Distribuição, taxa de entrada, composição química e identificação de fontes de grânulos plásticos na Enseada de Santos, SP, Brasil

Assessment of microplastic toxicity to embryonic development of the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)

“…Due to the transport of plastic pellets through Santos Harbor, which is responsible for 50,000 tons of granules/month (Fisner et al, 2013b), a large quantity of nibs has been reported previously in this bay (Turra et al, 2014). Pellets of different colors, ranging from translucent, similar to virgin ones, to darkened pellets with greater concentrations of hydrophobic pollutants (Endo et al, 2005;Fisner, 2012) have been found along its shores and in deep sediment layers (Manzano, 2009). Other studies have reported contamination of pellets by PAHs in this area (Fisner et al, 2013a,b).…”

Plastic Pellets on Campeche Beach (Santa Catarina Island, Brazil): A Seasonality and Composition Study

“…The largest number of granules occurred in the winter (377/m 2 ) after a storm event, at the upper portions of the sediment, suggesting that extreme events quickly remobilize and redeposit the sediment, trapping plastic pellets. Anthropic processes such as sand disturbance by tractors can also influence the abundance of pellets at the uppermost portions of the sediment [39]. Variations registered on a scale of days and between locations disclosures the complexity of trying to make generalizations about the level of contamination of a whole beach.…”

Effects of microplastics contamination on marine biota

“…In the study area, plastic pellets (~5mm diameter) sampled in Santos Bay were highly contaminated by PAHs (Fisner et al, 2012). Although these pellets were found in sedimentary compartments of Santos Bay beaches, the authors suggest that their main source is Santos Harbor and their contamination with organic pollutant is a consequence of adsorption mechanisms during their residence in the highly polluted Santos Estuary (Manzano, 2009;Fisner et al, 2013a). Knowing that decreasing in size raises the surface/volume ratio of a particle (Mato et al, 2001), we fear that greater quantities of dissolved compounds are being adsorbed on these micrometric plastics ingested by mussels at Santos Estuary.…”