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Perold V, Connan M, Suaria G, Weideman EA, Dilley BJ, Ryan PG. Regurgitated skua pellets containing the remains of South Atlantic seabirds can be used as biomonitors of small buoyant plastics at sea. Mar Pollut Bull 2024; 203:116400. [PMID: 38692002 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Using seabirds as bioindicators of marine plastic pollution requires an understanding of how the plastic retained in each species compares with that found in their environment. We show that brown skua Catharacta antarctica regurgitated pellets can be used to characterise plastics in four seabird taxa breeding in the central South Atlantic, even though skua pellets might underrepresent the smallest plastic items in their prey. Fregetta storm petrels ingested more thread-like plastics and white-faced storm petrels Pelagodroma marina more industrial pellets than broad-billed prions Pachyptila vittata and great shearwaters Ardenna gravis. Ingested plastic composition (type, colour and polymer) was similar to floating plastics in the region sampled with a 200 μm net, but storm petrels were better indicators of the size of plastics than prions and shearwaters. Given this information, plastics in skua pellets containing the remains of seabirds can be used to track long-term changes in floating marine plastics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vonica Perold
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa.
| | - Maëlle Connan
- Department of Zoology, Marine Apex Predator Research Unit (MAPRU), Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa
| | - Giuseppe Suaria
- CNR-ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences - National Research Council), Lerici 19032, La Spezia, Italy
| | - Eleanor A Weideman
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Ben J Dilley
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Peter G Ryan
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
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Rynek R, Tekman MB, Rummel C, Bergmann M, Wagner S, Jahnke A, Reemtsma T. Hotspots of Floating Plastic Particles across the North Pacific Ocean. Environ Sci Technol 2024; 58:4302-4313. [PMID: 38394333 PMCID: PMC10919090 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c05039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
The pollution of the marine environment with plastic debris is expected to increase, where ocean currents and winds cause their accumulation in convergence zones like the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG). Surface-floating plastic (>330 μm) was collected in the North Pacific Ocean between Vancouver (Canada) and Singapore using a neuston catamaran and identified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Baseline concentrations of 41,600-102,700 items km-2 were found, dominated by polyethylene and polypropylene. Higher concentrations (factors 4-10) of plastic items occurred not only in the NPSG (452,800 items km-2) but also in a second area, the Papaha̅naumokua̅kea Marine National Monument (PMNM, 285,200 items km-2). This second maximum was neither reported previously nor predicted by the applied ocean current model. Visual observations of floating debris (>5 cm; 8-2565 items km-2 and 34-4941 items km-2 including smaller "white bits") yielded similar patterns of baseline pollution (34-3265 items km-2) and elevated concentrations of plastic debris in the NPSG (67-4941 items km-2) and the PMNM (295-3748 items km-2). These findings suggest that ocean currents are not the only factor provoking plastic debris accumulation in the ocean. Visual observations may be useful to increase our knowledge of large-scale (micro)plastic pollution in the global oceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robby Rynek
- Department
of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre
for Environmental Research − UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mine B. Tekman
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut,
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
- Department
of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Ozyegin University, 34794 Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Christoph Rummel
- Department
of Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology, Helmholtz-Centre
for Environmental Research − UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Melanie Bergmann
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut,
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Stephan Wagner
- Department
of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre
for Environmental Research − UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Annika Jahnke
- Department
of Exposure Science, Helmholtz-Centre for
Environmental Research − UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute
for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen
University, 52047 Aachen, Germany
| | - Thorsten Reemtsma
- Department
of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre
for Environmental Research − UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute
of Analytical Chemistry, University of Leipzig, Linnéstrasse 3, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Bekova R, Prodanov B. Assessment of beach macrolitter using unmanned aerial systems: A study along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Mar Pollut Bull 2023; 196:115625. [PMID: 37813062 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
Over the years, the Black Sea has been impacted by the issue of marine litter, which poses ecological and health threats. A mid-term monitoring program initiated in 2018 assessed the abundance, density, and composition of beach litter (BL) on 40 frequently visited beaches. From 2018 to 2022, there was a significant increase in average abundance, rising by 261 %. Artificial polymer materials accounted for the majority (84 %) of the litter. Land-based sources dominated 77 % of the litter. The Clean Coast Index (CCI) categorized the beaches as "moderate" with an average value of 8.9 for the period between 2018 and 2022. However, the years 2021 and 2022, during the COVID-19 epidemic, were identified as the "dirtiest period" with 11 beaches classified as "extremely dirty" due to high domestic tourist pressure. The study demonstrates a successful combination of standard in situ visual assessment supported by unmanned aerial systems for beach litter surveys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radoslava Bekova
- Institute of Oceanology - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria.
