Assessment of the estuarine shoreline microplastics and mesoplastics of the River Itchen, Southampton (UK) for contaminants and for their interaction with invertebrate fauna.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
; 31(4): 6437-6459, 2024 Jan.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38150160
ABSTRACT
The presence of shoreline microplastics (1-5 mm) and mesoplastics (5-25 mm) in estuarine ecosystems is ubiquitous, but there remains little data on their composition, contamination status and ecological impacts. Chessel Bay Nature Reserve, situated in the internationally protected Itchen Estuary in Southampton, UK, has serious issues with shoreline plastic accumulation. In evaluating potentially adverse ecological impacts, the influence of quantities of shoreline microplastic (mp) and mesoplastic (MeP) material and adsorbed contaminants (PAHs and trace metals) on the biometrics and population dynamics of the burrowing supralittoral amphipod, Orchestia gammarellus, was assessed in this study. mp/MeP concentrations were variable in surface (0-42% 0-422,640 mg/kg dry sediment) and subsurface horizons (0.001-10% 11-97,797 mg/kg dry sediment). Secondary microplastics accounted for 77% of the total microplastic load (dominated by fragments and foams), but also comprised 23% nurdles/pellets (primary microplastics). Sorption mechanisms between contaminants and natural sediments were proposed to be the main contributor to the retention of PAHs and trace metal contaminants and less so, by mp/MeP. O. gammarellus populations showed a positive correlation with microplastic concentrations (Spearman correlation, R = 0.665, p = 0.036). Some reported toxicological thresholds were exceeded in sediments, but no impacts related to chemical contaminant concentrations were demonstrated. This study highlights a protected site with the severe plastic contamination, and the difficulty in demonstrating in situ ecotoxicological impacts.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Hidrocarburos Policíclicos Aromáticos
/
Contaminantes Químicos del Agua
/
Anfípodos
Límite:
Animals
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
Asunto de la revista:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
/
TOXICOLOGIA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido
Pais de publicación:
Alemania