Marine Debris in the Island of Santa Catarina, South Brazil: Spatial Patterns, Composition, and Biological Aspects

The prevalence of marine debris is a worldwide issue especially in coastal areas Half of the Brazilian population live within 200 km of the coast and generate large amounts of garbage which is not always sent to an appropriate destination This study aims to assess patterns of spatial variability and composition of marine debris in the beaches of Florianopolis an important tourist destination in Brazil Biological aspects were also assessed Five beaches were sampled twice and abundances of litter ranging from 12 8 to 498 items/100 m(2) were found depending on location and time of sampling Plastic items accounted for almost 90% of the material collected Only 5% of the items collected showed biological encrustations suggesting that most items had a local origin A weak negative correlation was found between the number of items and the number of ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata) open burrows These results can be used for management purposes and to make comparisons with other coastal cities