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Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Environmental Sources Marine & Wildlife Sign in to save

Chemical fingerprint of plastic litter in sediments and holothurians from Croatia: Assessment & relation to different environmental factors

Marine Pollution Bulletin 2020 32 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 35 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Andrea Blašković, Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Monia Renzi Andrea Blašković, Monia Renzi Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Andrea Blašković, Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Andrea Blašković, Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi Monia Renzi

Summary

Sea cucumbers from Croatian island sediments contained microplastics and semi-synthetic fibers, showing that these benthic animals ingest particles from the seafloor. As sea cucumbers are a commercially harvested species, their contamination has direct implications for human dietary exposure to microplastics.

Study Type Environmental

This paper increases knowledge on litter transfer from sediments towards the trophic web throughout sea cucumbers, key protected benthic species. In October, sediment and holothurian samples from seventeen sampling sites from Croatian Islands characterized by different levels of protection (Silba n = 7; Telašćica MPA n = 10) were collected. Collected particles ranged in sediments within 113.4-377.8 items/kg d.w., and in holothurians within 0.6-9.4 items/animal, showing sizes within 1.4-10,493 μm. In holothurians, cellulose and cellulose acetate (non-synthetic materials) mean percentages were within 5.0-12.7% of the total amount of particles. Nylon fibres ranged within 0-26.7%; while PP, PE, PA, and PS% were more abundant than in sediments. Among factors of variability tested, "island group" and "level of protection" resulted to affect plastic composition in sediments. Otherwise, other environmental factors (i.e. orientation, morphology of sampling site, P. oceanica) were significantly related to chemical composition of microplastic ingested by holothurians.

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