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First evaluation of neustonic microplastics in Black Sea waters
Accepted Manuscript First evaluation of neustonic microplastics in Black Sea waters Ulgen Aytan, Andre Valente, Yasemen Senturk, Riza Usta, Fatma Basak Esensoy Sahin, Rahsan Evren Mazlum, Ertugrul Agirbas PII:
S0141-1136(16)30070-8
DOI:
10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.05.009
Reference:
MERE 4170
To appear in:
Marine Environmental Research
Received Date: 26 February 2016 Revised Date:
6 May 2016
Accepted Date: 7 May 2016
Please cite this article as: Aytan, U., Valente, A., Senturk, Y., Usta, R., Esensoy Sahin, F.B., Mazlum, R.E., Agirbas, E., First evaluation of neustonic microplastics in Black Sea waters, Marine Environmental Research (2016), doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.05.009. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT First evaluation of neustonic microplastics in Black Sea waters Ulgen AYTANa,*, Andre VALENTEb, Yasemen SENTURKa, Riza USTAa, Fatma Basak
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ESENSOY SAHINa, Rahsan Evren MAZLUMa, Ertugrul AGIRBASa
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Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, 53100-Rize,Turkey
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Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, (MARE), Faculty of Sciences, University of
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Lisbon, Campo Grande 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal
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Corresponding author, Email address: [email protected]
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Abstract
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The Black Sea has a high risk of plastic pollution given the high river discharge of several
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industrialized countries into this semi-enclosed sea. Here, for the first time, the occurrence
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and distribution of microplastics are reported for the Black Sea. Microplastics were assessed
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from zooplankton samples taken during two cruises along the south eastern coast of the Black
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Sea in the November of 2014 and February of 2015. In each cruise neuston samples were
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collected at 12 stations using a WP2 net with 200 µm mesh. Microplastics (0.2-5 mm) were
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found in 92 % of the samples. The primary shapes were fibres (49.4 %) followed by plastic
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films (30.6 %) and fragments (20 %), and no micro beads were found. Average microplastic
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concentration in November (1.2± 1.1x103 par. m-3) was higher than in February (0.6± 0.55x
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103 par. m-3). Reduced concentrations in February were possibly caused by increased mixing.
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The highest concentrations of microplastics were observed in offshore stations during
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November sampling. The heterogeneous spatial distribution (0.2x103- 3.3x103 par. m-3 for all
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samples) and accumulation in some stations could be associated to transport and retention
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mechanisms linked with wind and the dynamics of the rim current, as well by different
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sources of plastic. There were no statistically significant differences in MP concentration
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between sampling stations and sampling periods (t-test, p< 0.05).The relatively high
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microplastic concentrations suggest that Black Sea is a hotspot for microplastic pollution and
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there is an urgency to understand their origins, transportation and effects on marine life.
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Keywords: Microplastic, zooplankton, neuston, bioavailability, MSFD, Black Sea
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Highlights
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Values of neustonic microplastic are reported for the first time in the Black Sea
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Microplastics (<5 mm) were found in 92% of the neustonic samples.
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The primary types were fibres and no micro beads were found.
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Mean microplastic concentrations were 1.2x103 par. m-3 and 0.6x103 par. m-3 in
November of 2014 and February of 2015, respectively.
1. Introduction
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Plastic is one of the major waste disposal problems in the world. Global annual
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production has increased over the last six decades (299 million tonnes in 2013- Plastics
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Europe, 2015) and between 2 to 5 % of this production has been estimated to end in the
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marine environment (Jambeck et al., 2015), making up 60–80 % of marine litter (Derraik,
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2002). Only 10 % of plastics in the world’s oceans are estimated to originate from ships and
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT fishing activity. The remaining 90 % comes from land sources (Andrady, 2011). Once they
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enter the marine environment, large items breakdown into smaller particles called as
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microplastic (< 5mm) which further fragment into nanoplastics (< 100 nm) (Arthur et al.,
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2009). In addition, microplastics (MPs) also include primary plastic particles produced in
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microscopic sizes including granulates used in cosmetics, washing powders, cleaning agents
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or pellets (Fendall and Sewell, 2009). Because of their durability, MPs then become widely
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abundant and may require centuries to completely decompose (Barnes et al., 2009; Moore,
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2008). Since their sizes are in the same range of plankton, MPs are bioavailable for many
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marine organisms (Moore, 2008; Wright et al., 2013). Once MPs are ingested they can enter
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the food web (e.g. Farrell and Nelson, 2013; Setälä et al., 2014), with potential risks to human
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health by consumption of contaminated sea food. They have also potential to harm marine
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biota by alteration of habitats, transport of pathogens/alien species and release of toxic
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chemical properties (Andrady, 2011). Although many researches have been done on this
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issue, there is still a big gap on how MPs affect the marine environment and human health.
