Microplastic contamination in Great Lakes fish
Abstract
Freshwater ecosystems, generally adjacent to human population and more contaminated relative to adjacent marine ecosystems, are vulnerable to microplastic contamination. We sampled 7 species of fish from Lake Ontario and Lake Superior and assessed their gastrointestinal (GI) tracts to quantify ingested microplastics and other anthropogenic particles. A subset of the microparticles were chemically analyzed to confirm polymer types and anthropogenic origins. We documented the highest concentration of microplastics and other anthropogenic microparticles ever reported in bony fish. We found 12,442 anthropogenic microparticles across 212 fish (8 species) from nearshore Lake Ontario, 943 across 50 fish (1 species) from Humber River, and 3094 across 119 fish (7 species) from Lake Superior. Fish from Lake Ontario had the greatest mean abundance of anthropogenic microparticles in their GI tracts (59 particles/fish [SD 104]), with up to 915 microparticles in a single fish. Fish from Lake Superior contained a mean [SD] of 26 [74] particles/fish, and fish from Humber River contained 19 [14] particles/fish. Most particles were microfibers. Overall, ≥90% of particles were anthropogenic, of which 35‐59% were microplastics. Polyethylene (24%), polyethylene terephthalate (20%), and polypropylene (18%) were the most common microplastics. Ingestion of anthropogenic particles was significantly different among species within Lake Ontario ( p < 0.05), and the abundance of anthropogenic particles increased as fish length increased in Lake Ontario ( ρ = 0.62). Although we cannot extrapolate the concentration of microplastics in the water and sediments of these fish, the relatively high abundance of microplastics in the GI tracts of fish suggests environmental exposure may be above threshold concentrations for risk.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The fish in this study had higher contamination of microplastics and other anthropogenic particles than a previous study focusing on the same kinds of fish caught at the same location, Humber Bay.
“We also report higher contamination of microplastics and other anthropogenic particles in fish than a previous study focusing on the same kinds of fish caught at the same location, Humber Bay.47”
From Microplastics and Anthropogenic Particles in Recreationally Caught Freshwater Fish from an Urbanized Region of the North American Great Lakes (2024) · cites this paper as [47]
Cites
Freshwater biodiversity: importance, threats, status and conservation challenges
Dudgeon, D., Arthington, A. H., Gessner, M. O., Kawabata, Z., Knowler, D. J., Lévêque, C., Naiman, R. J., Prieur‐Richard, A., Soto, D., Stiassny, M. L. J., et al. (2006) · Biological Reviews · doi:10.1017/s1464793105006950 · Cited by 8,489 · see citing works
The Physical Impacts of Microplastics on Marine Organisms: A Review
Wright, S. L., Thompson, R. C., & Galloway, T. S. (2013) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2013.02.031 · Cited by 4,524 · see citing works
Predicted growth in plastic waste exceeds efforts to mitigate plastic pollution
Borrelle, S. B., Ringma, J., Law, K. L., Monnahan, C. C., Lebreton, L., McGivern, A., Murphy, E., Jambeck, J., Leonard, G. H., Hilleary, M. A., et al. (2020) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aba3656 · Cited by 3,219 · see citing works
Self-citationHartmann, N. B., Hüffer, T., Thompson, R. C., Hassellöv, M., Verschoor, A., Daugaard, A. E., Rist, S., Karlsson, T., Brennholt, N., Cole, M., et al. (2019) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b05297 · Cited by 2,881 · see citing works
Microplastics in Freshwaters and Drinking Water: Critical Review and Assessment of Data Quality
Koelmans, A. A., Mohamed Nor, N. H., Hermsen, E., Kooi, M., Mintenig, S. M., & De France, J. (2019) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2019.02.054 · Cited by 2,535 · see citing works
Atmospheric transport and deposition of microplastics in a remote mountain catchment
Allen, S., Allen, D., Phoenix, V. R., Roux, G. L., Durantez, P., Simonneau, A., Binet, S., & Galop, D. (2019) · Nature Geoscience · doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0335-5 · Cited by 2,469 · see citing works
Synthetic fibers in atmospheric fallout: A source of microplastics in the environment?
