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Microplastic contamination of intertidal sediment and cockles (Cerastoderma edule)
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Researchers sampled cockles and intertidal sediment from Dundalk Bay, Ireland — a protected conservation area — over multiple seasons and found microplastics present in both, with microfibres being the predominant type. The findings are concerning because cockles are commercially harvested and consumed by people, making them a direct pathway for microplastic transfer to human diets.
Microplastic pollution represents a new threat to both marine environments and the species that reside within them. This study examined the temporal concentrations of microplastics found in the commercially and ecologically important bivalve, Cerasastoderma edule and the presence of microplastics in intertidal sediment from the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protected Area (SPA) of Dundalk Bay, Ireland. A microplastic range of 1.55 ± 1.38 to 1.92 ± 1.00 g and 3.43 ± 2.47 to 6.90 ± 3.68 ind was reported between seasons. Microfibres dominated the shape of microplastics present in both sediment and cockles. While a wider range of polymers were identified in cockles than in sediment, microplastic concentrations recovered from both intertidal sites studied were approximately double the estimated safe loading levels for this pollutant. The potential of cockles to perform as shallow environment biomonitors of microplastic pollution was identified as they presented buoyant microplastics that were not identified in sediment samples.
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Microplastic abundance and types were analyzed in blood cockles (Anadara granosa), water, and sediment from Lada Bay, Pandeglang, Indonesia. The study documented the presence of microplastics in all sample types, with cockles accumulating particles through their filter-feeding activity in the contaminated bay.
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A large survey of intertidal and subtidal sediments at protected coastal sites in Ireland found microplastics at 87 locations with concentrations correlated to sediment grain size and distance from urbanized areas, suggesting that even habitats within conservation zones accumulate significant microplastic loads from diffuse regional sources.
Microplastic contamination in sediments and bivalves from a litter-retaining Scottish sea loch: body-size scaling and growth-related traits
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