Plasticrust generation and degeneration in rocky intertidal habitats contribute to microplastic pollution

Plastic forms, including plastiglomerate, pyroplastic, plasticrusts, anthropoquinas, plastistone and plastitar, were recorded worldwide. These plastic forms derive from geochemical or geophysical interactions such as heat-induced plastic fusion with rock in campfires, incomplete plastic combustion, water motion-driven plastic abrasion in the rocky intertidal zone, plastic deposition in hardened sediments and plastic bonding with tar. Thereby, these interactions can profoundly influence the fate of plastics in the environment. This study characterized three novel plastic forms (plasticoncrete, plastimetal and plastisessiles) discovered on Helgoland island (North Sea). Plasticoncrete consisted of common polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) fibers hardened in concrete. Plastimetal included PE fibers rusted with metal. Plastisessiles consisted of PE fibers attached to benthic substrates by sessile invertebrates (oysters and polychaetes). Plasticoncrete and plastimetal are the first plastic forms composed of two man-made materials. Plastisessiles show that plastic forms not only result from human- or environment-mediated interactions but also from biological interactions between invertebrates and plastic. All plastic forms (bulk density ≥ 1.4 g/cm3) sunk during floating tests and hardly changed their positions during a 13-day field experiment and 153- to 306-day field monitorings, indicating their local formation, limited mobility and longevity. Still, experimentally detached plastic fibers floated, confirming that the formation of these plastic forms influences the fate of plastic fibers in the environment. Furthermore, the experiment showed that plasticoncrete got deposited in beach sand under wavy and windy conditions, indicating that coastal waves and onshore winds drive plasticoncrete deposition in coastal sediments. We also provide first records of plasticoncrete on Mallorca island (Mediterranean Sea) and plastimetal on Hikoshima island (Sea of Japan), respectively, which show that these plastic forms are no local phenomena. Thereby, our study contributes to the growing fundamental knowledge of plastic forms that is essential to understand the role and fate of these pollutants in coastal habitats worldwide.

First record of ‘plasticrusts’ and ‘pyroplastic’ from the Mediterranean Sea

Eolian dust from the lower atmosphere of the eastern Atlantic and Indian Oceans, China Sea and Sea of Japan

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 374:43-56 (2009) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07682 Climate change in the rocky intertidal zone: predicting and measuring the body temperature of a keystone predator P. Lauren Szathmary*, Brian Helmuth, David S. Wethey University of South Carolina, Department of Biological Sciences and Marine Science Program, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA *Email: szathmary@biol.sc.edu ABSTRACT: Forecasting the responses of populations and ecosystems to climate change requires that we understand both the direct effects of temperature on organism physiology and the indirect effects of temperature change on interactions such as predation and competition. The sea star Pisaster ochraceus is a keystone predator in the rocky intertidal zone with a broad geographic distribution along the west coast of North America. We developed a mechanistic heat budget model that uses environmental data to predict the body temperatures of P. ochraceus. Model accuracy was verified by comparing model output temperatures, generated using measured microclimatic data as input, to the temperatures of live P. ochraceus in the field. The average absolute errors between predicted and measured body temperatures were ~1°C. To continuously monitor sea star body temperatures in the field, we developed data loggers that thermally mimic P. ochraceus. Accuracy of these biomimetic loggers was tested by comparing logger temperatures to P. ochraceus body temperatures, and they were found to mimic body temperatures within ~1°C. Loggers were deployed at different tidal heights at a site in Bamfield, British Columbia, Canada, to investigate within-site body temperature variation. We also explored the relationship between body temperature and vertical distribution of P. ochraceus. A negative correlation was found between maximum body temperatures on Day n and the number of sea stars found in the intertidal on Day n + 1. These results suggest that temperatures reached during aerial exposure at low tide, at least in part, may determine where in the intertidal zone these sea stars are located, which could affect their foraging limits. KEY WORDS: Heat budget · Climate change · Intertidal zone · Pisaster ochraceus · Sea star · Temperature logger Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Szathmary PL, Helmuth B, Wethey DS (2009) Climate change in the rocky intertidal zone: predicting and measuring the body temperature of a keystone predator. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 374:43-56. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07682 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 374. Online publication date: January 13, 2009 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2009 Inter-Research.

