Pelagic microplastics around an archipelago of the Equatorial Atlantic |
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Institution: | 1. Stockholm University, Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Svante Arrhenius väg 8, 11418 Stockholm, Sweden;2. Aquabiota Water Research, Löjtnantsgatan 25, SE-115 50, Sweden;3. Stockholm University, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Svante Arrhenius väg 16C, 11418 Stockholm, Sweden;1. Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad de Colima, Km 20 Carr. Manzanillo-Barra de Navidad, C.P. 28860, Manzanillo, Col., Mexico;2. Departamento de estudios para el desarrollo sustentable de zonas costeras–CUCSUR, Universidad de Guadalajara, Gómez Farías #82, San Patricio Melaque, Jal., Mexico |
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Abstract: | Plastic marine debris is presently widely recognised as an important environmental pollutant. Such debris is reported in every habitat of the oceans, from urban tourist beaches to remote islands and from the ocean surface to submarine canyons, and is found buried and deposited on sandy and cobble beaches. Plastic marine debris varies from micrometres to several metres in length and is potentially ingested by animals of every level of the marine food web. Here, we show that synthetic polymers are present in subsurface plankton samples around Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago in the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. To explain the distribution of microplastics around the Archipelago, we proposed a generalised linear model (GLM) that suggests the existence of an outward gradient of mean plastic-particle densities. Plastic items can be autochthonous or transported over large oceanic distances. One probable source is the small but persistent fishing fleet using the area. |
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Keywords: | Plankton samples Small-scale survey Hard plastic fragments Synthetic threads Rubber crumbs Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago |
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