Relationships between benthic infauna and groundwater eutrophication on a sandy beach in southern Brazil.

Urban expansion in Brazilian coastal zones has caused various anthropic impacts on coastal marine ecosystems that have resulted from unorganized use and the lack of infrastructure projects. The inadequate disposal of domestic and industrial effluents in coastal waterbodies is notable, which can cause severe environmental problems. For sandy beaches, the relationships between the contamination of groundwater with domestic sewage and the possible effects on spatial and temporal variations in the density and composition of benthic infauna are still poorly understood.

Spatio-seasonal microplastics distribution along a shallow coastal lagoon ecocline within a marine conservation unit.

The aim of our study is to estimate the abundance and sources of floating microplastics (MPs) along a coastal lagoon ecocline in a marine conservation unit (MCU) for implementing effective prevention and mitigation actions in South Brazil. MPs were sampled monthly, and the abundance and size were determined for hard solids, soft plastic, plastic filaments, and paint fragments. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis was performed, and the MPs were classified as polyethylene, polyester, polypropylene, polybutadiene, and polystyrene.

Plastic floating debris along a summer-winter estuarine environmental gradient in a coastal lagoon: how does plastic debris arrive in a conservation unit?

Improper management of plastic waste is an important contributor to the pollution in water bodies. However, how floating plastic debris is transported to coastal lagoons and marine conservation units is still poorly understood. This work determined the level of contamination due to floating plastic debris in Acaraí Lagoon by establishing density distribution patterns along the lagoon ecocline in the winter and summer.