Short-term tourism alters abundance, size, and composition of microplastics on sandy beaches

We analyzed patterns of genetic diversity in the sailfin sandfish (Arctoscopus japonicus), focusing on population subdivisions within the Sea of Japan. We observed 270 specimens from nine sampling sites in 1999–2000, i.e., seven sites in the Sea of Japan and two sites from the Pacific coast of Hokkaido. An additional site (30 specimens) was sampled from eastern Korea in the spawning season of 2004 for comparison. Forty haplotypes, compiled into three haplogroups (A–C), were detected based on the comparison of a 400-bp sequence of the anterior part of the mitochondrial control region. In accordance with previous hypotheses from morphological and molecular analyses, genetic discontinuity between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific coast of Hokkaido was conspicuous. Within the Sea of Japan, eight sampling sites were not genetically uniform, and most of the variations among sites were detected between eastern Korea [the “eastern Korea” (EK) population: distributed from the Korean Peninsula to Mishima, Yamaguchi Prefecture] and the other sites along the coast of Japan [the “western Japan” (WJ) population: from Oki Islands to western Hokkaido] (Φ CT = 0.096, P = 0.0183). The WJ population, having lower genetic variability, showed significant departure from neutrality, indicating influences through a recent population expansion. The period of the expansion can be estimated to have begun on the order of 104 years ago. We consider that the present Japan Sea populations have been formed through the invasion of a small ancestral stock to the Sea of Japan and its population expansion during the last glacial period or later. On the other hand, we failed to detect distinct evidence of a population expansion in the EK population. Haplogroup C, detected in a high frequency in this population, was estimated to have mixed with haplogroup A after rapid differentiations of the latter. Therefore, the EK population, strongly influenced by such a mixture, might possess haplogroup C in a higher frequency and a different haplotype composition from the WJ population.

Every person in this world throws waste in the form of plastics, wet waste, dry waste and etc. Also, every person looks for a place or a plastic container to dispose that waste, that plastic container is the Dustbin which they look for. Dustbin is a plastic container where everyone can dispose their waste. The main components they used in making this prototype are Arduino, Servo Motor and Ultrasonic Sensors.

Every person in this world throws waste in the form of plastics, wet waste, dry waste and etc. Also, every person looks for a place or a plastic container to dispose that waste, that plastic container is the Dustbin which they look for. Dustbin is a plastic container where everyone can dispose their waste. Dustbin is used as a storage place to dispose waste, but we cannot estimate the exact amount of waste disposed by a society, and the dustbin cannot take more waste as the space should be available in it to take more. We need to know the level of waste in the dustbin and based on that we can intimate people to use the dustbin or not. In this Smart Dustbin project, we have designed a prototype where the lid of the dustbin is opened, on detection of human hand and waste, and the level of waste available inside the dustbin is sent as notification in the form of LED. The main components we used in making this prototype are Arduino, NODEMCU, Servo Motor and Ultrasonic Sensors. The software component is the application named as Blynk which is used to get notification. This dustbin can be a start to Smart Waste Management System where the officials can clean or empty the dustbin which depends on the notification received by them and not waiting for a call from a person of a society who informs the garbage trucks to come and take the waste from them.

This is a preliminary study of the feasibility of obtaining reliable tidal current harmonic constants, using one month of current observations, to verify the accuracy of a tidal model. An inference method is commonly used to separate out the tidal harmonic constituents when the available data spans less than a synodic period. In contrast to tidal constituents, studies of the separation of tidal-current harmonics are rare, basically due to a dearth of the long-term observation data needed for such experiments. We conducted concurrent and monthly harmonic analyses for tidal current velocities and heights, using 2 years (2006 and 2007) of current and sea-level records obtained from the Tidal Current Signal Station located in the narrow waterway in front of Incheon Lock, Korea. Firstly, the l-year harmonic analyses showed that, with the exception of M₂ and S₂ semidiurnal constituents, the major constituents were different for the tidal currents and heights. K₁, for instance, was found to be the 4th major tidal constituent but not an important tidal current constituent. Secondly, we examined monthly variation in the amplitudes and phase-lags of the S₂ and K₁ current-velocity and tide constituents over a 23-month period. The resultant patterns of variation in the amplitudes and phase-lags of the S₂ tidal currents and tides were similar, exhibiting a sine curve form with a 6-month period. Similarly, variation in the K₁ tidal constant and tidal current-velocity phase lags showed a sine curve pattern with a 6-month period. However, that of the K₁ tidal current-velocity amplitude showed a somewhat irregular sine curve pattern. Lastly, we investigated and tested the inference methods available for separating the K₂ and S₂ current-velocity constituents via monthly harmonic analysis. We compared the effects of reduction in monthly variability in tidal harmonic constants of the S₂ currentvelocity constituent using three different inference methods and that of Schureman (1976). Specifically, to separate out the two constituents (S₂ and K₂), we used three different inference parameter (i.e. amplitude ratio and phase-lag diggerence) values derived from the ₁-year harmonic analyses of current-velocities and tidal heights at (near) the short-term observation station and from tidal potential (TP), together with Schureman’s (1976) inference (SI). Results from these four different methods reveal that TP and SI are satisfactorily applicable where results of long-term harmonic analysis are not available. We also discussed how to further reduce the monthly variability in S₂ tidal current-velocity constants.