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The Black Sea has an increased risk for plastic pollution, because it is characterized
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by an unusually high river discharge into a relatively small semi-enclosed sea. In addition, it
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is surrounded by several industrialized countries (Figure 1). More than 171 million people, in
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21 countries, live in the region draining into the Black Sea. As a consequence, Black Sea is
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one of the most degraded ecosystems in the world (BSC, 2007). In the report of “The
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Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution” the problem of marine
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litter was considered one of the most urgent and difficult environmental problems in the
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region (BSC, 2007). The large rivers runoff of the Black Sea (Danube, Dnieper, Bug,
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Dniester, Don, Kuban, Rioni etc.) carry considerable loads of pollutants (Tuncer et al., 1998;
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Bakan and Buyukgungor, 2000; Topcu et al., 2013) and a recent study estimated that 4.2
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tonnes of plastic reach the Black Sea via the Danube per day (1533 tonnes every year)
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(Lechner et al., 2014). Black Sea is one of the major fishing areas in the world (FAO, 2015),
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thus, intense fishing activities can be considered as a source of plastic by fixed and floating
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fishing gear, discarded or abandoned nets (BSC, 2007). Coastal cities, ports, shipping
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activities, uncontrolled coastal landfills and dumping sites along the coast, are also an
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important source of pollution (BSC, 2007; Celik, 2002; Berkun et al., 2005). Recent studies
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showed that plastic was the major debris and was mainly originated land-based (Topcu and
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Ozturk, 2010; Guneroglu, 2010; Topcu et al., 2013). Predictably, plastic has been reported as
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dominant debris from the SW Black Sea seabed (Topcu and Ozturk, 2010), and from the SW
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(Topcu et al., 2013) and SE beaches (Guneroglu, 2012). Nevertheless there is still limited
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been quantified. The permanent circulation feature of the region is the meandering rim
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current (Figure 1), which encirculates the entire Black Sea in a counter-clockwise direction
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(Oguz et al., 1993). This feature may cause a dissemination of the plastic items over the
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basin and transport debris downstream, to less polluted regions such as the SE Black Sea. The
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SE Black Sea, where this study is conducted, is very important for fishing (Oguz et al., 2012),
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therefore bioavailability of microplastic has to be understand as much as possible.
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The objective of the present study is to evaluate, for the first time, the occurrence and
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distribution of neustonic MPs in the surface waters of the SE Black Sea with those of
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neustonic zooplankton and contribute to development of ideas for future research within the
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scope of Marine Strategy Framework Directive (EC, 2008).
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2. Material and methods
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2.1. Sampling
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Presence and distribution of MPs and zooplankton in the SE Black Sea surface waters were
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evaluated during two research cruises in the autumn of 2014 (November 7- 9) and winter of
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2015 (February 25- 27). Neuston samples were collected from 12 sampling station (Table 1)
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during daylight hours (09:00-15:00), using a cylindro-conical WP2 net with 57 cm mouth
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diameter (0.25m2), 260 cm long and 200 µm mesh (UNESCO, 1968). To determine the
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amount of sea water filtered, net was equipped with a digital flow meter. Net were towed
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horizontally for 5 minutes at ship speed of approximately 2 knots, in the upper 20 cm of the
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water column. To collect all plankton and MPs, net was washed with sea water. Then samples
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were transferred into the glass bottle and preserved in 4% borax-buffered formaldehyde. In
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the laboratory, to reduce the risk of contamination sample preparation was performed in a
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flow cabinet and all equipment was rinsed three times with filtered ultra-pure water. A cotton
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lab coat and nitrile gloves were worn at all times. Samples were suspended in the graduated
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cylinders for 48 hours and MPs were separated from the samples by gravity method
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according to Collingon et al. (2012). MPs were visually counted using a binocular
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microscope and classified into 3 groups: fibers (from textiles and fishing nets), fragments
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(pieces from broken objects) and plastic films (bags, wrappings, or pieces of them) (Doyle et
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al., 2011). This examination of the samples was repeated twice to ensure the detection of all
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the smallest microplastic items. Remaining zooplankton samples were counted using
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binocular microscope and classified following groups; copepoda, cladocera, chaetognatha,
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT apendicularia, scyphozoa, ctenophora, tintinnids, heterotrophic dinoflagellates, crustacean
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nauplii, micrometazoan larvae and eggs. During zooplankton enumeration, encountered MPs
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were also added to total number of MPs. MP concentration and zooplankton abundance are
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calculated as particles and individuals per volume of filtered water (m-3), respectively. To
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determine whether densities of microplastic and zooplankton differed significantly in
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different seasons and stations, one-way ANOVA tests were conducted. Prior to the statistical
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analyses, log transformation was applied to stabilize the variances.
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Oceanographic conditions during the sampling periods were assessed from two high-
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resolution (1 km2) Level-2 MODIS AQUA satellite images of sea surface temperature (SST)
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and chlorophyll-a concentration (CHL), acquired in the days of 7th November 2014 and 23rd
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February 2015. These days were chosen as a compromise between being cloud-free (rare in
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the Black Sea), covering a wide region and being temporally-close to the sampling period.
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Standard products of SST and CHL, produced and distributed by the NASA Ocean Biology
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Processing Group (OBPG), were used (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/cms/atbd). Standard
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flags were used to eliminate low-quality pixels. Data were downloaded from the NASA
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Ocean Color website. Satellite retrievals of chlorophyll are known to exhibit significant
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disagreement (overestimation) with in-situ data in the Black Sea (e.g. Oguz and Ediger,
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2006), but still provide an insight into spatial patterns in the region and advective pathways of
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passive particles. Overlaid in the satellite images of SST and CHL, are the fields of surface
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geostrophic currents derived from altimeter satellite data. It was used the regional gridded
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(1/8°x1/8°) Black Sea product produced by Ssalto/Duacs and distributed from the Aviso/Cnes
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website. Wind during the sampling period, was assessed from the atmospheric NCEP/NCAR
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Reanalysis (Kalnay et al., 1996). It was used the "4xDaily wind at 10 m" product from the
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NCEP/NCAR website and, in particular, the closest grid-point (40.952 ºN; 39.375 ºE) to the
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sampling area.
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3. Results
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3.1. Hydrography
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Study area exhibited typical hydrographic characteristic of the region (Agirbas et al.,
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2015). Sea surface temperature was usually higher to the south and east part of the Black Sea
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during both sampling (Figure 2). Overall, a well-mixed water column was observed in
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February, whereas stratification was detected in November. Chlorophyll was usually higher
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near the coast and advected offshore by the mesoscale eddies (Figure 2). The counter-clock
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wise coastal current (rim current) of the Black Sea, was apparent in both sampling periods, as
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well as the mesoscale features associated with it (Figure 2). Wind was stronger during the
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February sampling, and in both samplings it was from the south (Figure 3).
