Marine Beach Research Articles

Index based approach for assessment of abundance of marine debris and status of marine pollution in Kandakuliya, Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka

Marine debris accumulation and contamination have become escalating yet disastrous environmental impacts in marine ecosystems at present Sri Lanka context. Thus, we conducted this study to assess the marine debris abundance and density in randomly selected sites (n = 6) of Kandakuliya beach, Negombo, Sri Lanka. Marine debris density was used to explore the extent of beach pollution from marine debris. 13 types of marine debris were found including sub types of marine debris. Higher abundance of fragment marine debris can be seen rather than whole marine debris in each site. Moreover, a significant difference of mean abundance of hard plastic was observed among 6 sites as spatial variation of hazardous marine debris. According to Clean Coast Index (CCI), site 1 was classified as the “extremely dirty”, while site 2 - site 4 were classified as “dirty”. As per the Hazardous Items Index (HII), site 1 - site 4 were grouped under the category (IV). Further according to Plastic Abundance Index (PAI) categories, site 1 was grouped as “high level of plastic contamination”, while site 2 and site 4 were grouped as “high to moderate level of plastic contamination”. Accumulation of hazardous and non-degradable waste carried away by wind and ocean current from unsustainable fishing practices, mismanagement of solid waste, destructive recreational activities have been recorded as main sources for observed marine debris on the beach. In conclusion, study showed that there exists a substantial need in incorporating marine beach and coastal management framework to preserve these ecosystems. Despites raising awareness and education, and beach cleanup initiatives, we suggest introduction of new waste management methods (especially, gears and boat waste) through innovation, strengthening legislation and regulations, corporate responsibility, and advanced research and development as further management steps must be taken to conserve the beach in Kandakuliya.

Streptomyces marispadix sp. nov., isolated from marine beach sediment.

A novel actinomycetal strain, designated M600PL45_2T, was isolated from marine sediments obtained from Ingleses beach, Porto, on the Northern Coast of Portugal and was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic characterisation study. The here described Gram-reaction-positive strain is characterised by the production of a brown pigment in both solid and liquid medium and forms typical helical hyphae that differentiate into smooth spores. The results of a phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that M600PL45_2T has a high similarity to two members of the genus Streptomyces, Streptomyces bathyalis ASO4wetT (98.51 %) and Streptomyces daqingensis NEAU ZJC8T (98.44 %). The genome of M600PL45_2T has a size of 6 695 159 bp, a DNA G+C content of 70.71 mol% and 5538 coding sequences. M600PL45_2T grows at 15-37 °C and with a maximal growth rate between 25 °C and 30 °C. Growth at pH 6.0 to 9.0 with the optimal range between 6.0 and 7.5 was observed. M600PL45_2T showed a high salinity tolerance, growing with 0-10 % (w/v) NaCl, with best growth with 1-3% (w/v) NaCl. Major cellular fatty acids are iso-C15:0 (25.03 %), anteiso-C15:0 (17.70) and iso-C16:0 (26.90 %). The novel isolate was able to grow in media containing a variety of nitrogen and carbon sources. An antimicrobial activity screening indicated that an extract of M600PL45_2T has inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus. On the basis of the polyphasic data, M600PL45_2T (= CECT 30365T = DSM 114036T) is introduced as the type strain of a novel species, that we named Streptomyces marispadix sp. nov.

The extent of microplastic pollution along the eastern coast of India: Focussing on marine waters, beach sand, and fish

In this study, for the first time, we evaluated microplastic contamination in water, beach sand, and fish samples collected from the seven most famous and crowded beaches of the eastern coast of India, which cover around 1200 km. The average number of microplastics found was 80 ± 33 microplastics/m3 and 4 ± 2 microplastics/kg dry weight with a numerical abundance of polyethylene and polystyrene for water and sand samples, respectively. The polymer hazard index score, which represents the severity of the microplastics scenario in the studied locations, depicts that this coastline falls under hazard levels IV and V (most hazardous) for water and sand samples, respectively. The study revealed that approximately 30 % of the commercially important fishes collected from the locations contained microplastics with polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene being the most abundant types. Rastrelliger kanagurta and Sardinella gibbosa were identified as the most polluted species.

