Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 143, Issue -, Pages 152-162Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.03.060
Keywords
Marine debris; Microplastic; Surface water; Nile Red; Long Beach, CA; Urbanized water
Funding
- COAST Graduate Student Research Award
- Reish Research Grant in Marine Biology
- SCTC Marine Biology Foundation Grant
- Gary Green Grant
- SoCal SETAC Graduate Student Research Award
- California State University of Long Beach College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
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Microplastics (MP) are detected in aquatic environments worldwide, yet detection is often limited to larger sized MP. To address this data gap, the abundance of MP 3-500 mu m was assessed in the Los Angeles River, the San Gabriel River, and the Long Beach Harbor (CA, USA), three areas with highly urbanized surroundings. Whole surface water samples were taken, subjected to a hydrogen peroxide digestion and MP counts were compared between unstained visual examination and Nile Red staining identification techniques. The largest concentration of MP was found in the Los Angeles River, where 13,622 MP m(-3) were found using unstained visual examination and 641,292 MP m(-3) were found utilizing Nile Red staining. The protocol used to detect smaller sized MP is low cost, time efficient, and reproducible. This work highlights the need for more extensive sampling of smaller sized MP globally and universal testing and reporting standards for MP detection.
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