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3.2. Distribution of Microplastic and Zooplankton MPs were widely distributed in the study area during November 2014 and February
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2015 cruises. Twenty two out (92 %) of the twenty four samples contained MPs (Table 1).
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The relative contribution of the different types of MP at each station (Figure 4) was similar
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between the two sampling periods. Combining all stations from the two sampling periods,
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fibres were the primary shapes (average ~ 49.4 %), followed by plastic films (average ~ 30.6
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%) and fragments (average ~ 20 %), with no micro beads found (Figure 4). Average MP
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concentration in the surface water was calculated as 1.2x 103 (± 1.1x 103) par.m-3 and 0.6x 103
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(± 0.55x 103) par.m-3 in November and February, respectively (Figure 5). The average MP
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concentration of all samples, irrespective of the sampling period, was 1.1x 103 (± 0.9x 103)
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par.m-3.Their mean concentration in the inshore sites was similar in both the sampling periods
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(Table 2). However, mean MP concentration was 2-5 times higher in sites offshore during
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November sampling than during February (Table 2). There were no statistically significant
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differences in MP concentration between sampling stations and the sampling periods (t-test,
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p< 0.05).
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Mean zooplankton abundance was 6.9x 103 (± 10.6x 103) ind. m-3 and mainly
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dominated by adult copepods and crustacean nauplii in November 2014 (Figure 6-A). In
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February 2015, abundance was 5.6x 103 (± 4.3x 103) ind. m-3 with a change in the community
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structure dominated by heterotrophic dinoflagellates Noctiluca scintillans (Figure 6-B).
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Zooplankton abundance was higher in offshore stations in November (at 15 miles) opposed to
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higher at inshore stations in February (Table 2). There were no statistically significant
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differences in zooplankton abundance between sampling stations and seasons (t-test, p<
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0.05).
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4. Discussion
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4.1. Occurrence and distribution of microplastic
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Our findings show that MPs are present across the SE Black Sea. Many recent studies
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reported evidence of MPs in zooplankton samples all around the world (e.g. Moore et al.,
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2001; Lattin et al., 2004; Collignon et al., 2012; Frias et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2015b). The
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occurrence of plastic particles in this study (92 %) is similar to those reported from the other
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT regions (Table 3). Lack of the MP data in the Black Sea prevents a regional comparative
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analysis. In other regions, MP concentrations have been represented with different unit (m-2
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and m-3) which does not allow a comparison with many of the previous studies (e.g.
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Collignon et al., 2014; Gago et al., 2015). The studies which reported MPs concentration as
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par. m-3 from the surface waters were used for comparison (Table 3). MP concentrations
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reported here are in the same order of magnitude as in the studies sampled using mesh size <
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333µm in the coastal waters of Sweden (Noren, 2008), NE Pacific (Desforges et al., 2014),
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Yangtze Estuary, China (Zhao et al., 2014) and in the SE Korea coastal waters (Kang et al.,
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2015a), but nearly three order of magnitude greater than those sampled using mesh size > 333
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µm (Table 3). To avoid to risk of net clogging, neuston nets with mesh size > 333 µm were
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used in the many studies, however, they could have caused loss of small particles as it stated
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in previous studies (e.g. Desforges et al., 2014; Zhao et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2015a). For
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instance, there were several order of magnitude differences in MP concentrations when
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sampled with < 80 µm and ≥ 330 µm mesh (Noren, 2008; Kang et al., 2015a) (Table 3).
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Following previous methodologies (Collignon et al., 2012), density separation was used to
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separate MPs from zooplankton, but considerable amount of MPs were encountered during
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zooplankton enumeration (these were added to the MP enumeration). MPs can be
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underestimated in the studies which only consider MPs enumeration. Therefore, there is an
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urgent need to standardized sampling and enumeration techniques.
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Besides different sampling methods, another possible reason for the relatively high
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MPs concentration observed is the study area. Enclosed and semi-enclosed seas have high
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densities of plastic debris (Barnes et al., 2009) and the Black Sea is known to be one of the
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most polluted semi-enclosed seas in the world (BSC, 2007). Large amounts of land-based
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debris are transported to the Black Sea by rivers (Tuncer et al., 1998; Bakan and
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Büyükgüngor, 2000; BSC, 2007; Topcu et al., 2013; Lechner et al., 2014; Suaria et al., 2015)
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with Danube alone estimated to transport 4.2 tonnes of plastic per day (Lechner et al. 2014).
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In the NW Black Sea, plastic items reported as most abundant floating litter (up to 140 items.
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km-2) (Suaria et al., 2015). Municipal and industrial solid wastes are frequently dumped on
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the river valleys or into the sea (Berkun et al., 2005) and expected to transport into the sea by
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waves and wind (Yıldırım et al., 2004). The cyclonic rim current circulates basin-wide and
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can cause transboundary dissemination of the plastic items over the basin. During both
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cruises, floating macroplastics which are an important source of MPs were also observed on
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the sea surface (personal communication). The polymer types of the microplastic have not
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been specified in this study; therefore our results cannot determine the possible sources of the
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT MPs. However, prevalence of fibres in this study provides evidence of land-based sources
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(Sewage, run-offs, harbours, vessels, fishing gear etc.) in agreement with previous studies
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(Thompson et al., 2004; Noren, 2008; Brown et al. 2011; Hidalgo-Ruz et al., 2012; Lusher et
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al., 2014; Desforges et al., 2014, Zhao et al., 2014). Giresun, Trabzon, Rize, and Artvin are
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main urban cities in the region, populated by more than 1.7 million people (TUIK, 2015) and
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drain into the SE Black Sea. Disposal of municipal wastewater contaminated with fibres from
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washing clothes was reported as a major source of plastic fibres (Browne et al., 2011).
