A temporal assessment of microplastics distribution on the beaches of three remote islands of the Yasawa archipelago, Fiji.

Autor: Al Nabhani K; School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia; UNSW Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Electronic address: k.alnabhani@unsw.edu.au., Salzman S; Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, Deakin University, PO Box 423, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia., Shimeta J; School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia., Dansie A; UNSW Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia., Allinson G; School of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Marine pollution bulletin [Mar Pollut Bull] 2022 Dec; Vol. 185 (Pt A), pp. 114202. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Oct 18.
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114202
Abstrakt: This is the first study that investigated the presence, distribution, and composition of microplastics, MPs (1-5 mm) on beaches in the Yasawa Islands, Fiji. A temporal assessment over three years on six beaches was undertaken to investigate different beach traits on MP abundance. Average MP concentration was 4.5 ± 11.1 MPs·m -2 with significantly higher concentrations were found on east-facing beaches than west (p < 0.001), and higher on the storm line compared to the high tide line (p < 0.001). No difference was found between tourist and local beaches (p = 0.21). These results demonstrate the role of current-driven ocean transport of plastic pollution in this part of The South Pacific. ATR FT-IR analysis showed that across all sites 34 % of MPs were polypropylene (PP), 33 % polystyrene (PS), 25 % polyethylene (PE), and 8 % other polymer types. Further studies are needed to assess the potential impacts of MPs on Fiji's coral reefs and marine life.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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