Geo-archaeology and Haíɫzaqv oral history: Long-term human investment and resource use at EkTb-9, Triquet Island, N̓úláw̓itxˇv Tribal Area, Central Coast, British Columbia, Canada

Archaeological site EkTb-9 is located on Triquet Island in the N̓úláw̓itxˇv Tribal area of Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Nation territory, on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. The results of radiometric dating and the analysis of palaeoenvironmental correlates indicate that the site was a persistent place of repeated human occupation spanning the early post-glacial period to the present day. This paper focuses on the paleogeographic and geomorphic setting of EkTb-9. Stratigraphic records show a complex array of site formation processes. Marine beach sediments are elevated above modern sea level, an extensive sand sheet consistent with a possible palaeotsunami event is present, as well as organic soils and peat deposits. Cultural strata are interbedded with these and include both shell-less and preserved shell accumulations. Results from our geo-archaeological and palaeoenvironmental assessments indicate that the outer coastal island changed from what was likely an open landscape during the early post-glacial period to the hypermaritime coastal temperate rainforest environs of the present day. Our interpretations are combined with Haíɫzaqv oral history and discussions are organized by Haíɫzaqv temporal phases identified for the N̓úláw̓itxˇv Tribal area. Combining Indigenous knowledge with our archaeological interpretations enhances our collective understanding of the long-term record of human occupation and investment at EkTb-9.

Application of High-Resolution Near-Infrared Imaging Spectroscopy to Detect Microplastic Particles in Different Environmental Compartments

Microplastic particles (MPP) occur in various environmental compartments all over the world. They have been frequently investigated in oceans, freshwaters, and sediments, but studying their distribution in space and time is somewhat limited by the time-consuming nature of the available accurate detection strategies. Here, we present an enhanced application of lab-based near-infrared imaging (NIR) spectroscopy to identify the total number of MPP, classify polymer types, and determine particle sizes while maintaining short measuring times. By adding a microscopic lens to the hyperspectral camera and a cross slide table to the setup, the overall detectable particle size has been decreased to 100 µm in diameter. To verify and highlight the capabilities of this enhanced, semi-automated detection strategy, it was applied to key areas of microplastic research, such as a lowland river, the adjacent groundwater wells, and marine beach sediments. Results showed mean microplastic concentrations of 0.65 MPP/L in the Havel River close to Berlin and 0.004 MPP/L in the adjacent groundwater. The majority of MPP detected in the river were PP and PE. In 8 out of 15 groundwater samples, no MPP was found. Considering only the samples with quantifiable MPP, then on average 0.01 MPP/L was present in the groundwater (98.5% removal during bank filtration). The most abundant polymers in groundwater were PE, followed by PVC, PET, and PS. Mean MPP concentrations at two beaches on the German Baltic Sea coast were 5.5~MPP/kg at the natural reserve Heiligensee and Hüttelmoor and 47.5 MPP/kg at the highly frequented Warnemünde beach.

Snakes on USA beaches: A new management challenge?

The beach is a vast environment filled with varied animal species, most of which are benign to humans or indifferent to their occasional interactions. One of the animals most associated with interactions in both marine and freshwater beach environments are snakes. These interactions can be traumatic events that may sometimes have tragic consequences for humans. Snake encounters on beaches have become an unexpected coastal hazard. While such occurrences are rare, they are increasing in some locations due to overpopulation, food scarcity, and warmer conditions (related to climatic change). Interactions of snakes with humans tend to draw significant and often exaggerated attention from the public and the media. Pressure is usually placed on local governmental organizations to respond in some manner to prevent further attacks. The increase in alien snake species in beach and near-beach environments have added to the problem. The purpose of this paper is to review records of snake encounters and attacks in the USA and provide some recommendations to help stakeholders make informed decisions when responding to snakes on beaches.