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In this study, there was no clear pattern of higher MP concentration in in-shore
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stations than in offshore stations. In fact, maximum MP concentrations were found in
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November, in offshore stations. Wind was weaker during the November cruise (Figure 3)
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which may have favoured surface stratification and accumulation of plastic at the surface, in
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agreement with other studies that showed how vertical mixing caused dilution of MPs at the
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surface (e.g. Lattin et al., 2004; Collignon et al., 2012). This increase of MPs in November
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might have also been a signature of a larger-scale seasonal cycle in neustonic MPs following
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the seasonal cycle of vertical mixing (shallower in autumn than in winter). Southerly winds
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occurred in both cruises (Figure 3) which would have a tendency to advect near-shore waters
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offshore. This could explain the higher MP found in offshore stations in November. A recent
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study showed that atmospheric fall out is also a considerable land-based source of synthetic
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fibres thus the southerly winds may have also increased wind transport of fibres from land to
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sea (Dris et al., 2016). Nevertheless, we note that an opposite wind direction from north,
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could also be argued (though less convincingly) as a factor to increase convergence of MPs
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from the open ocean to these offshore stations. The heterogeneous spatial distribution is also
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likely influenced by interactions between wind and oceanographic features such as filaments,
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fronts and eddies, that act to transport MPs and create barriers and convergent regions where
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MPs accumulates. No relation was found between satellite-derived geostrophic flow and MP
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spatial distribution (Figure 5). This suggests that other processes besides large-scale
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circulation govern MP spatial distribution. A high-resolution (1 km2) satellite image of
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chlorophyll-a and sea surface temperature on the 7th of November (Figure 2) reveal some of
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these large-scale and small-scale oceanographic features. Several large-scale mesoscale
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eddies (~100km), associated with to the rim current are observed along the coast, pushing
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coastal waters offshore and open waters in-shore. Also, several small-scale structures can be
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found, such as long and thin (~3 km) chlorophyll filaments, as well lobular and spiralling
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structures. Although the chlorophyll map does not represent MP concentrations, it shows
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possible barriers and trajectories of coastal material advected offshore. The higher MPs found
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in offshore stations may have been advected from the coast by these small-scale structures, or
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advected by the larger-scale eastward rim current from more polluted areas upstream.
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4.2. Bioavailability of microplastics
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The potentially harmful MPs are available to many commercially and ecologically important
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species (e.g. European anchovy and larvae) that either live, reproduce and/or feed in the
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neustonic area. Many marine organisms are known to ingest MPs (e.g. Thomson et al., 2004;
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Ward and Shumway, 2004; Browne et al., 2008; Boerger et al., 2010; Cole et al., 2013) by
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not being able to differentiate MPs from plankton because of their small size. Laboratory
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experiments demonstrated that this can result in harm on health and function (Browne et al.,
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2008; Graham and Thompson, 2009; Cole et al., 2013). During microscopic examination,
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many plastic particles were encountered in the gut content of ctenophore Pleurobrachia
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pileus providing evidence that MP can be taken up by zooplankton. Other types of
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zooplankton that are not filter feeders like ctenophores may be more selective in choosing
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prey and less likely to ingest MPs. Noctiluca scintillans is a voracious feeder and more
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abundant in the neuston than in subsurface layers in the Black Sea (Zaitsev, 1971). However,
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despite a domination of N. scintillans in February (Figure 6), no MP was encountered in N.
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scintillans food vacuole during microscopic examination. These results indicate that more
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work (e.g. laboratory experiences) needs to be done to be able to characterise MP neustonic
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ingestion among different types of zooplankton taxa in the Black Sea. While some
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zooplankton taxa encountered in the neuston samples in this study were from groups or
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species exclusively neustonic (such as larvae of some fish species), others are present only in
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early stages of their life (such as crustacean naupli, micrometazoan larvae), and others (such
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as copepods and chaetognaths) are present only at night owing to their vertical migration
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(Zaitsev, 1971). Thus sampling at night would have provided a better representation of
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facultative members of neuston (such as copepods) and their susceptibility to ingest MPs. In
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other regions,plastic fragments have been found in the gut content of many planktivorous
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fishes (Foekema et al., 2013; Davison and Asch, 2011; Boerger et al., 2010). European
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anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) is the dominant planktivorous fish in the Southern Black
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Sea, as well the main commercial fish stock of the Black Sea (TUIK, 2015), and can be the
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most probable to encounter with MPs in the study area.
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Sinking rate of microplastic is known to depend on their size and density (Moore et
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al., 2008). Because of the brackish waters of Black Sea and relatively lower density of
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characterised by a permanent halocline (~ 100m) that significantly constrains exchanges
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between surface and deeper water. This might cause a long-term accumulation of MPs in
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intermediate layers between surface and halocline which might increase bioavailability of
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MPs during daily vertical migration of zooplankton, in particular of copepods. They can be
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harmed either by ingestion or adsorption (e.g. Cole et al., 2013) which can negatively affect
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their energy balance. Thus, there is an urgent need to monitor MPs in the Black Sea and
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understand their fate and transfer mechanisms within the pelagic/benthic food web.
