Composition, sources, abundance and seasonality of Marine Litter in the Çakalburnu lagoon coast of Aegean Sea

Marine macrolitter and cigarette butts hazard multiple-use marine protected area and fishing community at Brazil

Wide marine litter (ML) contamination impacts human health and economic sectors including fishing, navigation, and tourism. Perequê beach, Brazil, is an authentic fishing community within a touristic multiple-use marine protected area. However, no ML contamination monitoring were so far performed in the region. This study evaluated the spatiotemporal abundance, composition, sources, and associated ML hazards at Perequê beach using a multi-index approach. The 2579 items (0.64 ± 0.72 items.m-2) yielded a high contamination level (CCI = 12.6 ± 14.4) with plastic (44.6-50.9 %) and cigarette butts (20.6-28.4 %) prevalence, while primary sources were smoking (cigarette butts, lighters, others-21.2-30.1 %) and packaging (17.8-22.8 %). Levels of pollutants leaked from cigarette butts (CBPI = 30.5 ± 47.5) and hazardous items (HALI = 3.06 ± 2.64) were among the highest globally. Heightened levels occurred in summer, at dry sand strip, where short-term buoyant items prevailed. Multi-indexing approaches offer valuable insights for local authorities to implement mitigation programs, while contributing to global discussions, promoting awareness, and facilitating replicability.

Anthropogenic litter in a Mediterranean coastal wetland: A heterogeneous spatial pattern of historical deposition

Coastal wetlands represent areas that can testify historical accumulation of litter. We analyzed the anthropogenic litter deposited on the channel bottom of a coastal wetland area that experienced water stress due to extreme summer dryness after about 20 years. We hypothesize that the litter accumulated in the different areas over the years reflects the different social user categories (i.e., fishermen, beach users, hunters) and exposure to meteo-marine events. Our findings highlight that historically accumulated litter is composed of plastics (78.8 %), clothes (8.9 %), and glass (4.9 %). Moreover, litter concentration averages 53.6 items/ha in the 8 sectors. The most found categories were common household items (25.4 %), diverse (professional and consumer) items (24.2 %), and food and beverages packaging (21.4 %). Finally, litter diversity indices and the Detrended Correspondence Analysis showed sector and litter type similarities. We reported for the first time the presence of litter accumulated for 20 years testifying non-more occurring recreational activities.

High levels of anthropogenic litter trapped in a mangrove area under the influence of different uses

The contamination of mangroves by anthropogenic litter has increased in recent decades. Notably, Brazil occupies a prominent status within Latin America, boasting the second-largest mangrove areas globally. In Santos-São Vicente Estuarine System (SESS), mangroves coexist with a preeminent port complex and substantial urbanization rates. Nevertheless, the anthropogenic litter occurrence and distribution in this ecosystem remains unknown. This study aimed to comprehensively assess anthropogenic litter across 13 strategically positioned sites in the SESS. The total litter density (Mean ± SD) was 22.84 ± 36.47 (0.00-142.00) items·m-2, putting the SESS among the top four most contaminated mangrove ecosystems worldwide. Residential zones accumulated more litter than uninhabited areas and significant correlation was seen with human modification index. Plastic was the prevalent material (70.4 %), measuring mostly between 2.5 and 30 cm (41.1 %). It is imperative that local authorities adopt comprehensive strategies to mitigate contamination, while also curtailing the litter inputs to the SSES mangrove ecosystem.

Difference between invasive alien and native vegetation in trapping beach litter: A focus on a typical sandy beach of W-Mediterranean Basin

Beach litter is one of the most pervasive pollution issues in coastal environments worldwide. In this study, we aim to assess the amount and distribution of beach litter on Porto Paglia beach, its entrapment across psammophilous habitats, and whether the invasive Carpobrotus acinaciformis (L.) L.Bolus plays a different role in trapping litter than native vegetation. To this end, two seasonal samplings (in spring and autumn) were conducted using a paired sampling method that considers plots in all coastal habitats with and without C. acinaciformis. Our results confirm that the main beach litter category is plastic, and that its distribution varies across habitats: the white dune seems to play a greater role in trapping and filtering beach litter, reducing its amount in the backdune. A correlation was found between the Naturalness index (N) and the beach litter amount, supporting the finding that invaded habitats trap beach litter better than native ones.

Rajids ovipositing on marine litter: A potential threat to their survival

Marine litter is a complex environmental issue threatening the well-being of multiple organisms. In the present study, we present an overlooked pathway by which marine litter interaction with certain ovigerous skates (Family: Rajidae) communities could compromise their survival. We propose that skates from the genus Sympterygia deposit their egg capsules on marine litter substrates by accident, which are then washed ashore still unhatched. We conducted 10 monitoring surveys on three beaches of La Libertad Region, on the north coast of Peru, looking for marine litter conglomerates to determine the presence of egg capsules. We registered a total of 75 marine litter conglomerates, containing 1595 egg capsules, out of which only 15.9 % were presumably hatched, and 15.8 % were still fresh. Fishing materials were identified as the main item in marine litter conglomerates. We conclude that this behavior could contribute to the decline of Sympterygia communities, although further research is needed.