A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Microplastics Investigation Using Zooplankton Samples from the Coasts of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean)
The Mediterranean Sea has the highest accumulation of microplastics in the world. Although numerous studies about microplastic’s abundance and distribution have been conducted, the majority sampled surface waters. Especially for the Eastern Mediterranean, there is no information concerning the deeper strata. This study fills this gap by studying the microplastic spatial and temporal distribution along the coasts of Cyprus, utilizing zooplankton samples collected from the entire 0–50 m depth layer. The average microplastics’ abundance was 41.31 ± 22.41 items/m3 indicating that the Eastern Mediterranean seems to be much more polluted than the western basin. The fibers outnumbered the abundance of the fragments by a factor of ten. Most fibers were sized between 0.5 and 1.0 mm, and 81.24% were transparent. The average area of the fragments was ≤0.05 mm2, and most of them were hard-rounded (53.38%). The microplastics to zooplankton ratio ranged between 0.021 and 0.241. A positive correlation was found between the abundance of microplastics and the total zooplankton, especially the copepods. Studies of microplastics in zooplankton samples taken from the water column are expected to provide better insights into the role of these pollutants in marine ecosystems.
Microplastics Investigation Using Zooplankton Samples from the Coasts of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean)
The Mediterranean Sea has the highest accumulation of microplastics in the world. Although numerous studies about microplastic’s abundance and distribution have been conducted, the majority sampled surface waters. Especially for the Eastern Mediterranean, there is no information concerning the deeper strata. This study fills this gap by studying the microplastic spatial and temporal distribution along the coasts of Cyprus, utilizing zooplankton samples collected from the entire 0–50 m depth layer. The average microplastics’ abundance was 41.31 ± 22.41 items/m3 indicating that the Eastern Mediterranean seems to be much more polluted than the western basin. The fibers outnumbered the abundance of the fragments by a factor of ten. Most fibers were sized between 0.5 and 1.0 mm, and 81.24% were transparent. The average area of the fragments was ≤0.05 mm2, and most of them were hard-rounded (53.38%). The microplastics to zooplankton ratio ranged between 0.021 and 0.241. A positive correlation was found between the abundance of microplastics and the total zooplankton, especially the copepods. Studies of microplastics in zooplankton samples taken from the water column are expected to provide better insights into the role of these pollutants in marine ecosystems.
Microplastics Investigation Using Zooplankton Samples from the Coasts of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean)
Grigoria Vasilopoulou (author) / George Kehayias (author) / Demetris Kletou (author) / Periklis Kleitou (author) / Vassilios Triantafyllidis (author) / Anastasios Zotos (author) / Konstantinos Antoniadis (author) / Maria Rousou (author) / Vassilis Papadopoulos (author) / Polina Polykarpou (author)
2021
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
Unknown
Metadata by DOAJ is licensed under CC BY-SA 1.0
Space Shuttle Photo of Turkey, Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean - Back
Online Contents | 1996
Aging of microplastics promotes their ingestion by marine zooplankton
| Online Contents | 2017
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 2009