Spatial distribution, input and dispersion of plastic pellets in coastal zones

Abstract

The contamination of marine habitats by microplastics is an urgent issue given the impacts of these particles on economy and biodiversity. Once present in marine habitats, microplastics might promote the dispersion of chemicals and entanglement to the biota that feeds on them given the misidentification as a food source. Plastic pellets are among the most abundant microplastics in sandy beaches. Studies on plastic pellets generally focus on their abundance and capacity to absorb organic and inorganic pollutants. However, recent results indicate that the plastic pellets stranding in sandy beaches is influenced by smallscale variability. The present study focused on the variability in plastic pellets stranding according to large spatial and temporal scales in order to introduce a baseline to long-term monitoring strategies. This survey occurred from February 2014 to March 2015. The sampling procedure suffered the interference of the occurrence of rain before and during the fieldwork. The results indicated that plastic pellets input varies in temporal and spatial scales, with interaction between both scales. In addition, Beaches located close to an eventual source show a great variability in the stranding, this processes is diluted with the increase of the distance from the main source. The results suggest that sampling procedures conducted in long-term monitoring should consider a refinement in the temporal and spatial scales of samples acquisition, the distance from the source and the meteorological variation.