| | - Bogdan Prodanov
- Institute of Oceanology - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
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Viejo J, Cózar A, Quintana R, Martí E, Markelain G, Cabrera-Castro R, Arroyo GM, Montero E, Morales-Caselles C. Artisanal trawl fisheries as a sentinel of marine litter pollution. Mar Pollut Bull 2023; 191:114882. [PMID: 37054479 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Systematic seafloor surveys are a highly desirable method of marine litter monitoring, but the high costs involved in seafloor sampling are not a trivial handicap. In the present work, we explore the opportunity provided by the artisanal trawling fisheries to obtain systematic data on marine litter in the Gulf of Cadiz between 2019 and 2021. We find that plastic was the most frequent material, with a prevalence of single-use and fishing-related items. Litter densities decreased with increasing distance to shore with a seasonal migration of the main litter hotspots. During pre-lockdown and post-lockdown stages derived from COVID-19, marine litter density decreased by 65 %, likely related to the decline in tourism and outdoor recreational activities. A continuous collaboration of 33 % of the local fleet would imply a removal of hundreds of thousands of items each year. The artisanal trawl fishing sector can play a unique role of monitoring marine litter on the seabed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josué Viejo
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain
| | - Andrés Cózar
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Marina (INMAR), Spain
| | - Rocío Quintana
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Marina (INMAR), Spain
| | - Elisa Martí
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Marina (INMAR), Spain
| | - Gorka Markelain
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain
| | - Remedios Cabrera-Castro
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain
| | - Gonzalo M Arroyo
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain
| | | | - Carmen Morales-Caselles
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Marina (INMAR), Spain.
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Sedakov R, Osadchiev A, Barnier B, Molines JM, Colombo P. Large chocked lagoon as a barrier for river-sea flux of dissolved pollutants: Case study of the Azov Sea and the Black Sea. Mar Pollut Bull 2023; 187:114496. [PMID: 36586199 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The Don River is among the largest rivers in the Eastern Europe and is heavily polluted. This river inflows into small and semi-isolated Sea of Azov, which is connected with the Black Sea by a narrow strait. Generally, the Sea of Azov is a large choked lagoon, which serves as a barrier for river-borne constituents. Using numerical modeling, we reveal that presence of the choked lagoon significantly slows down the estuary-seawater flux of dissolved pollutants and slackens its discharge-induced seasonal variability. In particular, the Sea of Azov delays the 5 % and 95 % of the total flux of riverine pollution to the Black Sea by 9 and 36 months, respectively. The obtained results are important for assessment the influence of background and emergency pollution accidents at the Don River on water quality in the study region. Moreover, these results could be applied to many other chocked lagoons in the World Ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Sedakov
- Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nakhimovskiy prospekt 36, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
| | - Alexander Osadchiev
- Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nakhimovskiy prospekt 36, 117997 Moscow, Russia; Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Instituskiy Lane 9, 141701 Dolgoprudny, Russia.
| | - Bernard Barnier
- Institute des Géosciences del'Environment, UGA/CNRS/IRD, Cedex 9, 38 058 Grenoble, France
| | - Jean-Marc Molines
- Institute des Géosciences del'Environment, UGA/CNRS/IRD, Cedex 9, 38 058 Grenoble, France.
| | - Pedro Colombo
- Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Sydney, Australia
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Liu M, Lin M, Huang X, Yang Z, Caruso F, Baini M, Bocconcelli A, Rosso M, Li S. Floating macro-litter pollution in the northern South China Sea. Environ Pollut 2023; 316:120527. [PMID: 36334777 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Marine litter pollution, particularly plastics pollution, is an increasing global concern. While various studies have contributed useful information on this topic, there has been a scarcity of data on floating marine macro-litter (FMML) in poorly monitored areas such as the South China Sea (SCS). This paper describes a large-scale FMML assessment research in the northern SCS. Our data indicated the ubiquitous presence, abundant quantity, spatiotemporal variability, complex composition, and potential sources of FMML in the investigated region during boreal spring-summer periods over multiple years. According to observer-based records, the average FMML density was estimated to be 131.0 ± 91.8 items/km2 (mean ± SD), with anthropogenic FMML density of 118.7 ± 86.2 items/km2. Anthropogenic and natural items accounted for 90.6% and 5.5% of the total, respectively. Plastics (72.0%) and styrofoam (9.3%) dominated the recorded items. The great majority of items (92.1%) were characterized by small size of ≤20 cm. Labels of plastic bottle/packaging litter indicated that identifiable sources included surrounding countries of the SCS. Fishing activities were recognized as key sources of FMML, with 15.3% of FMML items likely being fishing-related. Globally, known estimates of FMML densities could vary from 0.002 to 578 items/km2, with plastics accounting for 34.8-99.0%. Therefore, marine pollution from anthropogenic FMML in our investigated area ranked at a medium-to-high level around the globe. To conclude, this study demonstrated that the SCS is one of the world's hotspot areas with FMML pollution and sheds light on marine litter pollution, especially plastics pollution, in this intensively human-exploited but poorly monitored region. In future research, FMML pollution in other sections of SCS and possible negative impacts of FMML on marine ecosystems and megafauna should be further examined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingming Liu
- Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, 572000, China
| | - Mingli Lin
- Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, 572000, China
| | - Xiaoyu Huang
- Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, 572000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Zixin Yang
- Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, 572000, China
| | - Francesco Caruso
- Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, 572000, China; Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Department of Marine Animal Conservation and Public Engagement, Naples, 80121, Italy
| | - Matteo Baini
- Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Via Mattioli 4, Siena, 53100, Italy
| | - Alessandro Bocconcelli
- Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, 572000, China; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - Massimiliano Rosso
- Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, 572000, China; CIMA Research Foundation, Savona, 17100, Italy
| | - Songhai Li
- Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, 572000, China; Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China.
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