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Nava V, Chandra S, Aherne J, Alfonso MB, Antão-Geraldes AM, Attermeyer K, Bao R, Bartrons M, Berger SA, Biernaczyk M, Bissen R, Brookes JD, Brown D, Cañedo-Argüelles M, Canle M, Capelli C, Carballeira R, Cereijo JL, Chawchai S, Christensen ST, Christoffersen KS, de Eyto E, Delgado J, Dornan TN, Doubek JP, Dusaucy J, Erina O, Ersoy Z, Feuchtmayr H, Frezzotti ML, Galafassi S, Gateuille D, Gonçalves V, Grossart HP, Hamilton DP, Harris TD, Kangur K, Kankılıç GB, Kessler R, Kiel C, Krynak EM, Leiva-Presa À, Lepori F, Matias MG, Matsuzaki SIS, McElarney Y, Messyasz B, Mitchell M, Mlambo MC, Motitsoe SN, Nandini S, Orlandi V, Owens C, Özkundakci D, Pinnow S, Pociecha A, Raposeiro PM, Rõõm EI, Rotta F, Salmaso N, Sarma SSS, Sartirana D, Scordo F, Sibomana C, Siewert D, Stepanowska K, Tavşanoğlu ÜN, Tereshina M, Thompson J, Tolotti M, Valois A, Verburg P, Welsh B, Wesolek B, Weyhenmeyer GA, Wu N, Zawisza E, Zink L, Leoni B. Plastic debris in lakes and reservoirs. Nature 2023; 619:317-322. [PMID: 37438590 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06168-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 57.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Plastic debris is thought to be widespread in freshwater ecosystems globally1. However, a lack of comprehensive and comparable data makes rigorous assessment of its distribution challenging2,3. Here we present a standardized cross-national survey that assesses the abundance and type of plastic debris (>250 μm) in freshwater ecosystems. We sample surface waters of 38 lakes and reservoirs, distributed across gradients of geographical position and limnological attributes, with the aim to identify factors associated with an increased observation of plastics. We find plastic debris in all studied lakes and reservoirs, suggesting that these ecosystems play a key role in the plastic-pollution cycle. Our results indicate that two types of lakes are particularly vulnerable to plastic contamination: lakes and reservoirs in densely populated and urbanized areas and large lakes and reservoirs with elevated deposition areas, long water-retention times and high levels of anthropogenic influence. Plastic concentrations vary widely among lakes; in the most polluted, concentrations reach or even exceed those reported in the subtropical oceanic gyres, marine areas collecting large amounts of debris4. Our findings highlight the importance of including lakes and reservoirs when addressing plastic pollution, in the context of pollution management and for the continued provision of lake ecosystem services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Nava
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
| | - Sudeep Chandra
- Global Water Center, Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Julian Aherne
- School of the Environment, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
| | - María B Alfonso
- Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Ana M Antão-Geraldes
- Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
- Laboratório Associado para a Sustentabilidade e Tecnologia em Regiões de Montanha (SusTEC), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
| | - Katrin Attermeyer
- WasserCluster Lunz - Biologische Station, Lunz am See, Austria
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Roberto Bao
- Centro Interdisciplinar de Química e Bioloxía (CICA), GRICA Group, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Mireia Bartrons
- Aquatic Ecology Group, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Spain
| | - Stella A Berger
- Department of Plankton and Microbial Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Stechlin, Germany
| | - Marcin Biernaczyk
- Faculty of Food Sciences and Fisheries, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Poland
| | - Raphael Bissen
- Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Justin D Brookes
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, Australia
| | - David Brown
- Department of Environmental Data, Horizons Regional Council, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), FEHM-Lab, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Moisés Canle
- Cátedra EMALCSA-UDC, React! Group, Faculty of Sciences & CICA, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Camilla Capelli
- Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Mendrisio, Switzerland
| | - Rafael Carballeira
- Centro Interdisciplinar de Química e Bioloxía (CICA), GRICA Group, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - José Luis Cereijo
- Water and Environmental Engineering Group, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | - Jorge Delgado
- Water and Environmental Engineering Group, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Tyler N Dornan
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Jonathan P Doubek
- School of Natural Resources & Environment, Lake Superior State University, Sault Sainte Marie, MI, USA
- Center for Freshwater Research and Education, Lake Superior State University, Sault Sainte Marie, MI, USA
| | - Julia Dusaucy
- Savoie Mont Blanc University, CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, EDYTEM, Chambéry, France
| | - Oxana Erina
- Department of Hydrology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Faculty of Biotechnology and Fisheries, Moscow State University of Technologies and Management (FCU), Moscow, Russia
| | - Zeynep Ersoy
- FEHM-Lab (Freshwater Ecology, Hydrology and Management), Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
- Rui Nabeiro Biodiversity Chair, Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED), Universidade de Évora, Évora, Portugal
| | - Heidrun Feuchtmayr
- Lake Ecosystems Group, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Luce Frezzotti
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Silvia Galafassi
- Water Research Institute, National Research Council, Verbania, Italy
| | - David Gateuille
- Savoie Mont Blanc University, CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, EDYTEM, Chambéry, France
| | - Vitor Gonçalves
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning; UNESCO Chair - Land Within Sea: Biodiversity & Sustainability in Atlantic Islands, Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Açores, Portugal
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Potsdam University, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Hans-Peter Grossart
- Department of Plankton and Microbial Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Stechlin, Germany
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Potsdam University, Potsdam, Germany
| | - David P Hamilton
- Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ted D Harris
- Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Külli Kangur
- Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | | | - Rebecca Kessler
- Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Christine Kiel
- Department of Plankton and Microbial Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Stechlin, Germany
| | - Edward M Krynak
- Global Water Center, Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Àngels Leiva-Presa
- Aquatic Ecology Group, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Spain
| | - Fabio Lepori
- Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Mendrisio, Switzerland
