Name: João Marcos Fausto Schuab Menario
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 25/08/2022
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Mercia Barcellos da Costa | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Ana Carolina Loss Rodrigues | Internal Alternate * |
| Mariana Beatriz Paz Otegui | External Examiner * |
| Mercia Barcellos da Costa | Advisor * |
| Sarah Maria Vargas | Internal Alternate * |
| Teofania Heloisa Dutra Amorim Vidigal | External Examiner * |
Summary: Plastic consists of a synthetic or semisynthetic polymer
and its molecular structure is built of long repeating chemical
units composed of hydrocarbons. Plastic materials degrade very
slowly and plastic pollution has been considered an emerging
problem in modern society. Microplastic (MP) particles are
highlighted among the countless types of plastic debris disposed
of in the ocean, once they can trap chemical pollutants and be
mistaken as food by marine organisms, mainly filter-feeders and
suspension-feeders. The polychaete Phragmatopoma caudata (Kroyer
in Morch, 1863) is a reef-building Sabellariidae widely found on
the brazilian coastline and has the ability to trap MP particles
in their colonies structures. In order to evaluate MP pollution
in different coastal areas, we collected 12 samples of water and
36 samples of P. caudatas colonies in 12 sampling spots on the
Espírito Santo (Brazil) coast divided into three regions (North,
Central, and South). These samples were, processed, washed, and
sieved, and the resulting product stored at a petri dish for
further analysis. For sorting the MPs, a stereomicroscopic with
an attached camera were used and all MPs were counted regarding
their type (filament, fragment, and other) and color.
Statistical analyses were performed using the GrahPad Prism
software considering significant results p < 0.05. All 12
sampling spots were contaminated with MP, thus the investigated
beaches had a MP pollution rate of 100%. The Central region
showed the highest numbers of MP, followed by the North and the
South regions respectively. This pattern of MP pollution in the
Central region could be due to the high anthropic occupation,
once it is WHERE the capital and its metropolitan region are
located, presenting more traffic of people. The Central region
also holds two busy port complexes with intense ship traffic. The
North region takes second place due to a specific sampling spot
in the mouth of a big hydrographic basin, the Piraquê-Açú
Basin. The South region holds the second more anthropic region of
the Espírito Santo State, however, showed small numbers of MP,
probably because two of the four sampling spots are slightly away
from city impacts. Thus, microplastic pollution is indeed
ubiquitous and widely found in coastal areas. Nevertheless, P.
caudata colonies are a trustable indicator of MP presence in
intertidal zones once they can trap plastic particles inside the
colony structure. However, it is essential to investigate the
mechanisms of MP trapping and how long they take to be absorbed
from the water column into the colony, and how long they can
remain trapped.
Abstract: Plastic consists of a synthetic or semisynthetic
polymer and its molecular structure is built of long repeating
chemical units composed of hydrocarbons. Plastic materials
degrade very slowly and plastic pollution has been considered an
emerging problem in modern society. Microplastic (MP) particles
are highlighted among the countless types of plastic debris
disposed of in the ocean, once they can trap chemical pollutants
and be mistaken as food by marine organisms, mainly
filter-feeders and suspension-feeders. The polychaete
Phragmatopoma caudata (Kroyer in Morch, 1863) is a reef-building
Sabellariidae widely found on the brazilian coastline and has the
ability to trap MP particles in their colonies structures. In
order to evaluate MP pollution in different coastal areas, we
collected 12 samples of water and 36 samples of P. caudatas
colonies in 12 sampling spots on the Espírito Santo (Brazil)
coast divided into three regions (North, Central, and South).
These samples were, processed, washed, and sieved, and the
resulting product stored at a petri dish for further analysis.
For sorting the MPs, a stereomicroscopic with an attached camera
were used and all MPs were counted regarding their type
(filament, fragment, and other) and color. Statistical
analyses were performed using the GrahPad Prism software
considering significant results p < 0.05. All 12 sampling spots
were contaminated with MP, thus the investigated beaches had a MP
pollution rate of 100%. The Central region showed the highest
numbers of MP, followed by the North and the South regions
respectively. This pattern of MP pollution in the Central region
could be due to the high anthropic occupation, once it is WHERE
the capital and its metropolitan region are located, presenting
more traffic of people. The Central region also holds two busy
port complexes with intense ship traffic. The North region takes
second place due to a specific sampling spot in the mouth of a
big hydrographic basin, the Piraquê-Açú Basin. The South
region holds the second more anthropic region of the Espírito
Santo State, however, showed small numbers of MP, probably
because two of the four sampling spots are slightly away from
city impacts. Thus, microplastic pollution is indeed ubiquitous
and widely found in coastal areas. Nevertheless, P. caudata
colonies are a trustable indicator of MP presence in intertidal
zones once they can trap plastic particles inside the colony
structure. However, it is essential to investigate the mechanisms
of MP trapping and how long they take to be absorbed from the
water column into the colony, and how long they can remain
trapped.
Key words: Plastic pollution; Polychaeta; Intertidal zones;
Microplastic; Bio indicator.
