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De Michelis S, Pietrelli L, Battisti C, Carosi M. First evidence of plastics in coypu (Myocastor coypus)'s platforms. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024:10.1007/s11356-024-34084-1. [PMID: 38965107 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-34084-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Platforms are structures built by coypus for various purposes, such as reproduction, resting, and thermoregulation. In a coastal wetland of central Italy, during a study aimed at investigating the characteristics of coypu's platforms, it was recorded, for the first time worldwide, the presence of plastic in these structures. Through a transect survey, we censused 83 platforms, among which three (3.61%) were found with presence of macro- and megaplastics (polystyrene, polypropylene, and low-density polyethylene in film form; polyester, polyamide, and expanded polystyrene in fragments). Through the FTIR spectra, it was possible to highlight the degradation of the polymeric materials. To stimulate possible in-depth investigations at the level of the food chain (e.g., coypu predators, including canids) in wet habitats, we discussed possible causes and implications of plastic presence in coypus' nest structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia De Michelis
- Department of Sciences, Roma Tre University, Viale Guglielmo Marconi 446, 00146, Rome, Italy
| | - Loris Pietrelli
- Legambiente, Scientific Committee, Via Salaria 403, 00199, Rome, Italy.
| | - Corrado Battisti
- Protected Areas Service, "Torre Flavia" LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) Station, Città Metropolitana Di Roma, Via G. Ribotta 41, 00144, Rome, Italy
| | - Monica Carosi
- Department of Sciences, Roma Tre University, Viale Guglielmo Marconi 446, 00146, Rome, Italy
- National Biodiversity Future Center, Università Di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Özşeker K, Coşkun T, Erüz C. Exploring seasonal, spatial and pathways of marine litter pollution along the Southeastern Black Sea Cost of Türkiye. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 202:116348. [PMID: 38636341 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Spatial and temporal variations in marine litter density and composition along the Southeastern Black Sea Coast were investigated. A total of 156,371 litter items weighing 327,258.3 kg were collected. The highest frequency of litter material by number was 15,869 ± 103.88 items/m2 16 and 74.466 ± 7.23 by weight. The highest litter concentrations (77,768 items; 81,737.1 kg) were observed in autumn, mainly comprising single-use items, with plastic being the most abundant (54.05 %), followed by metal (15.69 %), and paper (10.45 %). The subcategories of plastic litter items bags, caps/lids, cigarette lighters, cosmetic packages, gloves, and plastics pieces were found to be the most abundant litter in number. According to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests (p < 0.005), significant differences in marine litter were identified among the stations and seasons. These findings offer insights for modeling studies, advocating restrictions on single-use products, and enacting legal regulations for local governance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koray Özşeker
- Karadeniz Technical University, Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology, Trabzon, Turkiye.
| | - Tolga Coşkun
- Middle East Technical University, Biological Sciences, Limnology Laboratory, Ankara, Turkiye
| | - Coşkun Erüz
- Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Trabzon, Turkiye
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Battisti C, Cesarini G, Gallitelli L, Moretti F, Scalici M. Anthropogenic litter in a Mediterranean coastal wetland: A heterogeneous spatial pattern of historical deposition. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 201:116163. [PMID: 38401392 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corrado Battisti
- 'Torre Flavia' LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) Station, Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Italy
| | - Giulia Cesarini
- National Research Council - Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Corso Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania, Italy
| | - Luca Gallitelli
- University of Roma Tre, Department of Sciences, Viale Guglielmo Marconi, 446 00146 Rome, Italy.
| | - Filippo Moretti
- ENEA Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Agrifood Sustainability, Quality and Safety Laboratory BIOAG-PROBIO, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Santa Maria di Galeria (RM), Italy
| | - Massimiliano Scalici
- University of Roma Tre, Department of Sciences, Viale Guglielmo Marconi, 446 00146 Rome, Italy; National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Università di Palermo, Piazza Marina 61, 90133 Palermo, Italy
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Kerpen NB, Larsen BE, Schlurmann T, Paul M, Guler HG, Goral KD, Carstensen S, Christensen ED, Fuhrman DR. Microplastic retention in marine vegetation canopies under breaking irregular waves. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169280. [PMID: 38128667 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
The present study provides indications and underlying drivers of wave-induced transport and retention potential of microplastic particles (MP) in marine vegetation canopies having different densities. The anthropogenic occurrence of MP in coastal waters is well documented in the recent literature. It is acknowledged that coastal vegetation can serve as a sink for MP due to its energy dissipating features, which can mimic a novel ecosystem service. While the transport behavior of MP in vegetation has previously been investigated to some extent for stationary flow conditions, fundamental investigations for unsteady surf zone flow conditions under irregular waves are still lacking. Herein, we demonstrate by means of hydraulic model tests that a vegetation's retention potential of MP in waves increases with the vegetation shoot density, the MP settling velocity and decreasing wave energy. It is found that particles migrating by traction (predominantly in contact with the bed) are trapped in the wake regions around a canopy, whereas suspended particles are able to pass vegetated areas more easily. Very dense canopies can also promote the passage of MP with diameters larger than the plant spacing, as the canopies then show characteristics of a solid sill and avoid particle penetration. The particle migration ability through a marine vegetation canopy is quantified, and the key drivers are described by an empirical expression based on the particle settling velocity, the canopy length and density. The findings of this study may contribute to improved prediction and assessment of MP accumulation hotspots in vegetated coastal areas and, thus, may help in tracing MP sinks. Such knowledge can be considered a prerequisite to develope methods or new technologies to recover plastic pollutants and rehabilitate valuable coastal environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils B Kerpen
