Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 146, Issue -, Pages 125-133Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.05.041
Keywords
Microfibers; Sediment; Beach litter; mu FTIR; Cellulose
Funding
- Natural Environment Research Council [NE/L007010]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We investigated the environmental partitioning and particle characteristics of macro-, meso- and microplastics and their uptake into the mussel, Mytilus edulis. Sediment samples, overlying seawater and mussels from 9 intertidal locations in the South West of England were analysed for abundance and type of microplastic. Micro-and mesoplastic-like particles were found in 88.5% of the 269 mussels sampled, ranging from 1.43 to 7.64 items per mussel. Of these plastic particles, 70.9% were identified as semi-synthetic (mainly modified-cellulose). Mussel microplastic abundance, but not polymer type, was correlated with that of their surrounding sediment, but not with sea-surface microplastic concentration or mussel size for our study sites. We found significant differences in the relative abundance of polymer types and particle sizes between seawater, sediment, and mussels, with mussels over-representing modified-cellulose fibre abundance but under-representing polyvinyl. Mussels contained significantly smaller plastic fragments than their surrounding sediment and shorter fibres than their overlying seawater.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available