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5. Conclusions
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This work presents preliminary data on occurrence and distribution of MPs in the SE
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Black Sea, becoming the first contributor to assess MPs within the scope of Marine Strategy
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Framework (EC, 2008). Results provide that there is a potential for MPs to enter the pelagic
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and benthic food webs of the Black Sea. Further work including FTIR examination is needed
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to provide more information regarding potential origins of MPs. There is an urgency to fully
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understand how MPs behave in the permanently stratified Black Sea environment and basin
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wide routine studies are needed to investigate their effects on marine life with emphasis on
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risks for human health.
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Acknowledgements
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This work was partly supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research
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Council of Turkey) (Project No: 113Y189). We are grateful to Dr. Ilknur YILDIZ, Dr. Ahmet
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SAHIN, Mustafa BAKIRCI, and Yusuf Ozden for their help during sampling. We also thank
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to captain and crew of the R/V SURAT ARASTIRMA I for their support at sea.
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Table 1. Sampling stations, their distance from the coast, coordinates and microplastic concentrations Stations G2
Distance (nautical.mile) 2
Longitude (N) 41º 01’ 51”
Latitude (E) 38º 38’ 14”
T2
2
41o 10’ 24”
39o 25’ 23”
o
o
MP concentration (x103 par. m-3) November February 0.31 1.88 1.02
0.41
2
40 59’ 44”
40 14’ 27”
1.24
0.60
P2
2
41o 14’ 27”
40º 54’ 32”
0.48
0.21
K2
2
41o 31’ 48”
41º 30’ 29”
0.39
G8 T8
o
8
41 06’ 07” o
41 15’ 37”
8
o
o
38 34’ 39” o
39 21’ 07 o
2.59 0.16
C8
8
41 04’ 02”
40 07’ 46”
1.38
P8
8
41o 19’ 28”
40o 49’ 09”
3.28
T15
41 35’ 11” o
15
41 21’ 04” o
15
41 24’ 33”
40 23’ 42” o
39 15’ 27” o
40 42’ 52”
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0.98 1.09
0.16
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0.38
2.68
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Table 2. Mean microplastic concentration (± standard deviation) and zooplankton abundance (± standard deviation) in the inshore (2 miles) and offshore (8 and 15 miles) stations during November 2014 and February 2015.
Zooplankton abundance 3 -3 (x10 ind. m ) November February
2 miles
0.69 (±0.42)
0.66 (±0.70)
4.37 (±2.05)
11.42 (±16.05)
8 miles
1.62 (±1.30)
0.65 (±0.52)
4.43 (±1.98)
2.93 (±1.70)
15 miles
1.34 (±1.89)
0.28 (±0.14)
11.43 (±9.40)
5.64 (±1.36)
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MP concentration 3 -3 (x10 par. m ) November February
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Table 3. Comparison with previous studies
China, Yangtze Estuary
Mesh size (µm) 32
Mean MP (par. m-3) 500-10200
Occurrence (%) 100
microplastic/zooplankton (par. m-3/ ind. m-3)
SE Korea, coast
50
592-1299
84
Sweden, coast
80
150-2400
NE Pacific (off British Columbia CA) SE Black Sea
62.5-250
8- 9180
100
200
600-1200
92
NE Atlantic
250
2.46
94
Portugal, coast
180-335
0.002-0.036
93
0.04-0.14
Southern California coast
333
5-7.25
100
0.6
Moore et al. 2002
Southern California offshore Sweden, coast
333
3.92
0.3
Latin et al., 2004
450
0.01 -0.04
Kang et al., 2015a Norén et al. 2008 Desforges et al. 2014*
Lusher et al. 2014*
0.116
90
500
0.15
100
China, Yangtze Estuary
333
0.03-0.455
SE Korea, coast
330
4.22-44.28
SE Korea
330
1.92-5.51
0.5
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Central-W Mediterranean
0.004-0.086
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Frias et al. 2014
Norén et al. 2008
NW Mediterranean
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References Zhao et al. 2014*
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Study area
Collignon et al. 2012
Lucia et al. 2014 Zhao et al. 2014* Kang et al., 2015a Kang et al., 2015b
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Figure 5. Microplastic concentration (x103 par. m-3) and zooplankton abundance (x103 ind. m3
) in the inshore (2 miles) and offshore (8 and 15 miles) stations during November 2014 and
February 2015. Stations numbers are shown in the map of MP in November. Stations where no microplastic was found are represented with a cross. Overlaid on the image are the bathymetric contours at depths of 200 meters (black line) and 1000 meters (grey line). Surface
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geostrophic currents (zoomed from Figure 2) during the sampling period are also shown.
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Figure 1. Map showing countries, major cities (main land-based sources), hot spots of marine pollution (adapted from BSC, 2007), rivers (1-Danube, 2-Dniester, 3- Bug, 4- Dnieper and 5Don) that flow into the Black Sea basin, sampling stations, bathymetry and a basic schematic representation of the Rim Current in the Black Sea.
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Figure 2. Satellite derived Sea surface temperature (SST), Chl-a and surface geostrophic currents during the sampling period in the region.
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Figure 3. Wind speed (bars) and direction (arrows) during the sampling period in the region.
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Figure 4. Relative contribution of fragments, films and fibers to total microplastic
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concentrations during November 2014 (A) and February 2015 (B).
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Figure 6 .Relative contributions of main groups to the total zooplankton abundance during November 2014 (A) and February 2015 (B).
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Highlights Values of neustonic microplastic are reported for the first time in the Black Sea
•
Microplastics (<5 mm) were found in 92% of the neustonic samples.
•
The primary types were fibres and no micro beads were found.
