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Microplastic retention by marine vegetated canopies: simulations with seagrass meadows in a hydraulic flume

dc.contributor.authorde los Santos, Carmen B.
dc.contributor.authorKrång, Anna-Sara
dc.contributor.authorInfantes, Eduardo
dc.date.accessioned2021-02-12T09:46:10Z
dc.date.available2021-02-12T09:46:10Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractMarine canopies formed by seagrass and other coastal vegetated ecosystems could act as sinks of microplastics for being efficient particle traps. Here we investigated for the first time the occurrence of microplastic retention by marine canopies in a hydraulic flume under unidirectional flow velocities from 2 to 30 cm s-1. We used as model canopy-forming species the seagrass Zostera marina with four canopy shoot density (0, 50, 100, 200 shoots m-2), and we used as microplastic particles industrial pristine pellets with specific densities from 0.90 to 1.34 g cm-3 (polypropylene PP; polystyrene PS; polyamide 6 PA; and polyethylene terephthalate PET). Overall, microplastics particles transported with the flow were retained in the seagrass canopies but not in bare sand. While seagrass canopies retained floating microplastics (PP) only at low velocities (<12 cm s-1) due to a barrier created by the canopy touching the water surface, the retention of sinking particles (PS, PA, PET) occurred across a wider range of flow velocities. Our simulations revealed that less dense sinking particles (PS) might escape from the canopy at high velocities, while denser sinking particles can be trapped in scouring areas created by erosive processes around the eelgrass shoots. Our results show that marine canopies might act as potential barriers or sinks for microplastics at certain bio-physical conditions, with the probability of retention generally increasing with the seagrass shoot density and polymer specific density and decreasing with the flow velocity. We conclude that seagrass meadows, and other aquatic canopy-forming ecosystems, should be prioritized habitats in assessment of microplastic exposure and impact on coastal areas since they may accumulate high concentration of microplastic particles that could affect associated fauna.pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorshipFCT: UIDB/04326/2020/ SFRH/BPD/119344/2016pt_PT
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116050pt_PT
dc.identifier.issn0269-7491
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/15078
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.publisherElsevierpt_PT
dc.relationAssociation of European Marine Biological Laboratories Expanded
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/pt_PT
dc.subjectEcosystempt_PT
dc.subjectPlasticspt_PT
dc.subjectMicroplasticspt_PT
dc.subjectZosteraceaept_PT
dc.titleMicroplastic retention by marine vegetated canopies: simulations with seagrass meadows in a hydraulic flumept_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleAssociation of European Marine Biological Laboratories Expanded
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/730984/EU
oaire.citation.startPage116050pt_PT
oaire.citation.titleEnvironmental Pollutionpt_PT
oaire.citation.volume269pt_PT
oaire.fundingStreamH2020
person.familyNameBarrena de los Santos
person.givenNameCarmen
person.identifier.ciencia-idC317-02C0-516E
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-7013-494X
person.identifier.ridL-3723-2014
person.identifier.scopus-author-id26427612000
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100008530
project.funder.nameEuropean Commission
rcaap.rightsopenAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublication9df095b9-2b1c-4f05-a3f9-afb40706adff
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery9df095b9-2b1c-4f05-a3f9-afb40706adff
relation.isProjectOfPublicationa6bab18e-16a5-48af-8699-7a2bef8b6fac
relation.isProjectOfPublication.latestForDiscoverya6bab18e-16a5-48af-8699-7a2bef8b6fac

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