Changes in Sources and Composition of Beach Waste in Coastal Cities around the Bohai Sea of China during the Tourist Peak and Off-Peak Seasons.

Beach waste is an important pollutant in the Bohai Sea and coastal cities around the Bohai Sea and has raised many social and environmental concerns in China. The semi-closed characteristics of the Bohai Sea, the well-developed tourism, the special industrial structure and residents' living habits endow the beach waste around Bohai sea with a unique character that should be explored. This study investigated changes in the sources and composition of beach waste in coastal cities around the Bohai Sea of China during the tourist peak and off-peak seasons. Beach waste from twenty beaches in thirteen coastal cities around the Bohai Sea was sampled and analyzed in March and August 2021, respectively. The results showed that beach waste around the Bohai Sea was characterized by large quantities and small weights and was greatly affected by human coastal activities. The sources and composition of beach waste from different coasts and different seasons varied, whereas the overall trend was consistent. In terms of composition, beach waste in both the tourist peak season and off-peak season was mainly composed of plastics, fabrics and paper, which accounted for more than 70% of the total in weight. Meanwhile, the proportion of plastics in the total quantity of beach waste was greatest (maximum of up to 71%) and exhibited seasonal fluctuations, trending higher in the tourist peak season than in the off-peak season. In contrast, trends in the proportion of paper and fabrics in the total quantity and total weight of beach waste were relatively stable in different seasons. In terms of sources, beach waste mainly derived from human coastal activities, the proportion of which in the total quantity of beach waste in the tourist peak season reached 70.55% and was 11% higher than that in the tourist off-peak season. Shipping/fishing activities were the second largest source of beach waste, and their proportion in the total quantity of beach waste in the tourist peak season was 5% lower than that in the tourist off-peak season, as the tourist peak season around the Bohai Sea coincides exactly with the fishing moratorium. The quantity of smoking-related waste only accounted for 9.35% and 7.73% of beach waste in the tourist peak and off-peak seasons, respectively. The special semi-enclosed structure of the Bohai gulf, surrounded by land on three sides, aggravated the accumulation of beach waste on the coast. Source reduction and classified recovery, collaborative management of marine waste and beach waste, and joint prevention and control mechanisms of three provinces (Liaoning, Hebei and Shandong) and one municipality (Tianjin) were suggested for comprehensive management of beach waste in coastal cities around the Bohai Sea of China. This study provided valuable information for beach waste management in coastal cities around the Bohai Sea of China.

Guia de macroalgas para o ensino de botânica

The planning, execution, and evaluation of practical classes in rocky shores of marine beaches along the Brazilian coast is a challenging teaching activity for educators when it comes to addressing botanical content. The development and approval of taxonomic photographic guides of marine flora can facilitate the pedagogical work of the instructor. The objectives of the article are: a) to present the "Guide to Green (Chlorophyta), Brown (Ochrophyta), and Red Algae (Rhodophyta) from Saco de Dois Rios, Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil"; b) to describe the evaluation of its didactic adequacy made by the students of the mandatory discipline of Plant Biodiversity I of the Biological Sciences course of the State University of Rio de Janeiro. The guide is portable, submersible, and printed on a PVC plate with 29 cm in length, 20.9 cm in width, and 0.2 cm in thickness. It has 48 color illustrations: 10 Ochrophyta, 11 Chlorophyta, and 27 Rhodophyta. Students between 19-21 years old, (72%), and from the Bachelor's program (66%) approved the guide with a significant difference (a<1%) of favorable observations (76%). The tested guide proved to be an adequate complementary didactic support on the content of macroalgae for adoption in the practical classes of the rocky marine and estuarine shores studied.