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Ludwig-Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic, Estuarine and Coastal Engineering, Nienburger Str. 4, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Bjarke Eltard Larsen
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Torsten Schlurmann
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Ludwig-Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic, Estuarine and Coastal Engineering, Nienburger Str. 4, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Maike Paul
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Ludwig-Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic, Estuarine and Coastal Engineering, Nienburger Str. 4, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Hasan Gokhan Guler
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark; Middle East Technical University, Department of Civil Engineering, Ocean Engineering Research Center, Cankaya, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Koray Deniz Goral
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Stefan Carstensen
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Erik Damgaard Christensen
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - David R Fuhrman
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
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Taurozzi D, Cesarini G, Scalici M. Diatom and macroinvertebrate communities dynamic: A co-occurrence pattern analysis on plastic substrates. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169071. [PMID: 38049005 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Wetlands are habitats that provide numerous ecosystem services, but are often understudied and threatened by anthropogenic pollution, particularly plastic pollution. Macroplastics are a significant component of plastic litter that have high biological impacts but are often understudied. Previous studies have highlighted negative impacts on biota, but there is a lack of information about the communities of micro and macro organisms that settle on macroplastic litter. In this context, we investigated the colonization patterns and community structures of diatoms and macroinvertebrates on virgin substrates composed of two different plastic polymers, polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate, located at two different depths in a protected wetland in Central Italy over a period of 10 months. The results show that diatom community is not highly structured by competitive forces and aggregation patterns emerges. In contrast, macroinvertebrate community appears to be randomly structured, without the presence of patterns following specific assembly rules. Randomness in macroinvertebrates assemblages could highlight the presence of different niches available for settlement of different taxa. Combined matrix analyses show that diatoms and macroinvertebrates co-occur, and their community assemblages are sometimes structured, while they appeared to be randomly assembled at other times. Whenever non-randomness of diatoms and macroinvertebrates co-occurrences was detected, it suggested aggregation. Moreover, the possible predatory relationship between different macroinvertebrates taxa should be investigated, as it could reveal important scenarios in the establishment of macroinvertebrate structured communities on plastic litter, including taxa that exploit different ecological niches. This could lead to an enrichment of the biological community within areas impacted by plastics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Taurozzi
- Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Cesarini
- Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy; National Research Council - Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Corso Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania, Italy.
| | - Massimiliano Scalici
- Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy; National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Università di Palermo, Piazza Marina 61, 90133 Palermo, Italy
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Gallitelli L, D'Agostino M, Battisti C, Cózar A, Scalici M. Dune plants as a sink for beach litter: The species-specific role and edge effect on litter entrapment by plants. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 904:166756. [PMID: 37659519 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic litter accumulates along coasts worldwide. In addition to the flowing litter load, wind, sea currents, geomorphology and vegetation determine the distribution of litter trapped on the sandy coasts. Although some studies highlighted the role of dune plants in trapping marine litter, little is known about their efficiency as sinks and about the small-scale spatial distribution of litter across the dune area. Here, we explore these gaps by analysing six plant species widespread in Mediterranean coastal habitats, namely Echinophora spinosa, Limbarda crithmoides, Anthemis maritima, Pancratium maritimum, Thinopyrum junceum, and Salsola kali. The present study analyses for the first time the capture of litter by dune vegetation at a multi-species level, considering their morphological structure. Data on plastic accumulation on dune plants were compared with unvegetated control plots located at embryo-dune and foredune belts. We found that dunal plants mainly entrapped macrolitter (> 0.5 cm). Particularly, E. spinosa, L. crithmoides, A. maritima and P. maritimum mostly accumulated litter in the embryo dune while T. junceum and S. kali entrapped more in the foredune area. Moreover, beach litter was mainly blocked at the edge of the plant patches rather than in the core, highlighting the 'Plant-edge litter effect'. As A. maritima and S. kali entrapped respectively more litter in embryo and foredune habitats, these species could be used to monitor and recollect litter. In this light, our findings provide further insight into the role of dune plants in the beach litter dynamics, suppling useful information for beach clean-up actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Gallitelli
- Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy.
| | - Martina D'Agostino
- Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy
| | - Corrado Battisti
- "Torre Flavia" LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) Station, Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Servizio Aree Protette, Via G. Ribotta, 41, 00144 Roma, Italy
| | - Andrés Cózar
- Department of Biology, Institute of Marine Research (INMAR), University of Cádiz, European University of the Seas, Puerto Real, Spain
| | - Massimiliano Scalici
- Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy
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