Argentina is currently undergoing an intensive development of coastal-oriented tourism due to the temperate climate and coastal sceneries of the Southwestern Atlantic and particularly its wide ocean-open sandy beaches, which may turn into an important contributor of marine debris to the beaches. This study was designed to assess at four spatial scales (i) the variation of the abundance and mass of marine debris and (ii) the composition and sources of these items in sandy-tourist beaches of coastal zones of the province of Buenos Aires, in northern Argentina. The abundance and mass of marine debris shifted between sampling localities (separated by ~1.5×10m) and beaches (~3×10m). Debris was primarily from recreational and fishing activities and over 20mm in size. Tackling the complications associated with marine debris in northern Argentina may include intensive educational and advertising campaigns oriented chiefly to beach users and fisherman.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.04.030 | DOI Listing |
Mar Pollut Bull
December 2024
Persian Gulf and Oman Sea Ecological research center, Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Microplastic (MP) pollution is an emerging environmental problem worldwide and has caused widespread concern both in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems due to their potential impacts on the human health, and health of aquatic organisms and the environment. Little is known about the exposure of top marine predators to MP contamination (debris 0.1μm - <5mm, also called MPs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Pollut Bull
December 2024
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Pretoria, South Africa.
Marine plastic debris can affect the delivery of ecosystem services and cause direct damage to affected industries; with resulting impacts on the economy. This paper applies a version of the benefits transfer method to provide a preliminary estimate of the economic impacts of marine plastic in South Africa, in terms of impacts on ecosystem services, direct damage to industry, and clean-up costs. The total economic impact associated with the plastic reaching South Africa's marine environment each year ranges between R3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
December 2024
Department of Marine, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine, Universitas Airlangga, Campus C UNAIR, Mulyorejo, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia; Research Group of Post-harvest, Processing Technology, and Bioproducts, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine, Universitas Airlangga, Mulyorejo, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia. Electronic address:
Composite polymers are promising solution to structural setbacks of starch and alginate-based films due to their hydrophilic attributes. Hence, this study aimed to investigate young coconut jelly powder (CJP), an under-utilized by-waste, as a filler using the casting method to develop a novel biocomposite from increments of CJP (1-3 %) to a blended resin of arrowroot starch, sodium alginate, and glycerol. Moreover, the films were characterized by physicomechanical (visual aspect, thickness, color, moisture content, tensile strength, and elongation at break); surface microstructure; water barrier (water vapor permeability, water solubility, and water activities); thermal, crystallinity, and functional group properties; soil, river water, and seawater biodegradability; and coating application in cherry tomato.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Xenobiot
December 2024
Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Nanoplastics are known to represent a threat to marine ecosystems. Their combination with other contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs) may amplify ecotoxic effects, with unknown impacts on marine biodiversity. This study investigates the effects, single and combined, of bisphenol A (BPA)-one of the most hazardous CECs-and polystyrene nanoparticles (PS NPs)-as a proxy for nanoplastics, being among the most commonly found asmarine debris-on cholinesterase (ChE) activities of the ascidian .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
December 2024
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China. Electronic address:
Plastic debris in coastal environments usually undergoes weathering due to various environmental conditions. However, the weathering effects on exposed and shaded sides of the same plastics are underexplored. In this study, 1573 plastic fragments were collected from 15 coastal sites worldwide between December 2021 and December 2022, and weathering experiments were conducted outdoors.
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