Impact Assessment of Culinary Tourism Potential on the Revitalization of Post-Pandemic Marine Tourism at Mampie Polewali Mandar Beach, West Sulawesi: A Qualitative Analysis

The objectives of this study were (1) to find out what culinary potential can support post-pandemic covid 19 marine tourism on the Mampie Polewali Mandar beach, West Sulawesi. (2) to find out the culinary potential to support post-covid 19 pandemic marine tourism on the Mampie Polewali Mandar beach West Sulawesi. The research method used is research with qualitative data types with data collection techniques using interviews, documentation and observation then analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis techniques. The research results show that there are actually a lot of culinary potentials, including by utilizing traditional specialties as one of the products that can be marketed or sold in the marine tourism area of Mampie Beach, apart from that by working with the local community to provide products, currently there is no culinary being utilized. so that the Mampie Beach marine tourism is not maximal yet so that it is not optimal in providing facilities and infrastructure for a marine tourism, especially considering that now we are in post-pandemic Covid 19 where tourists will feel bored doing activities that have been carried out from home and will traveling for vacation purposes. The lack of culinary potential as a support for marine tourism makes this known culinary potential that it turns out that the lack of initiative from the community, stakeholders to the local government means that marine tourism will also run as usual without any other additional income. This is due to the lack of information obtained by managers regarding what are the things that can support marine tourism, especially in increasing income, such as culinary tourism which will actually be a supporting factor for marine tourism in Mampie Beach, especially during the post-covid pandemic 19 at the moment.

Linking marine litter accumulation and beach user perceptions on pocket beaches of Northern Sardinia (Italy)

Marine litter is a global issue, and one way to face this problem is to increase citizen knowledge and awareness. In our study, we analyzed and quantified the abundance of marine litter on 5 pocket beaches located in North Sardinia. From the 7975 collected items, plastic was the most important litter category. Regarding the MLs' sources, no-sourced and public litter were the most abundant. Waste density is quite high and characterized by great variability, due to two site-specific factors: geomorphological control and human influences. Those key aspects underlying the importance of further understanding marine debris fate and transport and human behaviors because they denote a crucial role to achieve effective marine debris management.In addition, social surveys were performed to assess users' perceptions and knowledge of marine litter. The results of the interviews show that people are aware of the negative impacts that may arise from the presence of waste, and recognized that the presence of litter on the beach is mainly due to human behavior. However, the comparison of beach users’ perceptions and the marine litter collected reveals that users only have partial knowledge of the waste composition, requiring further actions involving different targets.

Novel sediment sampling method provides new insights into vertical grain size variability due to marine and aeolian beach processes

AbstractIn sandy beach systems, the aeolian sediment transport can be governed by the vertical structure of the sediment layers at the bed surface. Here, data collected with a newly developed sand scraper is presented to determine high‐resolution vertical grain size variability and how it is affected by marine and aeolian processes. Sediment samples at up to 2 mm vertical resolution down to 50 mm depth were collected at three beaches: Waldport (Oregon, USA), Noordwijk (the Netherlands) and Duck (North Carolina, USA). The results revealed that the grain size in individual layers can differ considerably from the median grain size of the total sample. The most distinct temporal variability occurred due to marine processes that resulted in significant morphological changes in the intertidal zone. The marine processes during high water resulted both in fining and coarsening of the surface sediment. Especially near the upper limit of wave runup, the formation of a veneer of coarse sediment was observed. Although the expected coarsening of the near‐surface grain size during aeolian transport events was observed at times, the opposite trend also occurred. The latter could be explained by the formation and propagation of aeolian bedforms within the intertidal zone locally resulting in sediment fining at the bed surface. The presented data lays the basis for future sediment sampling strategies and sediment transport models that investigate the feedbacks between marine and aeolian transport, and the vertical variability of the grain size distribution.

Know Before You Go: Data-Driven Beach Water Quality Forecasting.

