Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific
Plastics are an environmental threat; however, their fate once in the pelagic environment is poorly known. We compare results from assessments of floating plastics in the South Pacific Ocean with accumulated beach plastics from Henderson Island. We also compare accumulated plastic mass on Henderson...
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Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:144063 2023-05-15T16:34:35+02:00 Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific Nichols, EC Lavers, JL Archer-Rand, S Bond, AL 2021 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33866204 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/144063 en eng Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 Nichols, EC and Lavers, JL and Archer-Rand, S and Bond, AL, Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 167 Article 112366. ISSN 0025-326X (2021) [Refereed Article] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33866204 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/144063 Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2021 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 2021-10-18T22:17:23Z Plastics are an environmental threat; however, their fate once in the pelagic environment is poorly known. We compare results from assessments of floating plastics in the South Pacific Ocean with accumulated beach plastics from Henderson Island. We also compare accumulated plastic mass on Henderson during 2015 and 2019 and investigate the presence of nanoplastics. There were differences between the size classes of beach and pelagic plastics, and an increase in microplastics (0.335 mm) on the beach between 2015 and 2019. Micro- and nanoplastics were found at all sites (mean SE: 1960 356 pieces/kg dw). Across the whole beach this translates to >4 billion plastic particles in the upper 5 cm. This is concerning, particularly given Henderson is uninhabited and distant from urban centres (~2350 km from Pape'ete, French Polynesia). The vast number of small particles on Henderson may make nearshore filter feeders susceptible to ingestion and subsequent detrimental impacts. Article in Journal/Newspaper Henderson Island eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Pacific Henderson Island ENVELOPE(97.200,97.200,-66.367,-66.367) Marine Pollution Bulletin 167 112366 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) Nichols, EC Lavers, JL Archer-Rand, S Bond, AL Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
description |
Plastics are an environmental threat; however, their fate once in the pelagic environment is poorly known. We compare results from assessments of floating plastics in the South Pacific Ocean with accumulated beach plastics from Henderson Island. We also compare accumulated plastic mass on Henderson during 2015 and 2019 and investigate the presence of nanoplastics. There were differences between the size classes of beach and pelagic plastics, and an increase in microplastics (0.335 mm) on the beach between 2015 and 2019. Micro- and nanoplastics were found at all sites (mean SE: 1960 356 pieces/kg dw). Across the whole beach this translates to >4 billion plastic particles in the upper 5 cm. This is concerning, particularly given Henderson is uninhabited and distant from urban centres (~2350 km from Pape'ete, French Polynesia). The vast number of small particles on Henderson may make nearshore filter feeders susceptible to ingestion and subsequent detrimental impacts. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nichols, EC Lavers, JL Archer-Rand, S Bond, AL |
author_facet |
Nichols, EC Lavers, JL Archer-Rand, S Bond, AL |
author_sort |
Nichols, EC |
title |
Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
title_short |
Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
title_full |
Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
title_fullStr |
Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
title_full_unstemmed |
Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific |
title_sort |
assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the south pacific |
publisher |
Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33866204 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/144063 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(97.200,97.200,-66.367,-66.367) |
geographic |
Pacific Henderson Island |
geographic_facet |
Pacific Henderson Island |
genre |
Henderson Island |
genre_facet |
Henderson Island |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 Nichols, EC and Lavers, JL and Archer-Rand, S and Bond, AL, Assessing plastic size distribution and quantity on a remote island in the South Pacific, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 167 Article 112366. ISSN 0025-326X (2021) [Refereed Article] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33866204 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/144063 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112366 |
container_title |
Marine Pollution Bulletin |
container_volume |
167 |
container_start_page |
112366 |
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1766024520848637952 |