Dris, R., Gaspéri, J., Saad, M., Mirande-Bret, C., & Tassin, B. (2016) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.01.006 · Cited by 2,259 · see citing works
Lu, Y., Zhang, Y., Deng, Y., Jiang, W., Zhao, Y., Geng, J., Ding, L., & Ren, H. (2016) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b00183 · Cited by 2,125 · see citing works
Lusher, A. L., McHugh, M., & Thompson, R. C. (2013) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.11.028 · Cited by 2,075 · see citing works
Ingested plastic transfers hazardous chemicals to fish and induces hepatic stress
Rochman, C. M., Hoh, E., Kurobe, T., & Teh, S. J. (2013) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep03263 · Cited by 2,063 · see citing works
Self-citationMicroplastic pollution in the surface waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes
Eriksen, M., Mason, S., Wilson, S., Box, C., Zellers, A., Edwards, W., Farley, H., & Amato, S. (2013) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.10.007 · Cited by 1,857 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Microplastics have been found in all five Great Lakes (e.g., Eriksen et al., 2013; Mason et al., 2016, 2020; Hendrickson et al., 2018) and their tributaries (e.g., Baldwin et al., 2016; McNeish et al., 2018; Grbić et al., 2020).”
BackgroundWhite and wonderful? Microplastics prevail in snow from the Alps to the Arctic
Bergmann, M., Mützel, S., Primpke, S., Tekman, M. B., Trachsel, J. C., & Gerdts, G. (2019) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax1157 · Cited by 1,433 · see citing works
Plastic ingestion by planktivorous fishes in the North Pacific central gyre
Boerger, C. M., Lattin, G. L., Moore, S. L., & Moore, C. J. (2010) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.08.007 · Cited by 1,273 · see citing works
Rethinking microplastics as a diverse contaminant suite
Rochman, C. M., Brookson, C., Bikker, J., Djuric, N., Earn, A., Bucci, K., Athey, S., Huntington, A., McIlwraith, H., Munno, K., et al. (2019) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1002/etc.4371 · Cited by 1,258 · see citing works
Self-citationMicroplastics and mesoplastics in fish from coastal and fresh waters of China
Jabeen, K., Su, L., Li, J., Yang, D., Tong, C., Mu, J., & Shi, H. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.11.055 · Cited by 1,051 · see citing works
Sampling, isolating and identifying microplastics ingested by fish and invertebrates
Lusher, A., Welden, N. A. C., Sobral, P., & Cole, M. (2016) · Analytical Methods · doi:10.1039/c6ay02415g · Cited by 1,049 · see citing works
Microplastics profile along the Rhine River
Mani, T., Hauk, A., Walter, U., & Burkhardt-Holm, P. (2015) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep17988 · Cited by 1,010 · see citing works
Ingestion of microplastics by commercial fish off the Portuguese coast
Neves, D., Sobral, P., Ferreira, J. L., & Pereira, T. R. (2015) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.008 · Cited by 976 · see citing works
Rochman, C. M., Hoh, E., Hentschel, B. T., & Kaye, S. (2012) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es303700s · Cited by 975 · see citing works
Self-citationExotic Species in the Great Lakes: A History of Biotic Crises and Anthropogenic Introductions
Mills, E. L., Leach, J. H., Carlton, J. T., et al. (1993) · Journal of Great Lakes Research · doi:10.1016/s0380-1330(93)71197-1 · Cited by 960 · see citing works
Horton, A. A., Svendsen, C., Williams, R. J., Spurgeon, D. J., & Lahive, E. (2016) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.09.004 · Cited by 953 · see citing works
Foekema, E., Gruijter, C. D., Mergia, M. T., van Franeker, J. V., Murk, A., & Koelmans, A. (2013) · Environmental Science and Technology · doi:10.1021/es400931b · Cited by 900 · see citing works
Güven, O., Gökdağ, K., Jovanović, B., & Kideys, A. E. (2017) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2017.01.025 · Cited by 777 · see citing works
Rochman, C. M., Kurobe, T., Flores, I., & Teh, S. J. (2014) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.051 · Cited by 762 · see citing works
Self-citationMicroplastics as contaminants in the soil environment: A mini-review
Wang, J., Liu, X., Yang, L., Powell, T., Wang, X., Wang, G., & Zhang, P. (2019) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.209 · Cited by 755 · see citing works
Plastic Debris in 29 Great Lakes Tributaries: Relations to Watershed Attributes and Hydrology
Baldwin, A. K., Corsi, S. R., & Mason, S. A. (2016) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b02917 · Cited by 739 · see citing works
Sources and sinks of microplastics in Canadian Lake Ontario nearshore, tributary and beach sediments
Ballent, A., Corcoran, P. L., Madden, O., Helm, P. A., & Longstaffe, F. J. (2016) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.037 · Cited by 700 · see citing works
Self-citationBucci, K., Tulio, M., & Rochman, C. M. (2020) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1002/eap.2044 · Cited by 658 · see citing works
Occurrence of microplastics in commercial fish from a natural estuarine environment
Bessa, F., Barría, P., Neto, J. M., Frias, J. P. G. L., Otero, V., Sobral, P., & Marques, J. C. (2018) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.01.044 · Cited by 622 · see citing works
A meta-analysis of the effects of exposure to microplastics on fish and aquatic invertebrates.
