Experimental ingestion of microplastics in three common Antarctic benthic species.

Microplastics (MP) have spread to every corner of the globe, reaching remote areas like Antarctica. Recent studies detected MP in marine environments, including biota. Benthic organisms suffer negative effects upon MP ingestion, leading to impacts on their populations.

Diet and debris ingestion of skuas on Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica.

Using pellet analysis, we characterized the diet and plastic and non-plastic debris ingestion of skuas (Catharacta spp.) during 2017-2020 summer seasons along the coastal sector of Fildes Peninsula (King George Island, Antarctica). In addition, we conducted the same analysis during the 2020 breeding season on reproductive territories of south polar (Catharacta maccormicki) and brown (Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi) skua.

Stranded pellets in Fildes Peninsula (King George Island, Antarctica): New evidence of Southern Ocean connectivity.

Plastic and microplastic debris is transported by ocean currents over long distances, reaching remote areas, far from its original source. In Polar Regions, microplastics (MPs) can come from local activities or be transported from lower latitudes, with the former being the likely and major source. Although historically Antarctica was considered isolated from the global ocean, there is recent evidence of materials and organisms being transported in and out of the Southern Ocean, despite its multi-front structure.

Mesoplastics and large microplastics along a use gradient on the Uruguay Atlantic coast: Types, sources, fates, and chemical loads.

Plastic pollution is a global problem with great local and regional variability. Plastic litter reaches beaches directly and indirectly through different pathways, due to both terrestrial and marine pressures. In this study, we assess and characterize meso and microplastic pollution on four Uruguayan oceanic beaches along a gradient of tourist use within a complex regional coastal marine system.

Plastics and microplastics on recreational beaches in Punta del Este (Uruguay): Unseen critical residents?

Beaches are social-ecological systems that provide several services improving human well-being. However, as one of the major coastal interfaces they are subject to plastic pollution, one of the most significant global environmental threats at present. For the first time for Uruguayan beaches, this study assessed and quantified the accumulation of plastic and microplastic debris on sandy beaches of the major touristic destination Punta del Este during the austral spring of 2013.