Fragmented marine plastics as the prevalent litter type on a small island beach in the Adriatic

Ana Markić; Neven Iveša; Andrea Budiša; Ines Kovačić; Petra Burić; Emina Pustijanac; Moira Buršić; Benjamin Banai; Dora Pokas Legin; Andreja Palatinus; Pero Tutman

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116467

Fragmented marine plastics as the prevalent litter type on a small island beach in the Adriatic

Ana Markić^* (Corresponding author), Neven Iveša, Andrea Budiša, Ines Kovačić, Petra Burić, Emina Pustijanac, Moira Buršić, Benjamin Banai, Dora Pokas Legin, Andreja Palatinus, Pero Tutman

^*Corresponding author for this work

NIOO - Aquatic Ecology (AqE)

Research output: Contribution to journal/periodical › Article › Scientific › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

5 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The issue of plastic pollution has dramatically intensified in the recent years. Our study investigates extensive plastic contamination of a sandy beach on a small Adriatic island. The beach was sampled on three occasions, in 2013, 2020 and 2022, using 1 m² quadrats placed along the lower and upper strandlines, resulting in average litter concentrations of 385 ± 106, 1095 ± 522 and 129 ± 37 item m⁻², respectively. The lower size limit of collected litter was 1 mm, thus including large microplastics. Plastic fragments (49–74 %) and plastic pellets (15 %–37 %) were predominant litter categories. The proportion of fragments is significantly higher during the tourist season with a more intensive cleaning regime (April–October), as opposed to the off-season (November–March). Fisheries and aquaculture litter was identified as a relevant source of pollution. More research is needed in the future into the microplastics smaller than 1 mm.

Original language	English
Article number	116467
Journal	Marine Pollution Bulletin
Volume	203
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116467
Publication status	Published - Jun 2024

Keywords

Fragments
Ilovik
Large microplastics
Northeast Adriatic
Plastic pellets
Plastic pollution

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10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116467

Markic et al 2024Final published version, 5.82 MBLicence: Taverne

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@article{969a15d106314ecbab9a4b2f55d11272,

title = "Fragmented marine plastics as the prevalent litter type on a small island beach in the Adriatic",

abstract = "The issue of plastic pollution has dramatically intensified in the recent years. Our study investigates extensive plastic contamination of a sandy beach on a small Adriatic island. The beach was sampled on three occasions, in 2013, 2020 and 2022, using 1 m2 quadrats placed along the lower and upper strandlines, resulting in average litter concentrations of 385 ± 106, 1095 ± 522 and 129 ± 37 item m−2, respectively. The lower size limit of collected litter was 1 mm, thus including large microplastics. Plastic fragments (49–74 %) and plastic pellets (15 %–37 %) were predominant litter categories. The proportion of fragments is significantly higher during the tourist season with a more intensive cleaning regime (April–October), as opposed to the off-season (November–March). Fisheries and aquaculture litter was identified as a relevant source of pollution. More research is needed in the future into the microplastics smaller than 1 mm.",

keywords = "Fragments, Ilovik, Large microplastics, Northeast Adriatic, Plastic pellets, Plastic pollution",

author = "Ana Marki{\'c} and Neven Ive{\v s}a and Andrea Budi{\v s}a and Ines Kova{\v c}i{\'c} and Petra Buri{\'c} and Emina Pustijanac and Moira Bur{\v s}i{\'c} and Benjamin Banai and Legin, {Dora Pokas} and Andreja Palatinus and Pero Tutman",

note = "Data archiving: no NIOO data",

year = "2024",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116467",

language = "English",

volume = "203",

journal = "Marine Pollution Bulletin",

issn = "0025-326X",

publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Fragmented marine plastics as the prevalent litter type on a small island beach in the Adriatic

AU - Markić, Ana

AU - Iveša, Neven

AU - Budiša, Andrea

AU - Kovačić, Ines

AU - Burić, Petra

AU - Pustijanac, Emina

AU - Buršić, Moira

AU - Banai, Benjamin

AU - Legin, Dora Pokas

AU - Palatinus, Andreja

AU - Tutman, Pero

N1 - Data archiving: no NIOO data

PY - 2024/6

Y1 - 2024/6

N2 - The issue of plastic pollution has dramatically intensified in the recent years. Our study investigates extensive plastic contamination of a sandy beach on a small Adriatic island. The beach was sampled on three occasions, in 2013, 2020 and 2022, using 1 m2 quadrats placed along the lower and upper strandlines, resulting in average litter concentrations of 385 ± 106, 1095 ± 522 and 129 ± 37 item m−2, respectively. The lower size limit of collected litter was 1 mm, thus including large microplastics. Plastic fragments (49–74 %) and plastic pellets (15 %–37 %) were predominant litter categories. The proportion of fragments is significantly higher during the tourist season with a more intensive cleaning regime (April–October), as opposed to the off-season (November–March). Fisheries and aquaculture litter was identified as a relevant source of pollution. More research is needed in the future into the microplastics smaller than 1 mm.

AB - The issue of plastic pollution has dramatically intensified in the recent years. Our study investigates extensive plastic contamination of a sandy beach on a small Adriatic island. The beach was sampled on three occasions, in 2013, 2020 and 2022, using 1 m2 quadrats placed along the lower and upper strandlines, resulting in average litter concentrations of 385 ± 106, 1095 ± 522 and 129 ± 37 item m−2, respectively. The lower size limit of collected litter was 1 mm, thus including large microplastics. Plastic fragments (49–74 %) and plastic pellets (15 %–37 %) were predominant litter categories. The proportion of fragments is significantly higher during the tourist season with a more intensive cleaning regime (April–October), as opposed to the off-season (November–March). Fisheries and aquaculture litter was identified as a relevant source of pollution. More research is needed in the future into the microplastics smaller than 1 mm.

KW - Fragments

KW - Ilovik

KW - Large microplastics

KW - Northeast Adriatic

KW - Plastic pellets

KW - Plastic pollution

U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116467

DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116467

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85192703585

SN - 0025-326X

VL - 203

JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin

JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin

M1 - 116467

ER -

Fragmented marine plastics as the prevalent litter type on a small island beach in the Adriatic

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Keywords

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