Forecasting environmental hazards is critical in preventing or building resilience to their impacts on human communities and ecosystems. Environmental data science is an emerging field that can be harnessed for forecasting, yet more work is needed to develop methodologies that can leverage increasingly large and complex data sets for decision support. Here, we design a data-driven framework that can, for the first time, forecast bacterial standard exceedances at marine beaches with 3 days lead time. Using historical data sets collected at two California sites, we train nearly 400 forecast models using statistical and machine learning techniques and test forecasts against predictions from both a naive "persistence" model and a baseline nowcast model. Overall, forecast models are found to have similar sensitivities and specificities to the persistence model, but significantly higher areas under the ROC curve (a metric distinguishing a model's ability to effectively parse classes across decision thresholds), suggesting that forecasts can provide enhanced information beyond past observations alone. Forecast model performance at all lead times was similar to that of nowcast models. Together, results suggest that integrating the forecasting framework developed in this study into beach management programs can enable better public notification and aid in proactive pollution and health risk management.

PEMANFAATAN CITRA SATELIT LANDSAT 8 UNTUK MEMETAKAN HUTAN MANGROVE WISATA BAHARI PANTAI KARANGANTU, TELUK BANTEN

Mangrove marine tourism is one of the tourism sectors involved in large and important projects in tourism development. The transformation of PPN Karangantu from a protected area to marine tourism has caused environmental damage. This continued focus on mass tourism has resulted in environmental damage and pollution of the mangrove area found in PPN Karangantu. The aim of the study was to calculate the area of mangrove forest, the accuracy value of mangrove density and changes in conditions due to the existence of the Karangantu Beach marine tourism area in the last 5 years. The research method uses a mixed method to identify mangrove areas by visually analyzing landsat 8 spectral values using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and by image processing for 2018-2022. The results showed that in 2018 the area of mangrove land was 17.04 ha, which decreased drastically in 2019 to 6.28 ha due to an oil spill that was carried away from Karawang Waters. In 2020 it will be 10.6 ha, in 2021 it will be 9.56 ha and in 2022 it will be 7.32 ha. This decrease area is due to marine tourism activities which damage the mangrove ecosystem land and many visitors do not protect the ecosystem. The use of GEE can provide an overview of the capabilities of Landsat 8 satellite imagery in mapping the mangrove forests in Karangantu Beach.

Microplastics in marine beach and seabed sediments along the coasts of Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar in Tanzania

Microplastics (MPs) pollution in the marine environment has been one of the biggest challenge in developing countries due to a lack of proper solid waste management strategies. This study reports the distribution and types of MPs in beach and seabed zones of the Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar coasts. A total of 641 MPs were identified across all sites, of which 84 % and 16 % originated from beach and seabed sediments, respectively. Fragment and fibers were the most common types in both seabed and beach zone confirming the secondary sources of the MPs. Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR), revealed four types of polymers with polyethylene (PE) (56%) and polyester (PS) (24 %) being the most common. Microplastics were more abundant on beaches than in seabed zone. A larger abundance of PE and PS reveals a wide range of MPs entering the Ocean.

Microbiome profiling and characterization of virulent and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium from treated and untreated wastewater, beach water and clinical sources

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) is an opportunistic pathogen among the highest global priorities regarding public and environmental health. Following One Health approach, we determined for the first time the antibiotic resistance and virulence genes, and sequence types (STs) affiliation of VREfm recovered simultaneously from marine beach waters, submarine outfall of a wastewater treatment plant and an offshore discharge of untreated sewage, and compared them with the surveillance VREfm from regional university hospital in Croatia to assess the hazard of their transmission and routes of introduction into the natural environment. Importantly, VREfm recovered from wastewater, coastal bathing waters and hospital shared similar virulence, multidrug resistance, and ST profiles, posing a major public health threat. All isolates carried the vanA gene, while one clinical isolate also possessed the vanC2/C3 gene. The hospital strains largely carried the aminoglycoside-resistance genes aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2″)-Ia, and aph(2″)-Ib and aph(2″)-Id, which were also predominant in the environmental isolates. The hyl gene was the most prevalent virulence gene. The isolates belonged to 10 STs of the clonal complex CC17, a major epidemic lineage associated with hospital infections and outbreaks, with ST117 and ST889 common to waterborne and hospital isolates, pointing to their sewage-driven dissemination.To gain better insight into the diversity of accompanying taxons in the surveyed water matrices, microbiome taxonomic profiling was carried out using Illumina-based 16S rDNA sequencing and their resistome features predicted using the PICRUSt2 bioinformatics tool. An additional 60 pathogenic bacterial genera were identified, among which Arcobacter, Acinetobacter, Escherichia-Shigella, Bacteroides and Pseudomonas were the most abundant and associated with a plethora of antibiotic resistance genes and modules, providing further evidence of the hazardous effects of wastewater discharges, including the treated ones, on the natural aquatic environment that should be adequately addressed from a sanitary and technological perspective.