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Mean microplastic concentrations were 1.2x103 par. m-3 and 0.6x103 par. m-3 in November of 2014 and February of 2015, respectively
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S0141-1136(16)30070-8
DOI:
10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.05.009
Reference:
MERE 4170
To appear in:
Marine Environmental Research
Received Date: 26 February 2016 Revised Date:
6 May 2016
Accepted Date: 7 May 2016
Please cite this article as: Aytan, U., Valente, A., Senturk, Y., Usta, R., Esensoy Sahin, F.B., Mazlum, R.E., Agirbas, E., First evaluation of neustonic microplastics in Black Sea waters, Marine Environmental Research (2016), doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.05.009. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT First evaluation of neustonic microplastics in Black Sea waters Ulgen AYTANa,*, Andre VALENTEb, Yasemen SENTURKa, Riza USTAa, Fatma Basak
4
ESENSOY SAHINa, Rahsan Evren MAZLUMa, Ertugrul AGIRBASa
5
a
Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, 53100-Rize,Turkey
6
b
Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, (MARE), Faculty of Sciences, University of
7
Lisbon, Campo Grande 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal
8
*
Corresponding author, Email address: [email protected]
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Abstract
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The Black Sea has a high risk of plastic pollution given the high river discharge of several
38
industrialized countries into this semi-enclosed sea. Here, for the first time, the occurrence
39
and distribution of microplastics are reported for the Black Sea. Microplastics were assessed
40
from zooplankton samples taken during two cruises along the south eastern coast of the Black
41
Sea in the November of 2014 and February of 2015. In each cruise neuston samples were
42
collected at 12 stations using a WP2 net with 200 µm mesh. Microplastics (0.2-5 mm) were
43
found in 92 % of the samples. The primary shapes were fibres (49.4 %) followed by plastic
44
films (30.6 %) and fragments (20 %), and no micro beads were found. Average microplastic
45
concentration in November (1.2± 1.1x103 par. m-3) was higher than in February (0.6± 0.55x
46
103 par. m-3). Reduced concentrations in February were possibly caused by increased mixing.
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The highest concentrations of microplastics were observed in offshore stations during
48
November sampling. The heterogeneous spatial distribution (0.2x103- 3.3x103 par. m-3 for all
49
samples) and accumulation in some stations could be associated to transport and retention
50
mechanisms linked with wind and the dynamics of the rim current, as well by different
51
sources of plastic. There were no statistically significant differences in MP concentration
52
between sampling stations and sampling periods (t-test, p< 0.05).The relatively high
53
microplastic concentrations suggest that Black Sea is a hotspot for microplastic pollution and
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there is an urgency to understand their origins, transportation and effects on marine life.
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Keywords: Microplastic, zooplankton, neuston, bioavailability, MSFD, Black Sea
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Highlights
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Values of neustonic microplastic are reported for the first time in the Black Sea
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Microplastics (<5 mm) were found in 92% of the neustonic samples.
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The primary types were fibres and no micro beads were found.
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•
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Mean microplastic concentrations were 1.2x103 par. m-3 and 0.6x103 par. m-3 in
November of 2014 and February of 2015, respectively.
1. Introduction
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Plastic is one of the major waste disposal problems in the world. Global annual
65
production has increased over the last six decades (299 million tonnes in 2013- Plastics
66
Europe, 2015) and between 2 to 5 % of this production has been estimated to end in the
67
marine environment (Jambeck et al., 2015), making up 60–80 % of marine litter (Derraik,
68
2002). Only 10 % of plastics in the world’s oceans are estimated to originate from ships and
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT fishing activity. The remaining 90 % comes from land sources (Andrady, 2011). Once they
70
enter the marine environment, large items breakdown into smaller particles called as
71
microplastic (< 5mm) which further fragment into nanoplastics (< 100 nm) (Arthur et al.,
72
2009). In addition, microplastics (MPs) also include primary plastic particles produced in
73
microscopic sizes including granulates used in cosmetics, washing powders, cleaning agents
74
or pellets (Fendall and Sewell, 2009). Because of their durability, MPs then become widely
75
abundant and may require centuries to completely decompose (Barnes et al., 2009; Moore,
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2008). Since their sizes are in the same range of plankton, MPs are bioavailable for many
77
marine organisms (Moore, 2008; Wright et al., 2013). Once MPs are ingested they can enter
78
the food web (e.g. Farrell and Nelson, 2013; Setälä et al., 2014), with potential risks to human
79
health by consumption of contaminated sea food. They have also potential to harm marine
80
biota by alteration of habitats, transport of pathogens/alien species and release of toxic
81
chemical properties (Andrady, 2011). Although many researches have been done on this
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issue, there is still a big gap on how MPs affect the marine environment and human health.
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The Black Sea has an increased risk for plastic pollution, because it is characterized
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by an unusually high river discharge into a relatively small semi-enclosed sea. In addition, it
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is surrounded by several industrialized countries (Figure 1). More than 171 million people, in
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21 countries, live in the region draining into the Black Sea. As a consequence, Black Sea is
87
one of the most degraded ecosystems in the world (BSC, 2007). In the report of “The
88
Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution” the problem of marine
89
litter was considered one of the most urgent and difficult environmental problems in the
90
region (BSC, 2007). The large rivers runoff of the Black Sea (Danube, Dnieper, Bug,
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Dniester, Don, Kuban, Rioni etc.) carry considerable loads of pollutants (Tuncer et al., 1998;
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Bakan and Buyukgungor, 2000; Topcu et al., 2013) and a recent study estimated that 4.2
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tonnes of plastic reach the Black Sea via the Danube per day (1533 tonnes every year)
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(Lechner et al., 2014). Black Sea is one of the major fishing areas in the world (FAO, 2015),
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thus, intense fishing activities can be considered as a source of plastic by fixed and floating
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fishing gear, discarded or abandoned nets (BSC, 2007). Coastal cities, ports, shipping
97
activities, uncontrolled coastal landfills and dumping sites along the coast, are also an
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important source of pollution (BSC, 2007; Celik, 2002; Berkun et al., 2005). Recent studies
99
showed that plastic was the major debris and was mainly originated land-based (Topcu and
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Ozturk, 2010; Guneroglu, 2010; Topcu et al., 2013). Predictably, plastic has been reported as
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dominant debris from the SW Black Sea seabed (Topcu and Ozturk, 2010), and from the SW
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(Topcu et al., 2013) and SE beaches (Guneroglu, 2012). Nevertheless there is still limited
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been quantified. The permanent circulation feature of the region is the meandering rim
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current (Figure 1), which encirculates the entire Black Sea in a counter-clockwise direction
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(Oguz et al., 1993). This feature may cause a dissemination of the plastic items over the
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basin and transport debris downstream, to less polluted regions such as the SE Black Sea. The
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SE Black Sea, where this study is conducted, is very important for fishing (Oguz et al., 2012),
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therefore bioavailability of microplastic has to be understand as much as possible.
