Spatial distribution of macro- and micro-litter items along rocky and sandy beaches of a Marine Protected Area in the western Mediterranean Sea

In this study, the spatial distribution and physical characteristics of beach macro- and micro-litter within the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park (Cabrera MPA), in the Balearic Islands have been analysed. For macro-litter items, a mean concentration of 1.9 ± 2.4 items/m2 weighi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Compa, Montserrat, Alomar, Carme, Morato, Mercé, Deudero, Salud
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:digitalcsic_::5ea62d673ab22b8da723778d4eae1fb1
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/317328
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113520
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares
Medio Marino
Descripción
Sumario:In this study, the spatial distribution and physical characteristics of beach macro- and micro-litter within the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park (Cabrera MPA), in the Balearic Islands have been analysed. For macro-litter items, a mean concentration of 1.9 ± 2.4 items/m2 weighing a total of 13 kg was quantified. In terms of beach composition, cobble beaches with deposited seagrass had almost twice as much marine litter as other beaches. For beach micro-litter items, white and transparent microplastics within the size class of 1–2 mm were the most abundant on all the beaches, and the most common polymer types were polyethylene (64%) and polypropylene (17.2%). Overall, for both macro- and micro-litter items, plastic was the most dominant material (90%) identified on all beaches surveyed within Cabrera MPA, indicating areas of low anthropogenic pressures are increasingly becoming sinks for marine litter.