Seasonal changes in the thermal regime and gastropod tolerance to temperature and desiccation stress in the rocky intertidal zone in Southeast Alaska

In the southern coast of Korea, rocky intertidal zones where green tide commonly occurs are dominated by Ulva pertusa, red algal turf (a mixed stand of Gigartina intermedia and Gigartina teedii) and species of Enteromorpha with highly opportunistic occurrence. To investigate their interspecific interactions, a field experiment was carried out using press effect of one species removal from permanent plots (20 x 20cm) set up on two different tidal heights. Mechanisms of interaction were also attempted using artificial plants to test the possible effects of shading, scouring, allelopathy of U. pertusa on the turf algae. The turf‐forming red algae lowered the abundance of U. pertusa presumably by inhibiting the recruitment of U. pertusa; this effect was consistent along the tidal height. However, the greater abundance of Enteromorpha was observed in the presence of turf in the upper zone, indicating a positive effect of turf on Enteromorpha. Once U. pertusa was successfully recruited and grown to the adult plant, it inhibited the growth of turf by shading, which was effective both in winter and summer regardless of desiccation stress. No scouring and allelopathic effects of U. pertusa on the turf were detected. When an open substrate was provided, Enteromorpha colonized the space faster than any other species in the upper zone, but the turf was the fastest one followed by U. pertusa and Enteromorpha in the lower zone. Results indicated that patterns of interaction represented a complex network with no ultimate winner and the outcomes of interaction varied over time and space.

The increasing prevalence of marine debris is a global problem, and urgent action for amelioration is needed. Identifying hotspots where marine debris accumulates will enable effective control; however, knowledge on the location of accumulation hotspots remains incomplete. In particular, marine debris accumulation on beaches is a concern. Surveys of beaches require intensive human effort, and survey methods are not standardized. If marine debris monitoring is conducted using a standardized method, data from different regions can be compared. With an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and deep learning computational methods, monitoring a wide area at a low cost in a standardized way may be possible. In this study, we aimed to identify marine debris on beaches through deep learning using high-resolution UAV images by conducting a survey on Narugashima Island in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan. The flight altitude relative to the ground was set to 5 m, and images of a 0.81-ha area were obtained. Flight was conducted twice: before and after the beach cleaning. The combination of UAVs equipped with a zoom lens and operation at a low altitude allows for the acquisition of high resolution images of 1.1 mm/pixel. The training dataset (2970 images) was annotated by using VoTT, categorizing them into two classes: ‘anthropogenic marine debris’ and ‘natural objects.’ Using RetinaNet, marine debris was identified with an average sensitivity of 51% and a precision of 76%. In addition, the abundance and area of marine debris coverage were estimated. In this study, it was revealed that the combination of UAVs and deep learning enables the effective identification of marine debris. The effects of cleanup activities by citizens were able to be quantified. This method can widely be used to evaluate the effectiveness of citizen efforts toward beach cleaning and low-cost long-term monitoring.

Frontiers Events is a rapidly growing calendar management system dedicated to the scheduling of academic events. This includes announcements and invitations, participant listings and search functionality, abstract handling and publication, related events and post-event exchanges. Whether an organizer or participant, make your event a Frontiers Event!

Numerical estimation of the hotspot positions of floating plastic debris in the Tsushima Strait using the adjoint marginal sensitivity method

Plastics embedded in tar residues encrusting rocky coastlines were discovered on the Canary Islands (NE Atlantic Ocean) and termed “plastitar” in 2022. As plastic and tar pollution is widespread in marine pelagic and benthic habitats, it was predicted that this novel plastic form could occur on other coasts as well. To test this prediction, we reviewed the literature on plastic embedded in tar and examined rocky coastlines in our regions for plastitar. We found eight studies which reported plastic embedded in tar under several descriptions and terms (including “tar-bonded beach-conglomerate tarcrete”, “plasto-tar crust”, “plasto-tarball” and “plastitar”) in India (Arabian Sea), Bermuda (Saragossa Sea), the Bahamas (NW Atlantic Ocean), the United Arabic Emirates (Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman), Malta (central Mediterranean Sea), Croatia (Adriatic Sea), Italy (Adriatic and Ligurian Sea), Cabrera island, Menorca island and Sardinia island (western Mediterranean Sea) and Indonesia (Java Sea) from 1973 to 2023. We also detected plastitar during our field surveys in Japan (Sea of Japan) and Mallorca island (western Mediterranean Sea) in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), we verified the contained plastics as polyethylene (PE). Pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PY-GC/MS) indicated that the tar residues derived from crude oil. Furthermore, plotting all these plastitar records in a global map revealed that almost all plastitar findings were made along the major oil transportation routes across the northern hemisphere suggesting that plastitar resulted from tanker-released crude oils. Overall, our study shows, for the first time, that plastitar has been a widespread and long overlooked plastic form in coastal systems worldwide.