1
|
Benito-Kaesbach A, Suárez-Moncada J, Velastegui A, Moreno-Mendoza J, Vera-Zambrano M, Avendaño U, Ryan PG, Sanz-Lázaro C. Understanding the sources of marine litter in remote islands: The Galapagos islands as a case study. Environ Pollut 2024; 347:123772. [PMID: 38490527 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123772] [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: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
Determining the sources of marine litter is necessary to mitigate this increasing global problem. Plastic bottles are useful tracers of marine litter and constitute the main item (24%) stranding on remote beaches in the Galapagos Islands. The aim of this study was to estimate the abundance of plastic bottles in remote beaches and inferred their sources. To do so, we collected plastic bottles at 60 remote Galapagos Island beaches from 2018 to 2022. 76% of beaches were qualified as badly polluted, with >34 bottles·100 m-1. Most identified bottles came from Peru (71%), followed by China (17%) and Ecuador (9%). Although most locally-sold products are made in Ecuador, they contribute little to beach litter loads. Polyethylene terephthalate bottles with lid (necessary for litter dispersal) represented 88% of all bottles, demonstrating that most of the litter reaching the Galapagos comes from distant sources, mainly from South America. However, bottle ages indicate that at least 10% of Peruvian, 26% of Ecuadorian, and all Chinese bottles likely were dumped from ships. Reducing marine litter reaching the Galapagos Islands requires tackling litter leakage from land-based sources in South America and better compliance with regulations banning the dumping of plastics and other persistent wastes from ships.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alba Benito-Kaesbach
- Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, PO Box 99, E-03080, Alicante, Spain.
| | - Jenifer Suárez-Moncada
- Department of Marine Ecosystems, Galapagos National Park Directorate, Av. Charles Darwin s/n, Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Alfonso Velastegui
- Department of Marine Ecosystems, Galapagos National Park Directorate, Av. Charles Darwin s/n, Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Jerson Moreno-Mendoza
- Conservación Internacional Ecuador, Av. Charles Darwin s/n, Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Mariana Vera-Zambrano
- Conservación Internacional Ecuador, Av. Charles Darwin s/n, Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Ulises Avendaño
- Public Aquaculture and Fisheries Research Institute, Guayaquil, Ecuador
| | - Peter G Ryan
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
| | - Carlos Sanz-Lázaro
- Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, PO Box 99, E-03080, Alicante, Spain; Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies (MIES), Universidad de Alicante, P.O. Box 99, E-03080, Alicante, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cambra M, Lara-Lizardi F, Peñaherrera-Palma C, Hearn A, Ketchum JT, Zarate P, Chacón C, Suárez-Moncada J, Herrera E, Espinoza M. A first assessment of the distribution and abundance of large pelagic species at Cocos Ridge seamounts (Eastern Tropical Pacific) using drifting pelagic baited remote cameras. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0244343. [PMID: 34793440 PMCID: PMC8601560 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the link between seamounts and large pelagic species (LPS) may provide important insights for the conservation of these species in open water ecosystems. The seamounts along the Cocos Ridge in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) ocean are thought to be ecologically important aggregation sites for LPS when moving between Cocos Island (Costa Rica) and Galapagos Islands (Ecuador). However, to date, research efforts to quantify the abundance and distribution patterns of LPS beyond the borders of these two oceanic Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been limited. This study used drifting-pelagic baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) to investigate the distribution and relative abundance of LPS at Cocos Ridge seamounts. Our drifting-pelagic BRUVS recorded a total of 21 species including elasmobranchs, small and large teleosts, dolphins and one sea turtle; of which four species are currently threatened. Depth of seamount summit was the most significant driver for LPS richness and abundance which were significantly higher at shallow seamounts (< 400 m) compared to deeper ones (> 400m). Distance to nearest MPA was also a significant predictor for LPS abundance, which increased at increasing distances from the nearest MPA. Our results suggest that the Cocos Ridge seamounts, specifically Paramount and West Cocos which had the highest LPS richness and abundance, are important aggregation sites for LPS in the ETP. However, further research is still needed to demonstrate a positive association between LPS and Cocos Ridge seamounts. Our findings showed that drifting pelagic BRUVS are an effective tool to survey LPS in fully pelagic ecosystems of the ETP. This study represents the first step towards the standardization of this technique throughout the region.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Cambra
- Programa de Posgrado en Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Frida Lara-Lizardi
- MigraMar, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Olema, California, United States of America
- Pelagios Kakunjá, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
| | | | - Alex Hearn
- MigraMar, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Olema, California, United States of America
- Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
| | - James T. Ketchum
- MigraMar, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Olema, California, United States of America
- Pelagios Kakunjá, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste-CIBNOR, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
| | - Patricia Zarate
- MigraMar, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Olema, California, United States of America
- División de Investigación Pesquera, Instituto de Fomento Pesquero, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Carlos Chacón
- Fundación Pacífico, Sabana Norte, San José, Costa Rica
| | | | | | - Mario Espinoza
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica
- MigraMar, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Olema, California, United States of America
- Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica
| |
Collapse
|