Publications by authors named "A Sanchez-Vidal"
Article Synopsis
- Plastic pollution is a significant threat to marine ecosystems, and recent research on the small-spotted catshark reveals that these sharks are using plastic debris for laying eggs when traditional substrates are lacking.
- This behavior change is influenced by factors like pollution, habitat degradation, and fishing pressure, indicating a concerning shift in their nesting habits due to environmental pressures.
- As plastic debris increases and natural habitats decline, understanding the impact on the catshark's fitness and survival is crucial, emphasizing the importance of protecting natural marine habitats.
Increasing amount of anthropogenic litter in the marine environment has provided an enormous number of substrates for a wide range of marine organisms, thus serving as a potential vector for the transport of fouling organisms. Here, we examined the fouling organisms on different types of stranded litter (plastic, glass, rubber, foam sponge, cloth, metal and wood) on eight beaches along the southeast coast of India. In total, 17 encrusting species belonging to seven phyla (Arthropoda, Bryozoa, Mollusca, Annelida, Cnidaria, Chlorophyta and Foraminifera) were identified on 367 items, with one invasive species, the mussel Mytella strigata, detected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - Artificial turf (AT) is a synthetic material made mainly of plastic fibers that mimics natural grass and is increasingly used in urban areas beyond sports facilities.
- - This study is the first to analyze the release of AT fibers into rivers and oceans, finding that these fibers can make up over 15% of larger plastic debris.
- - The research reveals that AT fibers contribute significantly to plastic pollution, with up to 20,000 fibers flowing into rivers daily and high concentrations found in coastal waters, highlighting their negative impact on urban ecosystems and aquatic environments.
The dumping of an estimated amount of 57 million tons of hazardous sulfide mine waste from 1957 to 1990 into Portmán's Bay (SE Spain) caused one of the most severe cases of persistent anthropogenic impact in Europe's costal and marine environments. The resulting mine tailings deposit completely infilled Portmán's Bay and extended seawards on the continental shelf, bearing high levels of metals and As. The present work, where Synchrotron XAS, XRF core scanner and other data are combined, reveals the simultaneous presence of arsenopyrite (FeAsS), scorodite (FeAsO₄·2H₂O), orpiment (AsS) and realgar (AsS) in the submarine extension of the mine tailings deposit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF