Abundance and environmental drivers of anthropogenic litter on 5 Lake Michigan beaches: A study facilitated by citizen science data collection

Hoellein, Timothy J.; Westhoven, Meagan; Lyandres, Olga; Cross, Jamie

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2014.12.015

Cited by 43 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…[19][20][21][22][23][24] The distribution of marine shoreline plastics appears to be directly related to their proximity to urban centers, as well as weather conditions, and tide and current patterns. 6,14,[28][29][30][31][32][33] All shorelines, whether marine or freshwater, contain plastic items similar to those identied in surface waters. 6,14,[28][29][30][31][32][33] All shorelines, whether marine or freshwater, contain plastic items similar to those identied in surface waters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic plastic debris in marine and fresh water environments

Corcoran

2015

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts

116

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This review provides a discussion of the published literature concerning benthic plastic debris in ocean, sea, lake, estuary and river bottoms throughout the world. Although numerous investigations of shoreline, surface and near-surface plastic debris provide important information on plastic types, distribution, accumulation, and degradation, studies of submerged plastic debris have been sporadic in the past and have become more prominent only recently. The distribution of benthic debris is controlled mainly by combinations of urban proximity and its association with fishing-related activities, geomorphology, hydrological conditions, and river input. High density plastics, biofouled products, polymers with mineral fillers or adsorbed minerals, and plastic-metal composites all have the potential to sink. Once deposited on the bottoms of water basins and channels, plastics are shielded from UV light, thus slowing the degradation process significantly. Investigations of the interactions between benthic plastic debris and bottom-dwelling organisms will help shed light on the potential dangers of submerged plastic litter.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic plastic debris in marine and fresh water environments

Corcoran

2015

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts

116

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“…There are no stormwater outlets, combined sewer outflows, or streams near the restoration area. Public beaches are maintained by the Chicago Park District from Memorial Day (last Monday of May) to Labor Day (first Monday of September; Hoellein et al ). However, the dunes restoration area at Pratt beach is not actively cleaned by the city of Chicago or by volunteers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Laurentian Great Lakes are the largest contiguous body of freshwater in the world, a critical resource for communities and industries in the region, and an emerging site of focus for AL ecology in surface waters, sediment, and beaches (Zbyszewski and Corcoran ; Zbyszewski et al ; Driedger et al ; Hoellein et al ). Assessments of AL density and composition on Great Lakes beaches have used a diversity of approaches to assess spatial variation, and thereby infer its sources and movement.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Assessments of AL density and composition on Great Lakes beaches have used a diversity of approaches to assess spatial variation, and thereby infer its sources and movement. For example, citizen‐science datasets have been used to address AL density on Lake Michigan beaches to show positive correlations between beach‐goer activity, proximity to urban centers, and AL abundance (Hoellein et al ). Other studies followed a transect‐based study design to examine spatial patterns of AL abundance on Great Lakes beaches, with a focus on the plastic component of AL (Zbyszewski and Corcoran ; Zbyszewski et al ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Anthropogenic Litter Abundance and Accumulation Rates Point to Seasonal Litter Sources on a Great Lakes Beach

Vincent

Hoellein

2017

Contemporary Water Research

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The ecology of anthropogenic litter (AL) (i.e., trash) in marine ecosystems is a growing field of research. Freshwater and marine ecosystems have similar AL densities, but research on the assemblage and accumulation rates of AL in freshwater environments is less common. We studied AL accumulation at Pratt beach, located on Lake Michigan in Chicago, IL, USA. The beach has a concrete pier at the south end, with two areas of grass bisected by a walking path. Pratt beach receives many daily visitors, but unlike other urban beaches, it has no daily municipal beach grooming. We established five 60 m transects parallel to the shoreline, with increasing distance to the shoreline. Each transect was divided into four habitat zones (i.e., pier, south vegetation, path, and north vegetation). All AL within 1 m of each transect was collected biweekly from March‐November 2015. AL density (No. m−2) and input rate (No. m−2 day−1) were highest at the pier, regardless of distance from the shoreline. Fall had the highest AL density relative to spring or summer. We concluded AL inputs at the pier were dominated by direct littering and the retention of wind‐ and wave‐blown AL at the pier's wall. The study beach had much higher AL than adjacent beaches which received municipal AL cleaning, suggesting cleaning is effective at reducing AL density. This study suggests that, given the mobile nature of AL by natural processes, infrequent sampling may underestimate total AL abundance. Management efforts for AL should be directed towards the greatest AL accumulation sites within a beach, and at prevention of direct littering from visitors.

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“…We classified AL as domestic if they likely originated from a home (e.g., appliances and personal hygiene). We acknowledge the uncertainty of this source estimate, however, this approach has been used elsewhere to infer dominant AL sources (Ivar Do Sul and Costa 2007;Santos et al 2009;Hoellein et al 2015).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic litter is abundant, diverse, and mobile in urban rivers: Insights from cross-ecosystem analyses using ecosystem and community ecology tools

McCormick

Hoellein

2016

Limnol. Oceanogr.

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Anthropogenic litter (AL; trash) in the environment is increasing and persistent. Rivers are considered a major source of AL to oceans, but AL ecology within rivers is rarely examined. Also, the rapidly developing field of AL research will benefit from fundamental approaches in community and ecosystem ecology. We adapted methods for communities of organisms and movement of organic matter to measure density, mass, assemblages, sources, and flux of AL in riparian and benthic zones at 15 sites in five rivers. We compared riverine AL density, mass, and assemblages to marine habitats worldwide. Benthic zones had greater AL mass and a different assemblage than riparian zones. Reach‐scale metrics of human activity (e.g., parking spaces) explained more variation in AL assemblages than total urban land use. AL export was driven by material type and hydrology, and turnover time was ≤ 1 yr. Riparian AL density was similar to beaches, but benthic AL density was higher than marine benthic habitats. Finally, AL assemblages in river benthic and riparian zones were similar to assemblages at beaches rather than marine benthic habitats. AL is abundant and mobile in rivers, which show dynamic periods of AL retention and export. Rivers are likely sites of AL breakdown and burial, with significant biotic interactions which have not yet been studied. Comprehensive assessments of AL across ecosystems require continued adaptation of fundamental ecosystem and community ecology tools. Results will integrate riverine AL dynamics with the growing field of marine AL ecology, and inform management of global AL accumulations.

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Abundance and environmental drivers of anthropogenic litter on 5 Lake Michigan beaches: A study facilitated by citizen science data collection

Cited by 43 publications

References 44 publications

Benthic plastic debris in marine and fresh water environments

Benthic plastic debris in marine and fresh water environments

Anthropogenic Litter Abundance and Accumulation Rates Point to Seasonal Litter Sources on a Great Lakes Beach

Anthropogenic litter is abundant, diverse, and mobile in urban rivers: Insights from cross-ecosystem analyses using ecosystem and community ecology tools

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