METRICS Some altmetrics are too easy to game so lack credibility p.176 THEATRE New York play explores why Isaac Newton stuck a needle in his eye p.175 ECODESIGN Materials makers on how to do more with less p.174 ECODESIGN Olympic velodrome engineer builds with nature p.172
Classify plastic waste as hazardousPolicies for managing plastic debris are outdated and threaten the health of people and wildlife, say Chelsea M. Rochman, Mark Anthony Browne and colleagues.
San Ignacio and Ojo de Liebre lagoons in central Baja California, Mexico are nursery and grazing grounds for whales and turtles. Ojo de Liebre Lagoon also supports a salt mine operation. By concentrating trace metals via evaporation, this activity might harm biota. Consequently, salt mining might be incompatible with the lagoon's ecological role. Eelgrass can incorporate these elements and reroute them to other organisms. Trace metals in sediments (Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Fe) were measured at both lagoons. Some (Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn) were also measured in Zostera marina patches at both lagoons. The results did not show elevated metal concentration at any lagoon, either for sediments or eelgrass. No statistically significant differences between lagoons were found. However, eelgrass at both lagoons showed larger concentration ranges than in sediments. Also, a correlation exists between sediment metal concentration and its concentration in eelgrass. Surprisingly, several sediment metal concentrations are higher than those considered as elevated for the Southern California Bight.
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