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Testing Kayakers as Citizen Scientists for monitoring microplastics in the coastal marine environment

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 2024 Score: 35 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Elisa Costa, Chiara Gambardella, Elisa Costa, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Elisa Costa, Francesca Garaventa Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Elisa Costa, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Elisa Costa, Francesca Garaventa Maria Chiara Catta, Maria Chiara Catta, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Maria Chiara Catta, Maria Chiara Catta, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Elisa Costa, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Elisa Costa, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Elisa Costa, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Elisa Costa, Francesca Garaventa Elisa Costa, Elisa Costa, Elisa Costa, Chiara Gambardella, Marco Faimali, Arianna Liconti, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Francesca Garaventa Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Marco Faimali, Arianna Liconti, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Luca Tixi, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Luca Tixi, Luca Tixi, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Luca Tixi, Marco Faimali, Francesca Garaventa Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Elisa Costa, Elisa Costa, Francesca Garaventa Michelangelo Lategola, Michelangelo Lategola, Elisa Costa, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Chiara Gambardella, Francesca Garaventa Michelangelo Lategola, Michelangelo Lategola, Elisa Costa, Marco Faimali, Arianna Liconti, Marco Faimali, Umberto Verna, Umberto Verna, Umberto Verna, Umberto Verna, Marco Faimali, Chiara Gambardella, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Chiara Gambardella, Francesca Garaventa Marco Faimali, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Carmen Di Penta, Carmen Di Penta, Marco Faimali, Carmen Di Penta, Carmen Di Penta, Marco Faimali, Lisa Zanetti, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Francesca Garaventa Lisa Zanetti, Lisa Zanetti, Lisa Zanetti, Sauro Genocchio, Francesca Garaventa Sauro Genocchio, Sauro Genocchio, Sauro Genocchio, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Chiara Gambardella, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Chiara Gambardella, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Marco Faimali, Francesca Garaventa Francesca Garaventa Marco Faimali, Marco Faimali, Francesca Garaventa Chiara Gambardella, Francesca Garaventa

Summary

Researchers tested recreational kayakers as citizen scientists for coastal microplastic monitoring by deploying mini-manta nets in the Ligurian Sea alongside traditional manta nets towed by research vessels across five sampling campaigns beginning March 2021. They found that microplastic abundances in nearshore areas sampled by kayak-towed mini-manta nets were on average higher than offshore samples, with no significant differences in shape, size, and composition between the two sampling approaches.

Microplastics (MPs) contamination has been widely assessed in the marine ecosystem, although the coastal marine zones, remain poorly investigated. This lack in knowledge is overall related to the difficulty in collecting coastal samples by using the traditional equipment (i.e Manta net, MSFD instrument), that required a research vessel to be deployed. To fill this gap, the "MicroPlastic Hunters Project", a Citizen Science project lead by the CNR-IAS of Genoa, with Auxiliary Coast Guard, Outdoor Portofino, Marevivo Onlus and the Italian Naval League and supported by different scientific projects, was launched. The aim of the project was to educate a team composed of sportsmen and lovers of the sea, to carry out sampling by using a little version of the Manta net called Mini-manta specifically built for the project. Mini-manta nets can be easily trawled in the nearshore coastal areas by recreational sports floating gear like kayaks. Five sampling activities, starting on March 2021 were performed in the Ligurian Sea, collecting surface water samples along three coastal transects by using both Mini-manta net pulled by the "MicroPlastic Hunters" and traditional Manta net towed from boats by researchers to compare the different methods. The results showed that MP abundances in the nearshore sampled by Mini-manta net were on average higher than those collected offshore by using the traditional Manta net. However, no differences in term of shape, size, and composition between the two methods used, were observed, suggesting the validation of the Mini-manta net. This project represents a paradigm shift in MP research, demonstrating how citizen science can be an effective tool in helping science in collecting data creating not only the basis for improving sampling monitoring capacity but also to increase people awareness about emerging contaminants such as MPs through an active and emotional involvement. Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/558927/document

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