Occurrence, distribution and size relationships of plastic debris along shores and sediment of northern Lake Victoria.

Plastic pollution has been reported in sediment, surface water and biota of freshwater systems especially in Europe, North and South America, and Asia with limited studies focussing on African great lakes. This study therefore investigated the occurrence, abundance and distribution of micro-, meso- and macro-plastic debris along shores and sediment of northern Lake Victoria. The abundance of micro-, meso- and macro-plastics measured as particles/kg dry sediment were in range of 0-1102, 0-218 and 0-100 respectively in shoreline sediment and 0-108, 0-33 and 0-77 respectively in lake sediment. The mean abundance of micro-, meso- and macro-plastic debris at fish landing beaches (75.2 ± 50.0, 16.7 ± 8.1 and 18.1 ± 4.6 respectively) were higher than what was recorded at recreational beaches (1.5 ± 0.6, 3.1 ± 3.1 and 3.8 ± 3.8 respectively). Similarly, mean abundance of micro-, meso- and macro-plastic debris in lake sediment were higher in areas of fish landing beaches (9.5 ± 2.6, 2.1 ± 1.5 and 7.7 ± 4.5 respectively) than what was recorded in areas of recreational beaches (0.7 ± 0.7, 0.2 ± 0.1, and 0 ± 0 respectively). Films, filaments, fragments, foam and pellets were the plastic types, with the shoreline sediment dominated by films (>54%) while lake sediment was dominated by filaments (>55%), across size groups (micro-, meso- and macro-plastics). Spearman's rank correlation indicated strong and significant correlation between abundance of micro- and meso-plastics for total plastic, film plastic and fragment plastic in shoreline sediment. Significant correlation between macroplastics in shoreline sediment and microplastics in lake sediment for total plastics was observed. The FTIR analysis revealed that polyethylene, polypropylene, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Polyamide (nylon), and polyvinyl chloride were the major polymers. These results demonstrated that fish landing beaches along Lake Victoria are hotspot areas for plastic pollution of the lake and should therefore be targeted for management of plastic pollution of Lake Victoria.

Egessa R ，Nankabirwa A ，Basooma R ，Nabwire R ... -  《-》

Massive plastic pollution in a mega-river of a developing country: Sediment deposition and ingestion by fish (Prochilodus lineatus).

The aim of this study was to determine the amount, composition and origin of plastic debris in one of the world largest river, the Paraná River in Argentina (South America), focusing on the impact of urban rivers, relationships among macro, meso and microplastic, socio-political issues and microplastic ingestion by fish. We recorded a huge concentration of macroplastic debris of domestic origin (up to 5.05 macroplastic items per m2) dominated largely by bags (mainly high- and low-density polyethylene), foodwrapper (polypropylene and polystyrene), foam plastics (expanded polystyrene) and beverage bottles (polyethylene terephthalate), particularly downstream from the confluence with an urban stream. This suggests inadequate waste collection, processing and final disposal in the region, which is regrettably recurrent in many cities of the Global South and Argentina in particular. We found an average of 4654 microplastic fragments m-2 in shoreline sediments of the river, ranging from 131 to 12687 microplastics m-2. In contrast to other studies from industrialized countries from Europe and North America, secondary microplastics (resulting from comminution of larger particles) were more abundant than primary ones (microbeads to cosmetics or pellets to the industry). This could be explained by differences in consumer habits and industrialization level between societies and economies. Microplastic particles (mostly fibres) were recorded in the digestive tract of 100% of the studied Prochilodus lineatus (commercial species). Contrary to recently published statements by other researchers, our results suggest neither macroplastic nor mesoplastics would serve as surrogate for microplastic items in pollution surveys, suggesting the need to consider all three size categories. The massive plastic pollution found in the Paraná River is caused by an inadequate waste management. New actions are required to properly manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.

Blettler MCM ，Garello N ，Ginon L ，Abrial E ，Espinola LA ，Wantzen KM ... -  《-》

Distribution of microplastic and small macroplastic particles across four fish species and sediment in an African lake.

Pollution with microplastics has become an environmental concern worldwide. Yet, little information is available on the distribution of microplastics in lakes. Lake Ziway is one of the largest lakes in Ethiopia and is known for its fishing and drinking water supply. This study aims to examine the distribution of plastic particles, of all sizes (micro- and small macro-plastics) in four of the major fish species of the lake and in its shoreline sediment. The gastrointestinal tracts analysis showed that 35% of the sampled fishes ingested plastic particles. The median number of particles per fish was 4 (range 1-26). Benthic (Clarias gariepinus) and benthopelagic (Cyprinus carpio and Carassius carassius) fish species were found to contain a significantly higher number of plastic particles in comparison to the planktivorous fish species (Oreochromis niloticus). More fishes ingested plastic particles in the wet compared to the dry season. The maximum plastic size (40 mm fibre) was found in C. carpio. Estimated median mass of plastic particles in fish was 0.07 (0.0002-385.2) mg/kg_ww. Fish and sediment samples close to known potential sources of plastic particles had a higher plastic ingestion frequency (52% of the fish) and higher plastic concentration compared to the other parts of the lake. The median count and mass of plastic particles measured in sediment of the lake were 30,000 (400-124,000) particles/m3 and 764 (0.05-36,233) mg/kg_dw, respectively, the upper limits of which exceed known effect thresholds. Attenuated total reflection (ATR) - Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed that polypropylene, polyethylene and alkyd-varnish were the dominant polymers in fishes and in sediment. The plastic particles size distributions were Log-linear and were identical for plastic particles found in fish and in sediment, suggesting strong benthic-pelagic coupling of plastic particles transfer.

Merga LB ，Redondo-Hasselerharm PE ，Van den Brink PJ ，Koelmans AA ... -  《-》

Relationships among the abundances of plastic debris in different size classes on beaches in South Korea.

Plastic debris on six beaches near the Nakdong River Estuary, South Korea, was sampled in May and September 2012 and classified into three size classes, large microplastics (1-5 mm), mesoplastics (5-25 mm), and macroplastics (>25 mm). The relationships among the abundances of the size classes were then examined. The abundances of each size category in May (before rainy season) and in September (after rainy season) were 8205 and 27,606 particles/m(2) for large microplastics, 238 and 237 particles/m(2) for mesoplastics, and 0.97 and 1.03 particles/m(2) for macroplastics, respectively. Styrofoam was the most abundant item both in microplastic and mesoplastic debris, while intact plastics were most common in macroplastic debris. The abundances of meso- and micro-plastics were the most strongly correlated. There was a higher correlation between the abundances of macro- and meso-plastics than between macro- and micro-plastics.

Lee J ，Hong S ，Song YK ，Hong SH ，Jang YC ，Jang M ，Heo NW ，Han GM ，Lee MJ ，Kang D ，Shim WJ ... -  《-》

Plastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems: macro-, meso-, and microplastic debris in a floodplain lake.

Blettler MCM ，Ulla MA ，Rabuffetti AP ，Garello N ... -  《-》