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Microplastics in seawater and marine organisms: Site-specific variations over two-year study in Giglio Island (North Tyrrhenian Sea)
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Researchers monitored microplastic concentrations in seawater and fish near the Costa Concordia shipwreck site in the North Tyrrhenian Sea across 2017 and 2019, finding site-dependent spatial variation driven by surface currents and a higher frequency of fish with ingested microplastics in 2019 compared to 2017.
Geographical and temporal differences of microplastic occurrence were documented in water and fish collected in 2017 and 2019 from the Giglio Island (North Tyrrhenian Sea) close to the area where the Costa Concordia sank in January 2012. Results on water samples showed a site-dependent difference, suggesting the role of surface current dynamics in the microplastic local distribution, while tested Neuston nets (200 μm and 330 μm mesh size) did not influence microplastic retention efficiency. Fish exhibited in 2019 a higher frequency of specimens positive to microplastic ingestion with respect to 2017, with an occurrence higher than those typically observed in other Mediterranean areas. Both in water and fish, fragments were the dominating shape, polypropylene and polyethylene were the prevalent polymers, without particular difference between sites and years. This study highlights the importance of applying microplastic investigation in biotic and abiotic matrices for an effective monitoring of this pollution in the marine environment.
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This study combined bottom-trawl fishing data with analysis of plastic ingestion in deep-sea fish from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea to assess seafloor litter pollution. Plastic was the most abundant litter type on the seafloor, and plastic fragments were found in fish digestive tracts, demonstrating that microplastic contamination extends to deep-sea ecosystems and enters the food web.
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Researchers examine whether mesopelagic fish in the Strait of Messina act as vectors transferring ingested microplastics up the Mediterranean food web, finding that plastic ingestion by these deep-water species could play a significant role in contaminating higher trophic levels.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.