Bina Komunikasi Wisata Desa Percut Kecamatan Percut Sei Tuan Kabupaten Deli Serdang

Percut Village is a popular tourist destination in Percut Sei Tuan District, drawing visitors from all over the country, particularly on Saturdays and Sundays. There is a culinary tour in this town that serves several varieties of fish meals that guests can choose according to their preferences. Visitors can enjoy the relaxing sea views until they approach the Malaysian border on their way to the gastronomic destination. Visitors will be transported to the gastronomic destination via free fishing boats provided by the café owner. There is also a Fish Auction Place (TPI) in this village, which attracts inhabitants who want to buy fresh fish at a low price compared to other localities. The other issue is that local folks' ability to communicate in order to entice tourists to return is still restricted. Residents' willingness to take advantage of the possibility to make things for sale is still low. Based on the dedication shown, the communication training provided to partners has proven to be very effective in promoting the various types of tourism available in Percut village, as well as the socializing provided to keep the environment clean. However, the Covid 19 epidemic, which is still rampant, has severely harmed partners' culinary businesses and fish auctions.Percut Village has tourism potential, particularly in the fields of marine tourism, beach tourism, and culinary tourism; socialization about tourism communication is very useful for opening culinary tourism visits in Percut Village; residents' understanding of environmental maintenance procedures and healthy homes is still low; and The development of Covid 19 and the imposition of Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) had a significant impact on Percut Village's tourism appeal.

Fecal indicator bacteria levels at a marine beach before, during, and after the COVID-19 shutdown period and associations with decomposing seaweed and human presence

Studies are limited that evaluate seaweed as a source of bacteria to beach waters. The objective of the current study was to evaluate whether seaweed, along with humans and other animals, could be the cause of beach advisories due to elevated levels of enterococci. The monitoring period occurred a year prior to and through the COVID-19 beach shutdown period, which provided a unique opportunity to evaluate bacteria levels during prolonged periods without recreational activity. Samples of water, sediment, and seaweed were measured for enterococci by culture and qPCR, in addition to microbial source tracking by qPCR of fecal bacteria markers from humans, dogs, and birds. During periods of elevated enterococci levels in water, these analyses were supplemented by chemical source tracking of human-associated excretion markers (caffeine, sucralose, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen). Results show that enterococci with elevated levels of human fecal markers persist in the seaweed and sediment and are the likely contributor to elevated levels of bacteria to the nearshore waters. During the shutdown period the elevated levels of enterococci in the sediment were isolated to the seaweed stranding areas. During periods when the beaches were open, enterococci were distributed more uniformly in sediment across the supratidal and intertidal zones. It is hypothesized from this study that human foot traffic may be responsible for the spread of enterococci throughout these areas. Overall, this study found high levels of enterococci in decomposing seaweed supporting the hypothesis that decomposing seaweed provides an additional substrate for enterococci to grow.