Foley, C. J., Feiner, Z. S., Malinich, T. D., & Höök, T. (2018) · Science of the Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.046 · Cited by 566 · see citing works
Bioavailability and toxicity of microplastics to fish species: A review.
Wang, W.-F., Ge, J., & Yu, X. (2019) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109913 · Cited by 465 · see citing works
Hendrickson, E., Minor, E. C., & Schreiner, K. M. (2018) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b05829 · Cited by 421 · see citing works
Karami, A., Romano, N., Galloway, T. S., & Hamzah, H. B. (2016) · Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.envres.2016.07.024 · Cited by 413 · see citing works
Peters, C. A., & Bratton, S. P. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.018 · Cited by 409 · see citing works
Microplastics entering northwestern Lake Ontario are diverse and linked to urban sources
Grbić, J., Helm, P., Athey, S., & Rochman, C. M. (2020) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2020.115623 · Cited by 407 · see citing works
Self-citationMicroplastic in riverine fish is connected to species traits
McNeish, R. E., Kim, L. H., Barrett, H. A., Mason, S. A., Kelly, J. J., & Hoellein, T. J. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-29980-9 · Cited by 402 · see citing works
Microplastics ingestion by a common tropical freshwater fishing resource
Silva-Cavalcanti, J. S., Silva, J. D. B., de França, E. J., de Araújo, M. C. B., & Gusmão, F. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.11.068 · Cited by 387 · see citing works
Greven, A.-C., Merk, T., Karagöz, F., Mohr, K., Klapper, M., Jovanović, B., & Palić, D. (2016) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1002/etc.3501 · Cited by 357 · see citing works
Koelmans, A. A., Redondo‐Hasselerharm, P. E., Nor, N. H. M., & Kooi, M. (2020) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.0c02982 · Cited by 351 · see citing works
Ferreira, P., Fonte, E., Soares, M. E., Carvalho, F., & Guilhermino, L. (2016) · Aquatic Toxicology · doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2015.11.011 · Cited by 325 · see citing works
Horton, A. A., Jürgens, M. D., Lahive, E., van Bodegom, P. M., & Vijver, M. G. (2018) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2018.01.044 · Cited by 287 · see citing works
Occurrence and amount of microplastic ingested by fishes in watersheds of the Gulf of Mexico.
Phillips, M., & Bonner, T. (2015) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.08.041 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
A global database on freshwater fish species occurrence in drainage basins
Tedesco, P. A., Beauchard, O., Bigorne, R., Blanchet, S., Buisson, L., Conti, L., Cornu, J.-F., Dias, M. S., Grenouillet, G., Hugueny, B., et al. (2017) · Scientific Data · doi:10.1038/sdata.2017.141 · Cited by 268 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Freshwater ecosystems are critical for maintaining biodiversity, containing approximately 6% of all described species, including fish, in only 0.02% of global waters (Dudgeon et al., 2006; Tedesco et al., 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialMicroplastics in gut contents of coastal freshwater fish from Río de la Plata estuary
Pazos, R. S., Maiztegui, T., Colautti, D. C., Paracampo, A., & Gómez, N. (2017) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.007 · Cited by 255 · see citing works
Munier, B., & Bendell, L. I. (2018) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191759 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
Capturing microfibers – marketed technologies reduce microfiber emissions from washing machines
McIlwraith, H. K., Lin, J. H., Erdle, L. M., Mallos, N. J., Diamond, M. L., & Rochman, C. M. (2018) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.12.012 · Cited by 207 · see citing works
Self-citationMcGoran, A. R., Clark, P., & Morritt, D. (2017) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.09.078 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Improving microplastics source apportionment: a role for microplastic morphology and taxonomy?