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The objective of the present study is to evaluate, for the first time, the occurrence and
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distribution of neustonic MPs in the surface waters of the SE Black Sea with those of
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neustonic zooplankton and contribute to development of ideas for future research within the
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scope of Marine Strategy Framework Directive (EC, 2008).
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2. Material and methods
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2.1. Sampling
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Presence and distribution of MPs and zooplankton in the SE Black Sea surface waters were
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evaluated during two research cruises in the autumn of 2014 (November 7- 9) and winter of
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2015 (February 25- 27). Neuston samples were collected from 12 sampling station (Table 1)
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during daylight hours (09:00-15:00), using a cylindro-conical WP2 net with 57 cm mouth
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diameter (0.25m2), 260 cm long and 200 µm mesh (UNESCO, 1968). To determine the
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amount of sea water filtered, net was equipped with a digital flow meter. Net were towed
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horizontally for 5 minutes at ship speed of approximately 2 knots, in the upper 20 cm of the
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water column. To collect all plankton and MPs, net was washed with sea water. Then samples
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were transferred into the glass bottle and preserved in 4% borax-buffered formaldehyde. In
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the laboratory, to reduce the risk of contamination sample preparation was performed in a
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flow cabinet and all equipment was rinsed three times with filtered ultra-pure water. A cotton
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lab coat and nitrile gloves were worn at all times. Samples were suspended in the graduated
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cylinders for 48 hours and MPs were separated from the samples by gravity method
130
according to Collingon et al. (2012). MPs were visually counted using a binocular
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microscope and classified into 3 groups: fibers (from textiles and fishing nets), fragments
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(pieces from broken objects) and plastic films (bags, wrappings, or pieces of them) (Doyle et
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al., 2011). This examination of the samples was repeated twice to ensure the detection of all
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the smallest microplastic items. Remaining zooplankton samples were counted using
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binocular microscope and classified following groups; copepoda, cladocera, chaetognatha,
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT apendicularia, scyphozoa, ctenophora, tintinnids, heterotrophic dinoflagellates, crustacean
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nauplii, micrometazoan larvae and eggs. During zooplankton enumeration, encountered MPs
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were also added to total number of MPs. MP concentration and zooplankton abundance are
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calculated as particles and individuals per volume of filtered water (m-3), respectively. To
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determine whether densities of microplastic and zooplankton differed significantly in
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different seasons and stations, one-way ANOVA tests were conducted. Prior to the statistical
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analyses, log transformation was applied to stabilize the variances.
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Oceanographic conditions during the sampling periods were assessed from two high-
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resolution (1 km2) Level-2 MODIS AQUA satellite images of sea surface temperature (SST)
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and chlorophyll-a concentration (CHL), acquired in the days of 7th November 2014 and 23rd
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February 2015. These days were chosen as a compromise between being cloud-free (rare in
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the Black Sea), covering a wide region and being temporally-close to the sampling period.
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Standard products of SST and CHL, produced and distributed by the NASA Ocean Biology
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Processing Group (OBPG), were used (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/cms/atbd). Standard
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flags were used to eliminate low-quality pixels. Data were downloaded from the NASA
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Ocean Color website. Satellite retrievals of chlorophyll are known to exhibit significant
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disagreement (overestimation) with in-situ data in the Black Sea (e.g. Oguz and Ediger,
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2006), but still provide an insight into spatial patterns in the region and advective pathways of
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passive particles. Overlaid in the satellite images of SST and CHL, are the fields of surface
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geostrophic currents derived from altimeter satellite data. It was used the regional gridded
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(1/8°x1/8°) Black Sea product produced by Ssalto/Duacs and distributed from the Aviso/Cnes
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website. Wind during the sampling period, was assessed from the atmospheric NCEP/NCAR
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Reanalysis (Kalnay et al., 1996). It was used the "4xDaily wind at 10 m" product from the
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NCEP/NCAR website and, in particular, the closest grid-point (40.952 ºN; 39.375 ºE) to the
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sampling area.
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3. Results
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3.1. Hydrography
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Study area exhibited typical hydrographic characteristic of the region (Agirbas et al.,
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2015). Sea surface temperature was usually higher to the south and east part of the Black Sea
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during both sampling (Figure 2). Overall, a well-mixed water column was observed in
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February, whereas stratification was detected in November. Chlorophyll was usually higher
168
near the coast and advected offshore by the mesoscale eddies (Figure 2). The counter-clock
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wise coastal current (rim current) of the Black Sea, was apparent in both sampling periods, as
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well as the mesoscale features associated with it (Figure 2). Wind was stronger during the
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February sampling, and in both samplings it was from the south (Figure 3).
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3.2. Distribution of Microplastic and Zooplankton MPs were widely distributed in the study area during November 2014 and February
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2015 cruises. Twenty two out (92 %) of the twenty four samples contained MPs (Table 1).
