Nature of Plastic Marine Pollution in the Subtropical Gyres

Thiel, Martín; Lebreton, Laurent

doi:10.1007/698_2016_123

Cited by 33 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 108 publications

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“…Similar to other oceans (Carson, 2013), in the SE Pacific litter is frequently bitten by large marine organisms, which are thought to be vertebrates (Eriksen et al, 2017), but might also originate from large invertebrates with powerful jaws, in particular squids and/or cuttlefish. On Rapa Nui, up to 10% of stranded AMD can have bitemarks (MT, unpublished data).…”

Section: Other Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relatively high frequency of bitemarks in plastics stranded on Rapa Nui shores indicates that some species directly bite into floating plastics. It is currently not well known which species engage in this behavior and why (Carson, 2013), but most of the bitemarks found on plastics from Rapa Nui resemble those of the green turtle Chelonia mydas (Eriksen et al, 2017), a species commonly reported to ingest larger plastic pieces (see above). The potential risk of plastic ingestion as a result of biting into floating plastic litter is reason for concern.…”

Section: Ingestion Of Plasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution From Continental Coasts to Subtropical Gyres—Fish, Seabirds, and Other Vertebrates in the SE Pacific

et al. 2018

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Anthropogenic Marine Debris (AMD) in the SE Pacific has primarily local origins from land-based sources, including cities (coastal and inland), beach-goers, aquaculture, and fisheries. The low frequency of AMD colonized by oceanic biota (bryozoans, lepadid barnacles) suggests that most litter items from coastal waters of the Humboldt Current System (HCS) are pulled offshore into the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre (SPSG). The highest densities of floating micro-and macroplastics are reported from the SPSG. An extensive survey of photographic records, unpublished data, conference proceedings, and published studies revealed interactions with plastics for 97 species in the SE Pacific, including 20 species of fish, 5 sea turtles, 53 seabirds, and 19 marine mammals. Sea turtles are most affected by interactions with plastics, underlined by the fact that 4 of the 5 species suffer both from entanglement and ingestion. Reports gathered in this review suggest that interactions along the continental coast are mostly via entanglement. High frequencies of microplastic ingestion have been reported from planktivorous fish and seabirds inhabiting the oceanic waters and islands exposed to high densities of microplastics concentrated by oceanic currents in the SPSG. Our review also suggests that some species from the highly productive HCS face the risk of negative interactions with AMD, because food and plastic litter are concentrated in coastal front systems. In order to improve the conservation of marine vertebrates, especially of sea turtles, urgent measures of plastic reduction are needed.

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Section: Other Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ingestion Of Plasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution From Continental Coasts to Subtropical Gyres—Fish, Seabirds, and Other Vertebrates in the SE Pacific

et al. 2018

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“…Findings suggested that no clear relationship is found between surfactant activity at the SML and the total chlorophyll production [9]. However, the high ambient wind speed of >12 m/s -1 has an essential role in continuous supply of surfactants by bubble scavenging from the lower water column [10]. The nonionic soluble surfactants are able to suppress the wave tension forces, reduce the net oceanic CO2 uptake in 15-50% and to introduce a large dampening effect on air-sea exchange of N2O.…”

Section: Surfactants Sea-slicks and Microbial Bio-films At The Sea-smentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting Microplastics Pollution in World Oceans Using Sar Remote Sensing

Davaasuren

Marino

Boardman

et al. 2018

IGARSS 2018 - 2018 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium

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Plastic pollution in the world's oceans is estimated to have reached 270.000 tones, or 5.25 trillion pieces. This plastic is now ubiquitous, however due to ocean circulation patterns, it accumulates in the ocean gyres, creating "garbage patches". This plastic debris is colonized by microbes and microorganisms that create unique ecosystems of sea-slicks and microbial bio-films. Microbial colonization is the first step towards disintegration and degradation of plastic materials: a process that releases metabolic byproducts from energy synthesis. These by-products include the release of short-chain and more complex carbon molecules in the form of surfactants, which we hypothesize will affect the fluid dynamic properties of waves (change in viscosity and surface tension) and make them detectable by SAR sensor. In this study we used Sentinel-1A and COSMO-SkyMed SAR images in selected sites of both the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans, close to ocean gyres and away from coastal interference. Together with SAR processing we conducted contextual analysis, using ocean geophysical products of the sea surface temperature, surface wind, chlorophyll, wave heights and wave spectrum of the ocean surface. In addition, we started experiments under controlled conditions to test the behavior of microbes colonizing the two most common pollutants, polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics. The analysis of SAR images had shown that the speed of surface wind supplemented by accumulation mechanism of Langmuir cells is found to be a main meteorological factor influencing the distinct appearance of the sea-slicks and microbial biofilms. The preliminary conclusion of our study is that SAR remote sensing may be able to detect plastic pollution in the open oceans and this method can be extended to other areas.

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“…Samples from the SPG and from Rapa Nui beaches were very similar: many hard plastics with white/grey colours, and with more round and positively buoyant items. Even though plastics in the gyres may vary according to sources, polymer type, and object design (Eriksen, Thiel, & Lebreton, 2016), plastics from these locations have been described during the last decades as mostly fragments, weathered, with a small (and decreasing) proportion of pellets, and 'lighter'…”

Section: Composition Of Plastics From Abiotic Compartmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors (type, colour, density, and shape) determining the removal of marine plastic debris by seabirds from the South Pacific Ocean: Is there a pattern?

Hidalgo‐Ruz

Luna‐Jorquera

Frick

et al. 2020

Aquatic Conservation

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1. While floating near the sea surface plastic debris interacts with a number of external factors, including many different organisms. Seabirds have the most extensive documented history of interactions with plastics, through ingestion, entanglement, and nest construction. 2. In the present study, eight seabird species from the South Pacific Ocean were used as a proxy to determine potential patterns of removal of marine plastic debris, and three hypotheses were tested in relation to their feeding habits and nesting areas. 3. Plastics from abiotic compartments (Chilean continental coast, South Pacific Gyre, and Rapa Nui beaches) and biotic compartments (surface-feeding seabirds, diving seabirds, and nesting areas) were compared, according to their type, colour, shape, and density. 4. Continental beaches had a relatively wide range of colours and shapes, with many non-buoyant plastics. Samples from the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) beaches comprised mainly hard, rounded, buoyant, and white/grey plastics. 5. These results indicate that the composition of floating plastics from terrestrial sources changes during transport with oceanic currents, reducing the proportion of prey-like plastics present in the subtropical gyres. 6. The stomach contents of surface-feeding and diving seabirds were dominated by hard, white/grey, and round plastic items, similar to plastics from the SPG, suggesting non-selective (accidental or secondary) ingestion. 7. Nesting areas had a more variable composition of brightly coloured plastics, suggesting a pattern of selective removal of plastics by seabirds, probably from oceanic sources. 8. The present study reveals extensive interactions of seabirds with plastics on a broader scale, which is highly relevant given that the impacts of plastics on seabirds are increasing worldwide, compromising their efficient conservation.

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Nature of Plastic Marine Pollution in the Subtropical Gyres

Cited by 33 publications

References 108 publications

Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution From Continental Coasts to Subtropical Gyres—Fish, Seabirds, and Other Vertebrates in the SE Pacific

Impacts of Marine Plastic Pollution From Continental Coasts to Subtropical Gyres—Fish, Seabirds, and Other Vertebrates in the SE Pacific

Detecting Microplastics Pollution in World Oceans Using Sar Remote Sensing

Factors (type, colour, density, and shape) determining the removal of marine plastic debris by seabirds from the South Pacific Ocean: Is there a pattern?

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