The present study reports the quantity, shape, colour and chemical properties of microplastics (MP) and MP-like in whole soft tissues of the mussel Mytilus spp. collected in January and February 2019 from four natural banks in the Portuguese coast. Three sites are located in estuarine areas influenced by anthropogenic pressures and freshwater discharges, and one in the coast far from urbanised areas. An alkaline digestion (KOH) of biological tissues was used and a polymeric identification of 20% of the visually sorted particles was achieved using the Fourier-transform mid-infrared spectroscopy (FT-MIR). MP and MP-like concentrations ranged from 0.54 to 3.0 items g without significant differences among the sites. Particle size varied from 36 to 4439 μm, being fibers the most abundant shape (50%) followed by films (22%) and spherules (18%). FT-MIR revealed that 69% of the analysed particles were plastic, being identified six polymers and two polymeric blends, and 32% were cellulose-based materials. Fibers identified in mussel tissues were mainly composed of cotton and viscose (77%). This study emphasizes the importance of the polymer's spectroscopic identification after microscopic observation to recognise MP.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.110993 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Fatty Acids of European Sardine () White Muscle Can Discriminate Geographic Origin Along the Iberian Atlantic Coast.
Foods
January 2025
CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Santiago University Campus, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
The European sardine () ranks among the most valuable species of Iberian fisheries, and the accurate tracing of its geographic origin, once landed, is paramount to securing sustainable management of fishing stocks and discouraging fraudulent practices of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The present study investigated the potential use of white muscle fatty acids (FAs) to successfully discriminate the geographic origin of samples obtained in seven commercially important fishing harbors along the Iberian Atlantic Coast. While 35 FAs were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the white muscle of , the following, as determined by the Boruta algorithm, were key for sample discrimination: 14:0, 22:6-3, 22:5-3, 18:0, 20:5-3, 16:1-7, 16:0, and 18:1-7 (in increasing order of relevance).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommon dolphin's shipping noise risk assessment on the Portuguese coast.
Mar Pollut Bull
December 2024
LARSys, Universidade do Algarve, Estr. da Penha, Faro 8005-139, Portugal.
Ocean noise generated by human activities at sea has been increasing over the decades, affecting marine ecosystems. Ship traffic flow between the Mediterranean or South Atlantic and northern Europe makes the coast of Portugal one of the most intense shipping highways on a global scale. Among the cetaceans of the coast of Portugal, the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) was selected as a target species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDetection and Characterization of Visceral Anisakid Nematodes in Blue Whiting from Portuguese Waters.
Foods
November 2024
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Porto University, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
Article Synopsis
- This study explores the high prevalence of Anisakid nematodes in blue whiting caught off Portugal, using molecular detection methods like conventional PCR and Sanger sequencing.
- All 50 fish examined were infected, with a breakdown revealing 68.1% of the larvae as one species, marking a first report for another species in these fish, indicating a significant public health risk due to rising raw seafood consumption.
- The findings emphasize the need for better detection methods and safety practices to minimize the risk of anisakidosis, alongside further research on the allergenic potential of these parasites and their environmental distribution.
Intrinsic and environmental drivers of pairwise cohesion in wild Canis social groups.
Ecology
December 2024
Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
Animals within social groups respond to costs and benefits of sociality by adjusting the proportion of time they spend in close proximity to other individuals in the group (cohesion). Variation in cohesion between individuals, in turn, shapes important group-level processes such as subgroup formation and fission-fusion dynamics. Although critical to animal sociality, a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing cohesion remains a gap in our knowledge of cooperative behavior in animals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroplastic pollution from pellet spillage: Analysis of the Toconao ship accident along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
Mar Pollut Bull
December 2024
Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain. Electronic address:
In December 2023, 25 tons of pellets were lost by the Toconao ship in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean in front of the Portuguese coast. In this work, a coastal stretch of 633 km in Asturias and Galicia (Spain) and Northern Portugal was investigated to assess pellets' concentration on 31 beaches. Field surveys were carried out in March 2024 and focused on sampling plastic pellets deposited along the shoreline.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!