Abundance of Live and Dead Bacteriopsammon Inhabiting Sandy Ecosystems of Recreational Marine Beaches of the Southern Baltic Sea

The study was carried out on four non-tidal sandy marine beaches located on the Polish part of the southern Baltic Sea coast. We applied a LIVE/DEAD™ BacLight™ Bacterial Viability Kit (Invitrogen™) method to determine the abundance of live and dead bacteriopsammon. Live psammon bacteria cells constituted 31–53% of the total number of bacteria inhabiting sand of the studied beaches. Abundance of live and dead psammon bacteria generally differed along the horizontal profile in all beaches. The maximum density of bacteria was noted in the dune and the middle part of the beach (dry zones) and the minimum in wet zones, i.e., under seawater surface and at the swash zone. Generally along the vertical profile, the highest numbers of two studied bacterial groups were noted in the surface sand layer, while with increasing sediment depth their numbers significantly decreased. The abundance of live and dead bacteria showed a distinct seasonal variation.

The State of Beach Litter Pollution during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of the Israeli Coasts

This research examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marine litter pollution along the Israeli coast, which constitutes a terminal area in the Mediterranean Sea large-scale circulation. Surveys for litter were conducted on four beaches along the Israeli Mediterranean coast. Sampling was done pre-pandemic in June, September, and December of 2019; during the first year of the pandemic in March, June, September, and December of 2020; and during the second year of the pandemic in March 2021. The study revealed that during the first year of the pandemic, beach litter concentration was reduced by 47 ± 27% on all beaches. The decrease in beach litter continued during the second year on most beaches (34 ± 22% reduction) and was most observable for plastic products, which have a high potential to float and travel long distances. The decline in beach litter concentration in the Israeli beaches during the pandemic was statistically significant. The barcode analysis indicates the appearance of non-Israeli debris on the shores (22-81% pre-COVID-19 and 5-47% during-COVID-19), which supports the assumption that the reduction in marine litter pollution was affected by the decline in beach activity both locally and in other coastal neighboring countries. An additional effect of the pandemic was the appearance of single-use plastic masks and gloves in April 2020, influenced by the epidemic’s regulations and restrictions. Despite the decline in beach marine litter concentration during COVID-19, plastic pollution is a high concern in this heavily populated coastal region. Our data set provides an indication for the potential of local and regional regulations to reduce further beach litter pollution and a baseline for continuous monitoring of these processes. Highlights The impact of COVID-19 on beach litter pollution along Israel’s coast was studied Significant decline in beach litter concentration during the Covid-19 pandemic. Barcode analysis reveals debris is 22-57% from non-local sources. Litter associated with COVID-19 was identified for the first time just as pandemic start

Seasonal Distribution, Composition, and Inventory of Plastic Debris on the Yugang Park Beach in Zhanjiang Bay, South China Sea.

Plastic debris contamination in marine environments is a global problem that poses a considerable threat to the sustainability and health of coastal ecosystems. Marine beaches, as the key zones where terrestrial plastic debris reach coastal waters, are faced with the increasing pressures of human activities. In this study, we explored the distribution, composition, and inventory of plastic debris over seasonal and tidal zones at the Yugang Park Beach (YPB) in Zhanjiang Bay, South China Sea, to provide a baseline for plastic debris on a marine beach. The results showed mean abundance of plastic debris in summer (6.00 ± 2.10 items/m2) was significantly greater than that in winter (3.75 ± 2.12 items/m2). In addition, the composition of plastic debris ranged in size mainly from 1 to 5 mm and 0.5 to 2.5 cm in winter and summer, respectively. In terms of composition, white plastic debris was the most common (81.1%), and foam was the most abundant (64.4%). Moreover, there was a significant relationship between the abundance of plastic debris and sand grain size fraction (p < 0.05), implying the abundances of microplastic debris were more easily impacted by sand grain size (>2 mm). In total inventory, there were about 1.18 × 105 and 2.95 × 105 items of plastic debris on the YPB in winter and summer, respectively. The tidal variation and human activities are responsible for the plastic debris accumulation. This study provided a method to quantify the inventory of plastic debris on a beach and could be helpful to consider regional tidal variations and critical source areas for effective plastic debris clean-up.