Abstract Plastic pollution represents a threat to marine ecosystems and has therefore been gaining space in the realm of public interest. In this study, we investigated the ingestion of food and non-food items (i.e., plastic particles) by fish and crabs. These animals are commonly collected by trawling with a double-ring net along the coast of Cananéia, state of São Paulo, Brazil; some of them are consumed as food by the local population. Fish and crab stomachs were removed and dissected, and their contents were examined under a stereoscopic microscope with an image-capturing system. The presence or absence of plastic was also registered. We examined 139 specimens of 16 fish species and 143 specimens of four crab species. The most frequent food items found in fish were unidentified food, followed by crustaceans, molluscs, polychaetes, and other fish; in crabs, the items were unidentified food, followed by crustaceans, molluscs and fish. Plastic particles were found in all fish species, representing 47.5% of the individuals analysed. In crabs, the incidence of plastic was lower, occurring in only two species (5% in Callinectes danae and 3% in C. ornatus). Only four fish species analysed had previous records of plastic ingestion in the scientific literature. The high incidence of microplastics in our study is worrying because they negatively affect the animals’ lives and can be transferred through the tropic web to top predators, including humans, through the ingestion of contaminated animals.

Resumo: Este estudo avaliou as relações dos fatores ambientais e a distribuição espaço-temporal de H. pudibundus, com a hipótese de ocupação diferencial em uma região do litoral sudeste do Brasil. As amostragens ocorreram mensalmente no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2000, ao longo de nove transectos de 2 a 40 m de profundidade, na região de Ubatuba, litoral norte de São Paulo. Foram coletados 1808 indivíduos de H. pudibundus. A maior abundância foi registrada no inverno nos transectos 10 a 25 m de profundidade. A abundância foi positivamente correlacionada com o teor de matéria orgânica e a textura do sedimento (valores de phi). Durante o outono e inverno com a retração da ACAS ocorre o revolvimento do sedimento e a supensão da macrofauna detritívora e filtradora, aumentando a disponibilidade de alimento. Locais caracterizados por sedimentos mais finos oferecem maior disponibilidade de alimentos, além de facilitar o comportamento de H. pudibundus se enterrar. Devido ao comportamento predatório oportunista, esta espécie se alimenta de uma grande variedade de organismos, incluindo moluscos, anelídeos e foraminíferos, que são as presas mais abundantes nas áreas estudadas, principalmente em locais com grãos menores.

Abstract: This study evaluated the relationships between environmental factors and the spatio-temporal distribution of H. pudibundus, with the hypothesis of differential occupation in coastal areas of southeastern Brazil. The samplings took place monthly in January-December 2000 period, along nine transects from 2 to 40 m of depth, in Ubatuba region, northern coast of São Paulo. We collected 1808 individuals of H. pudibundus. The highest abundance was recorded in winter in the transects 10-25 m deep. Abundance was positively correlated with organic matter content and texture sediment (phi values). With the retreat of the South Atlantic Central Water (SACW) in autumn and winter, the sediment swirls, suspending the detritivore and filter-feeding macrofauna, increasing the food availability. Sites characterized by finer sediment offer higher food availability, besides facilitating H. pudibundus burying behavior. Due to its opportunistic predatory behavior, this species feeds on a variety of organisms, including mollusks, annelids and foraminifera, which are preys more abundant in the studied area and in sediments of finer grain size.