Supporting information for the publication: An Evaluation of Microplastics in Gastric Samples from Free-Ranging Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Microplastic contamination is ubiquitious throughout the marine and terrestrial environments; however, exposure is not well understood in bottlenose dolphins. The objective of this descriptive study was to screen for evidence of microplastic ingestion and evaluate the characteristics of ingested microplastics (e.g., shape, color, quantity). Ultimately, these findings will contribute to a larger effort to understand potential sources of phthalate exposure among Sarasota Bay dolphins. This dataset contains characteristics of observed microplastic particles, including particle type, size, color, and counts in gastric fluid samples from the dolphins. Gastric fluid samples were obtained from free-ranging dolphins during opportunistic, capture-release health assessments. Particles were characterized visually using a dissection microscope (Leica EZ4, magnification 8-35x).

微塑料污染（microplastic contamination）在海洋与陆地环境中无处不在；然而，学界对宽吻海豚（bottlenose dolphin）的微塑料暴露情况仍缺乏充分认知。本描述性研究旨在筛查海豚摄入微塑料的相关证据，并评估被摄入微塑料的特征（如形状、颜色、数量）。最终，本研究结果将为进一步阐明萨拉索塔湾（Sarasota Bay）海豚邻苯二甲酸酯（phthalate）暴露的潜在来源提供支撑。本数据集收录了观测到的微塑料颗粒的相关特征，包括颗粒类型、尺寸、颜色，以及海豚胃液样本中的微塑料计数情况。胃液样本采集自接受偶遇性捕获-放生健康评估的野生自由活动海豚。研究人员借助解剖显微镜（dissection microscope，Leica EZ4，放大倍率8-35倍）对颗粒进行了目视特征鉴定。