A baseline study of macro, meso and micro litter in the Belize River basin, from catchment to coast
Abstract The mismanagement of waste and subsequent presence of litter in the environment is an increasingly significant problem. Globally, rivers have been shown to be a major pathway for mismanaged waste. We investigated the distribution of macro, meso and micro litter along the Belize river basin....
Published in: | ICES Journal of Marine Science |
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Language: | English |
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Oxford University Press (OUP)
2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab268 https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article-pdf/80/8/2183/52071168/fsab268.pdf |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/icesjms/fsab268 2024-06-23T07:55:22+00:00 A baseline study of macro, meso and micro litter in the Belize River basin, from catchment to coast Silburn, Briony Bakir, Adil Binetti, Umberto Russell, Josie Kohler, Peter Preston-Whyte, Fiona Meakins, Bryony van Hoytema, Nanne Andrews, Gilbert Carrias, Abel Maes, Thomas Bellas, Juan 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab268 https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article-pdf/80/8/2183/52071168/fsab268.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ ICES Journal of Marine Science volume 80, issue 8, page 2183-2196 ISSN 1054-3139 1095-9289 journal-article 2022 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab268 2024-06-11T04:21:07Z Abstract The mismanagement of waste and subsequent presence of litter in the environment is an increasingly significant problem. Globally, rivers have been shown to be a major pathway for mismanaged waste. We investigated the distribution of macro, meso and micro litter along the Belize river basin. The North-East Atlantic OSPAR beach litter monitoring protocol was adapted for Belize, taking into account local issues such as mangroves and Sargassum sp. accumulations. On average, 77.3% of litter items consisted of plastic, and the most common items categories were unidentifiable plastic pieces (0–2.5 and 2.5–50 cm), broken glass, and metal bottle caps. The study indicated that there is an increase in the litter load as you move from catchment to coast, with both Plastic Pieces (PP) and Fishing Related (FR) items also increasing in numbers down the system. Additionally, microplastics abundance was determined in riverine sediments and in the riverine fish Cichlasoma synspilum (n = 22). All sediment samples contained microplastics, with a concentration of 200–6500 particles per kg dry sediment. Microplastics were found to be present in 36% of the riverine fish. The data from this study will provide evidence for the formation of Belizean legislation to reduce marine litter. Article in Journal/Newspaper North East Atlantic Oxford University Press ICES Journal of Marine Science |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Oxford University Press |
op_collection_id |
croxfordunivpr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract The mismanagement of waste and subsequent presence of litter in the environment is an increasingly significant problem. Globally, rivers have been shown to be a major pathway for mismanaged waste. We investigated the distribution of macro, meso and micro litter along the Belize river basin. The North-East Atlantic OSPAR beach litter monitoring protocol was adapted for Belize, taking into account local issues such as mangroves and Sargassum sp. accumulations. On average, 77.3% of litter items consisted of plastic, and the most common items categories were unidentifiable plastic pieces (0–2.5 and 2.5–50 cm), broken glass, and metal bottle caps. The study indicated that there is an increase in the litter load as you move from catchment to coast, with both Plastic Pieces (PP) and Fishing Related (FR) items also increasing in numbers down the system. Additionally, microplastics abundance was determined in riverine sediments and in the riverine fish Cichlasoma synspilum (n = 22). All sediment samples contained microplastics, with a concentration of 200–6500 particles per kg dry sediment. Microplastics were found to be present in 36% of the riverine fish. The data from this study will provide evidence for the formation of Belizean legislation to reduce marine litter. |
author2 |
Bellas, Juan |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Silburn, Briony Bakir, Adil Binetti, Umberto Russell, Josie Kohler, Peter Preston-Whyte, Fiona Meakins, Bryony van Hoytema, Nanne Andrews, Gilbert Carrias, Abel Maes, Thomas |
spellingShingle |
Silburn, Briony Bakir, Adil Binetti, Umberto Russell, Josie Kohler, Peter Preston-Whyte, Fiona Meakins, Bryony van Hoytema, Nanne Andrews, Gilbert Carrias, Abel Maes, Thomas A baseline study of macro, meso and micro litter in the Belize River basin, from catchment to coast |
author_facet |
Silburn, Briony Bakir, Adil Binetti, Umberto Russell, Josie Kohler, Peter Preston-Whyte, Fiona Meakins, Bryony van Hoytema, Nanne Andrews, Gilbert Carrias, Abel Maes, Thomas |
author_sort |
Silburn, Briony |
title |
A baseline study of macro, meso and micro litter in the Belize River basin, from catchment to coast |
title_short |
A baseline study of macro, meso and micro litter in the Belize River basin, from catchment to coast |
title_full |
A baseline study of macro, meso and micro litter in the Belize River basin, from catchment to coast |
title_fullStr |
A baseline study of macro, meso and micro litter in the Belize River basin, from catchment to coast |
title_full_unstemmed |
A baseline study of macro, meso and micro litter in the Belize River basin, from catchment to coast |
title_sort |
baseline study of macro, meso and micro litter in the belize river basin, from catchment to coast |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab268 https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article-pdf/80/8/2183/52071168/fsab268.pdf |
genre |
North East Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North East Atlantic |
op_source |
ICES Journal of Marine Science volume 80, issue 8, page 2183-2196 ISSN 1054-3139 1095-9289 |
op_rights |
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab268 |
container_title |
ICES Journal of Marine Science |
_version_ |
1802647961802375168 |