Microplastics (≤ 10 μm) bioaccumulation in marine sponges along the Moroccan Mediterranean coast: Insights into species-specific distribution and potential bioindication

Microplastics determination and quantification in two benthic filter feeders Sabella spallanzanii, Polychaeta and Paraleucilla magna, Porifera

“…The reported protocols are quite different: some studies visually inspected sponge tissue or performed histological analyses [ 5 , 20 , 52 ], others carried out chemical digestion using different reagents (acids or alkaline solutions); some authors adopted a short and easy procedure [ 53 ] while other followed multiple steps to extract MPs [ 54 ]; the chemical procedures lasted from 2 h [ 53 ] to two or even three days [ 11 ]. Polychaetes’ tissues instead, were always chemically digested, with long procedures lasting up to the complete tissue digestion [ 55 ] and in general not less than 12 h (Protocol 3) [ 21 ], in most of the cases using KOH (10 %) but also using HNO 3 [ 56 , 57 ].…”

“…In the present work the number of MPs counted in sponges is comparable to those reported in other studies [ 20 , 53 ], or even higher [ 69 ]. At the best of our knowledge there is only a study on Mediterranean sponges, which were much more contaminated [ 57 ]. Polychaetes also showed an amount of particles higher than usually reported [ 21 , 37 , 38 , 26 ].…”

“…Polychaetes also showed an amount of particles higher than usually reported [ 21 , 37 , 38 , 26 ]. These discrepancies may be due to study site, as the contamination of the surrounding environment plays a key role in the particle uptake [ 11 , 57 ]. The animals of this work, in fact, were sampled on the natural rope collectors in the IMTA facility in the Mar Grande of Taranto and it is well known that mariculture activities contribute to MPs pollution [ 70 ].…”

Marine sponges as promising candidates for integrated aquaculture combining biomass increase and bioremediation: an updated review

“…There are various mechanisms for bioremediation: (i) bioadsorption by sponge-associated bacteria, which are capable of chelating heavy metals as copper, zinc, cadmium, and lead (Satyanarayana et al, 2012;Marzuki et al, 2020;Tanvi et al, 2020;Marzuki et al, 2023); (ii) degradation of plastics by bacteria associated with sponges (free living or associated with sponges) through intracellular and extracellular depolymerase enzymes that help to break down the plastic polymer into shorter and water soluble chains, while these chains enter the microbial cell and are metabolized by the intracellular enzymes (Bano et al, 2017;Fallon and Freeman, 2021;Fu et al, 2023;Krikech et al, 2023); and (iii) bioaccumulation and biodegradation by microalgae associated with sponges to remove pesticides through the production of antioxidant enzymes that activate the detoxification protection mechanisms of microalgae (Chu et al, 2023).…”

The Sector Analysis as a Coastal Management Tool for Sustainable Tourism Development on the Mediterranean Coast of Morocco

“…It also has a negative impact on the ability of beaches to reach a higher class in the beach classification and, unfortunately, many beaches of great scenic and tourist value are highly threatened [9,42,53,54]. Beach litter has a detrimental impact on beach tourism, which is very vulnerable to the presence of such types of pollution [55][56][57] as beach users do not appreciate polluted beaches [10,26]. On the other hand, human activities of bathers, whether intentional or not, are an important source of litter [27,58,59] and are partly responsible for the deterioration of the coastal landscape quality.…”