| | - Miguel G Matias
- Rui Nabeiro Biodiversity Chair, Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED), Universidade de Évora, Évora, Portugal
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Yvonne McElarney
- Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast, Northern Ireland
| | - Beata Messyasz
- Department of Hydrobiology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Mark Mitchell
- Department of Science and Innovation, Horizons Regional Council, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Musa C Mlambo
- Department of Freshwater Invertebrates, Albany Museum, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Samuel N Motitsoe
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Sarma Nandini
- FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tlalnepantla, Mexico
| | - Valentina Orlandi
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Caroline Owens
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Deniz Özkundakci
- Environmental Research Institute - Te Pūtahi Rangahau Taiao, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Solvig Pinnow
- Department of Plankton and Microbial Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Stechlin, Germany
| | - Agnieszka Pociecha
- Department of Freshwater Biology, Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Pedro Miguel Raposeiro
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning; UNESCO Chair - Land Within Sea: Biodiversity & Sustainability in Atlantic Islands, Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Açores, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
| | - Eva-Ingrid Rõõm
- Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Federica Rotta
- Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Mendrisio, Switzerland
| | - Nico Salmaso
- Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - S S S Sarma
- FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tlalnepantla, Mexico
| | - Davide Sartirana
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Facundo Scordo
- Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS)-CONICET, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
- Departamento de Geografía y Turismo, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - Claver Sibomana
- Center of Research in Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Burundi, Bujumbura, Burundi
| | | | - Katarzyna Stepanowska
- Faculty of Food Sciences and Fisheries, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Poland
| | | | - Maria Tereshina
- Department of Hydrology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - James Thompson
- Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast, Northern Ireland
- School of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland
| | - Monica Tolotti
- Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Amanda Valois
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Freshwater Ecology, Hamilton and Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Piet Verburg
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Freshwater Ecology, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Brittany Welsh
- School of the Environment, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
| | - Brian Wesolek
- Biological Services Department, Bay Mills Indian Community, Brimley, MI, USA
| | - Gesa A Weyhenmeyer
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Limnology Group, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Naicheng Wu
- Department of Geography and Spatial Information Techniques, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Edyta Zawisza
- Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Lauren Zink
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Barbara Leoni
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Seelen LMS, Teurlincx S, Bruinsma J, Huijsmans TMF, van Donk E, Lürling M, de Senerpont Domis LN. The value of novel ecosystems: Disclosing the ecological quality of quarry lakes. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 769:144294. [PMID: 33486172 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Intense sand and gravel mining has created numerous man-made lakes around the world in the past century. These small quarry lakes (1-50 ha) are usually hydrologically isolated, often deep (6-40 m) and stratify during summer and in cold winters. Due to their small size, these deep man-made lakes are usually not included in the regular monitoring campaigns, e.g. as required for the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Therefore, not much is known about the ecological functioning of these novel ecosystems. During two summers, we determined the macrophyte diversity and measured a range of physico-chemical and biological parameters in 51 quarry lakes in the catchment area of the rivers Meuse and Rhine. We compared the results of this campaign to the chemical and macrophyte sampling as performed for the WFD in the immediate surrounding shallow standing waters. Alpha (local) and beta diversity (regional), and local contribution to beta diversity were calculated for the whole region of which beta diversity was further partitioned into a true species replacement and richness difference component. Quarry lakes contain higher water quality reflected by lower nutrient and chlorophyll-a concentration compared with shallow water bodies. Additionally, quarry lakes contribute significantly to the regional macrophyte diversity pool by harboring distinctly different macrophyte communities (beta diversity - replacement). Specifically quarry lakes with a total phosphorus concentration in the water column below 35 μg P/l contribute most to beta diversity among quarry lakes. Novel ecosystems such as deep quarry lakes are often perceived as less valuable ecosystems, with strong implications regarding their management. Our results show that quarry lakes are in general of better chemical and biological quality compared with shallow standing waters. We therefore call for a more integrated assessment of the quality of quarry lakes and corresponding management strategy of these waters by water managers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M S Seelen
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, the Netherlands; Department of Advice and Monitoring, Regional Water Authority Brabantse Delta, P.O. Box 5520, 4801 DZ Breda, the Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 226, 6700 AE Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Sven Teurlincx
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - John Bruinsma
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Thea M F Huijsmans
- Province of Noord-Brabant, P.O. Box 90151, 5200 MC's Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
| | - Ellen van Donk
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, the Netherlands; Department of Biology, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80125, 3508 TC Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Miquel Lürling
- Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 226, 6700 AE Wageningen, the Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Lisette N de Senerpont Domis
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, the Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 226, 6700 AE Wageningen, the Netherlands.
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