Helm, P. A. (2017) · Analytical Methods · doi:10.1039/c7ay90016c · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Self-citationPOTENTIAL EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS OF THE GREAT PLAINS OF NORTH AMERICA
Covich, A. P., Fritz, S. C., Lamb, P., Marzolf, R., Matthews, W. J., Poiani, K. A., Prepas, E. E., Richman, M. B., & Winter, T. C. (1997) · Hydrological Processes · doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-1085(19970630)11:8 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Inventory and transport of plastic debris in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Hoffman, M. J., & Hittinger, E. (2016) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.11.061 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Pelagic plastic pollution within the surface waters of Lake Michigan, USA
Mason, S. A., Kammin, L., Eriksen, M., Aleid, G., Wilson, S., Box, C., Williamson, N., & Riley, A. (2016) · Journal of Great Lakes Research · doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2016.05.009 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Gilbreath, A., McKee, L., Shimabuku, I., Lin, D., Werbowski, L. M., Zhu, X., Grbic, J., & Rochman, C. (2019) · Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment · doi:10.1061/jswbay.0000883 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Self-citationHigh levels of pelagic plastic pollution within the surface waters of Lakes Erie and Ontario
Mason, S. A., Daily, J., Aleid, G., Ricotta, R., Smith, M., Donnelly, K., Knauff, R., Edwards, W. J., & Hoffman, M. J. (2020) · Journal of Great Lakes Research · doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2019.12.012 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Kao, Y., Adlerstein, S. A., & Rutherford, E. S. (2014) · Journal of Great Lakes Research · doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2014.01.010 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Zhang, X., Robson, M., Jobst, K. J., et al. (2020) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114733 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Kicking Pellet Emissions to the Curb
Tsui, N., Helm, P. A., Hruska, J., et al. (2020) · Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management · doi:10.1002/ieam.4294 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Self-citationImpacts of Invasive Species in the Laurentian Great Lakes
DeRoy, E. M., & MacIsaac, H. J. (2020) · The handbook of environmental chemistry · doi:10.1007/698_2020_593 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
McIlwraith, H. K., Kim, J., Helm, P., Bhavsar, S. P., Metzger, J. S., & Rochman, C. M. (2021) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c02922 · Cited by 295 · see citing works
Self-citationMicroplastics in lakes and rivers: An issue of emerging significance to limnology
D’Avignon, G., Gregory-Eaves, I., & Ricciardi, A. (2022) · Environmental Reviews · doi:10.1139/er-2021-0048 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Rochman, C. M., Grbic, J., Earn, A., Helm, P. A., Hasenmueller, E. A., Trice, M., Munno, K., De Frond, H., Djuric, N., Santoro, S., et al. (2022) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.2c00926 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Self-citationSource-specific categorization of microplastics in nearshore surface waters of the Great Lakes
Yu, J. T., Helm, P. A., & Diamond, M. L. (2024) · Journal of Great Lakes Research · doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2023.102256 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Self-citationMilne, M. H., Helm, P. A., Munno, K., Bhavsar, S. P., & Rochman, C. M. (2024) · Environmental Health Perspectives · doi:10.1289/ehp13540 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“47 As such,the exposure weobserved here may be relevant to freshwater bodies adjacent to heavily urbanized regions and for future more in-depth studies.”
InfluentialSelf-citation
- Authors
- Munno, K., Helm, P. A., Rochman, C., George, T., & Jackson, D. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Munno, Keenan
- Venue
- Conservation Biology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2021-07-05
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- e13794-e13794
- ISSN
- 0888-8892 (ISSN-L)
- 1523-1739
- OpenAlex
- W3180551516
- Cited by
- 102
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 4.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Conservation Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Keywords
- microplastics, Great Lakes, Lake Ontario, Lake Superior, Humber River, freshwater fish, gastrointestinal tract, microfibers, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, fish consumption, bony fishes, fish length, polymer types
- MeSH terms
- Microplastics, Animals, Conservation of Natural Resources, Environmental Monitoring, Plastics, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Ecosystem, Lakes
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
