Plastic Debris Occurrence, Convergence Areas and Fin Whales Feeding Ground in the Mediterranean Marine Protected Area Pelagos Sanctuary: A Modeling Approach
The Mediterranean Sea is greatly affected by marine litter. In this area, research on the impact of plastic debris (including microplastics) on biota, particularly large filter-feeding species such as the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), is still in its infancy. We investigated the possible overla...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00167 https://doaj.org/article/4ad0e5e74cf74739be248858223f4a26 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4ad0e5e74cf74739be248858223f4a26 2023-05-15T15:36:41+02:00 Plastic Debris Occurrence, Convergence Areas and Fin Whales Feeding Ground in the Mediterranean Marine Protected Area Pelagos Sanctuary: A Modeling Approach Maria Cristina Fossi Teresa Romeo Matteo Baini Cristina Panti Letizia Marsili Tommaso Campani Simonepietro Canese François Galgani Jean-Noël Druon Sabina Airoldi Stefano Taddei Maria Fattorini Carlo Brandini Chiara Lapucci 2017-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00167 https://doaj.org/article/4ad0e5e74cf74739be248858223f4a26 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2017.00167/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2017.00167 https://doaj.org/article/4ad0e5e74cf74739be248858223f4a26 Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 4 (2017) floating plastic debris microplastics Mediterranean Sea convergence areas modeling fin whales Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00167 2022-12-31T00:05:02Z The Mediterranean Sea is greatly affected by marine litter. In this area, research on the impact of plastic debris (including microplastics) on biota, particularly large filter-feeding species such as the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), is still in its infancy. We investigated the possible overlap between microplastic, mesoplastic and macrolitter accumulation areas and the fin whale feeding grounds in in a pelagic Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI): the Pelagos Sanctuary. Models of ocean circulation and fin whale potential habitat were merged to compare marine litter accumulation with the presence of whales. Additionally, field data on microplastics, mesoplastics, and macrolitter abundance and cetacean presence were simultaneously collected. The resulting data were compared, as a multi-layer, with the simulated distribution of plastic concentration and the whale habitat model. These data showed a high occurrence of microplastics (mean: 0.082 items/m2, STD ± 0.079 items/m2) spatial distribution agreed with our modeling results. Areas with high microplastic density significantly overlapped with areas of high macroplastic density. The most abundant polymer detected in all the sampling sites was polyethylene (PE), suggesting fragmentation of larger packaging items as the primary source. To our knowledge, this is the first study in the Pelagos Sanctuary in which the simulated microplastic distribution has been confirmed by field observations. The overlap between the fin whale feeding habitat and the microplastic hot spots is an important contribution for risk assessment of fin whale exposure to microplastics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Balaenoptera physalus Fin whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Marine Science 4 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
floating plastic debris microplastics Mediterranean Sea convergence areas modeling fin whales Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
floating plastic debris microplastics Mediterranean Sea convergence areas modeling fin whales Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Maria Cristina Fossi Teresa Romeo Matteo Baini Cristina Panti Letizia Marsili Tommaso Campani Simonepietro Canese François Galgani Jean-Noël Druon Sabina Airoldi Stefano Taddei Maria Fattorini Carlo Brandini Chiara Lapucci Plastic Debris Occurrence, Convergence Areas and Fin Whales Feeding Ground in the Mediterranean Marine Protected Area Pelagos Sanctuary: A Modeling Approach |
topic_facet |
floating plastic debris microplastics Mediterranean Sea convergence areas modeling fin whales Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
The Mediterranean Sea is greatly affected by marine litter. In this area, research on the impact of plastic debris (including microplastics) on biota, particularly large filter-feeding species such as the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), is still in its infancy. We investigated the possible overlap between microplastic, mesoplastic and macrolitter accumulation areas and the fin whale feeding grounds in in a pelagic Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI): the Pelagos Sanctuary. Models of ocean circulation and fin whale potential habitat were merged to compare marine litter accumulation with the presence of whales. Additionally, field data on microplastics, mesoplastics, and macrolitter abundance and cetacean presence were simultaneously collected. The resulting data were compared, as a multi-layer, with the simulated distribution of plastic concentration and the whale habitat model. These data showed a high occurrence of microplastics (mean: 0.082 items/m2, STD ± 0.079 items/m2) spatial distribution agreed with our modeling results. Areas with high microplastic density significantly overlapped with areas of high macroplastic density. The most abundant polymer detected in all the sampling sites was polyethylene (PE), suggesting fragmentation of larger packaging items as the primary source. To our knowledge, this is the first study in the Pelagos Sanctuary in which the simulated microplastic distribution has been confirmed by field observations. The overlap between the fin whale feeding habitat and the microplastic hot spots is an important contribution for risk assessment of fin whale exposure to microplastics. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Maria Cristina Fossi Teresa Romeo Matteo Baini Cristina Panti Letizia Marsili Tommaso Campani Simonepietro Canese François Galgani Jean-Noël Druon Sabina Airoldi Stefano Taddei Maria Fattorini Carlo Brandini Chiara Lapucci |
author_facet |
Maria Cristina Fossi Teresa Romeo Matteo Baini Cristina Panti Letizia Marsili Tommaso Campani Simonepietro Canese François Galgani Jean-Noël Druon Sabina Airoldi Stefano Taddei Maria Fattorini Carlo Brandini Chiara Lapucci |
author_sort |
Maria Cristina Fossi |
title |
Plastic Debris Occurrence, Convergence Areas and Fin Whales Feeding Ground in the Mediterranean Marine Protected Area Pelagos Sanctuary: A Modeling Approach |
title_short |
Plastic Debris Occurrence, Convergence Areas and Fin Whales Feeding Ground in the Mediterranean Marine Protected Area Pelagos Sanctuary: A Modeling Approach |
title_full |
Plastic Debris Occurrence, Convergence Areas and Fin Whales Feeding Ground in the Mediterranean Marine Protected Area Pelagos Sanctuary: A Modeling Approach |
title_fullStr |
Plastic Debris Occurrence, Convergence Areas and Fin Whales Feeding Ground in the Mediterranean Marine Protected Area Pelagos Sanctuary: A Modeling Approach |
title_full_unstemmed |
Plastic Debris Occurrence, Convergence Areas and Fin Whales Feeding Ground in the Mediterranean Marine Protected Area Pelagos Sanctuary: A Modeling Approach |
title_sort |
plastic debris occurrence, convergence areas and fin whales feeding ground in the mediterranean marine protected area pelagos sanctuary: a modeling approach |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00167 https://doaj.org/article/4ad0e5e74cf74739be248858223f4a26 |
genre |
Balaenoptera physalus Fin whale |
genre_facet |
Balaenoptera physalus Fin whale |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 4 (2017) |
op_relation |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2017.00167/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2017.00167 https://doaj.org/article/4ad0e5e74cf74739be248858223f4a26 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00167 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
4 |
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1766367051568381952 |