of biological parameters on microplastic ingestion by Boops boops (L.) along the Italian coasts (Western Mediterranean Sea) * Alice Sbrana a , Tommaso Valente a , Umberto Scacco a , Jessica Bianchi a, b , Cecilia Silvestri a , Luca Palazzo b , Giuseppe Andrea de Lucia c , Claudio Valerani d , Giandomenico Ardizzone e , Marco Matiddi a, * a ISPRA, Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via di Castel Romano 100, 00144, Rome, RM, Italy b Department of Ecology and Biology, University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis 44, 01100, Viterbo, VT, Italy c IAS-CNR, Institute of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in Marine Environmente National Research Council Loc. Sa Mardini, 09170, Torregrande, OR, Italy d Parco Nazionale delle “Cinque Terre”, Via Discovolo snc - c/o Stazione Manarola,19017 Riomaggiore, SP, Italy e Department of Environmental Biology, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Viale dell’Universit a 32, 00185, Rome, RM, Italy article info Article history: Received 28 October 2019 Received in revised form 17 March 2020 Accepted 19 March 2020 Available online 22 March 2020 Keywords: Microplastic Boops boops Fish condition Anthropogenic pressures Mediterranean Sea abstract Recently, many studies focus on the ingestion of microplastics by marine biota. Fish exploit almost every kind of marine environment, occupy many ecological niches and are an important food source for human populations worldwide. For these reasons, they seem to represent very appropriate biological indicators of microplastic ingestion. UNEP/MAP SPA/RAC (2018) identified the bogue, Boops boops (Linnaeus, 1758), as a possible target species for monitoring microplastic ingestion in fish populations. This study provides the first report of microplastic ingestion by B. boops from the Tyrrhenian and the Ligurian Seas (Western Mediterranean Sea). Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used to analyse the relationship among biological parameters and environmental factors. A total of 379 bogues were collected in three Italian regions, subject to different anthropogenic pressures (river input, human population, shipping lanes and distance from the coast). Microplastics were detected in the gastrointestinal tract of most individuals (56%) with a mean of 1.8 (±0.2) microplastics per individual. Our study further confirms that this species is able to highlight differences in the ingestion of microplastics according to local anthropization, resulting Latium region to be the most polluted. Fish with lower physical condition are more likely to ingest microplastics, suggesting a relationship with the level of local environmental contamination. Finally, the ingestion of microplastics might be influenced by behavioural differences between sexes. According to our results, males ingest significantly more microplastics than females (p < 0.05). Our research confirms that an extensive knowledge on the biology of a bioindicator species is a priority for developing a valid monitoring strategy, such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive for European waters. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Plastic waste is a widespread, long-lived pollutant that is highly resistant to environmental degradation (Cole et al., 2011; UNEP, 2016; Yoshida et al., 2016). Multiple interacting factors influence the spatial distribution of marine litter. At the basin scale, sea cir- culation patterns such as surface currents, fronts, gyres and convergence zones determine high accumulation plastic zones (Maximenko et al., 2012; Goldstein et al., 2013; Suaria et al., 2016). An important fraction of marine plastic origin from land-based activities, reach coastal waters through large rivers (Galgani et al., 2000; Araújo and Costa, 2007; Shimizu et al., 2008; Thiel et al., 2013; Rech et al., 2014). In addition, fishing grounds, shipping * This paper has been recommended for acceptance by Eddy Y. Zeng. * Corresponding author. Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Via di Castel Romano 100, 00144, Rome, RM, Italy. E-mail address: marco.matiddi@isprambiente.it (M. Matiddi). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Environmental Pollution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114429 0269-7491/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Environmental Pollution 263 (2020) 114429