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The relative contribution of the different types of MP at each station (Figure 4) was similar
177
between the two sampling periods. Combining all stations from the two sampling periods,
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fibres were the primary shapes (average ~ 49.4 %), followed by plastic films (average ~ 30.6
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%) and fragments (average ~ 20 %), with no micro beads found (Figure 4). Average MP
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concentration in the surface water was calculated as 1.2x 103 (± 1.1x 103) par.m-3 and 0.6x 103
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(± 0.55x 103) par.m-3 in November and February, respectively (Figure 5). The average MP
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concentration of all samples, irrespective of the sampling period, was 1.1x 103 (± 0.9x 103)
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par.m-3.Their mean concentration in the inshore sites was similar in both the sampling periods
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(Table 2). However, mean MP concentration was 2-5 times higher in sites offshore during
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November sampling than during February (Table 2). There were no statistically significant
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differences in MP concentration between sampling stations and the sampling periods (t-test,
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p< 0.05).
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Mean zooplankton abundance was 6.9x 103 (± 10.6x 103) ind. m-3 and mainly
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dominated by adult copepods and crustacean nauplii in November 2014 (Figure 6-A). In
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February 2015, abundance was 5.6x 103 (± 4.3x 103) ind. m-3 with a change in the community
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structure dominated by heterotrophic dinoflagellates Noctiluca scintillans (Figure 6-B).
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Zooplankton abundance was higher in offshore stations in November (at 15 miles) opposed to
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higher at inshore stations in February (Table 2). There were no statistically significant
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differences in zooplankton abundance between sampling stations and seasons (t-test, p<
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0.05).
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4. Discussion
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4.1. Occurrence and distribution of microplastic
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Our findings show that MPs are present across the SE Black Sea. Many recent studies
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reported evidence of MPs in zooplankton samples all around the world (e.g. Moore et al.,
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2001; Lattin et al., 2004; Collignon et al., 2012; Frias et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2015b). The
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occurrence of plastic particles in this study (92 %) is similar to those reported from the other
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT regions (Table 3). Lack of the MP data in the Black Sea prevents a regional comparative
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analysis. In other regions, MP concentrations have been represented with different unit (m-2
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and m-3) which does not allow a comparison with many of the previous studies (e.g.
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Collignon et al., 2014; Gago et al., 2015). The studies which reported MPs concentration as
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par. m-3 from the surface waters were used for comparison (Table 3). MP concentrations
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reported here are in the same order of magnitude as in the studies sampled using mesh size <
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333µm in the coastal waters of Sweden (Noren, 2008), NE Pacific (Desforges et al., 2014),
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Yangtze Estuary, China (Zhao et al., 2014) and in the SE Korea coastal waters (Kang et al.,
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2015a), but nearly three order of magnitude greater than those sampled using mesh size > 333
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µm (Table 3). To avoid to risk of net clogging, neuston nets with mesh size > 333 µm were
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used in the many studies, however, they could have caused loss of small particles as it stated
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in previous studies (e.g. Desforges et al., 2014; Zhao et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2015a). For
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instance, there were several order of magnitude differences in MP concentrations when
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sampled with < 80 µm and ≥ 330 µm mesh (Noren, 2008; Kang et al., 2015a) (Table 3).
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Following previous methodologies (Collignon et al., 2012), density separation was used to
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separate MPs from zooplankton, but considerable amount of MPs were encountered during
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zooplankton enumeration (these were added to the MP enumeration). MPs can be
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underestimated in the studies which only consider MPs enumeration. Therefore, there is an
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urgent need to standardized sampling and enumeration techniques.
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Besides different sampling methods, another possible reason for the relatively high
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MPs concentration observed is the study area. Enclosed and semi-enclosed seas have high
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densities of plastic debris (Barnes et al., 2009) and the Black Sea is known to be one of the
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most polluted semi-enclosed seas in the world (BSC, 2007). Large amounts of land-based
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debris are transported to the Black Sea by rivers (Tuncer et al., 1998; Bakan and
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Büyükgüngor, 2000; BSC, 2007; Topcu et al., 2013; Lechner et al., 2014; Suaria et al., 2015)
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with Danube alone estimated to transport 4.2 tonnes of plastic per day (Lechner et al. 2014).
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In the NW Black Sea, plastic items reported as most abundant floating litter (up to 140 items.
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km-2) (Suaria et al., 2015). Municipal and industrial solid wastes are frequently dumped on
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the river valleys or into the sea (Berkun et al., 2005) and expected to transport into the sea by
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waves and wind (Yıldırım et al., 2004). The cyclonic rim current circulates basin-wide and
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can cause transboundary dissemination of the plastic items over the basin. During both
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cruises, floating macroplastics which are an important source of MPs were also observed on
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the sea surface (personal communication). The polymer types of the microplastic have not
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been specified in this study; therefore our results cannot determine the possible sources of the
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT MPs. However, prevalence of fibres in this study provides evidence of land-based sources
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(Sewage, run-offs, harbours, vessels, fishing gear etc.) in agreement with previous studies
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(Thompson et al., 2004; Noren, 2008; Brown et al. 2011; Hidalgo-Ruz et al., 2012; Lusher et
240
al., 2014; Desforges et al., 2014, Zhao et al., 2014). Giresun, Trabzon, Rize, and Artvin are
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main urban cities in the region, populated by more than 1.7 million people (TUIK, 2015) and
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drain into the SE Black Sea. Disposal of municipal wastewater contaminated with fibres from
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washing clothes was reported as a major source of plastic fibres (Browne et al., 2011).
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In this study, there was no clear pattern of higher MP concentration in in-shore
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stations than in offshore stations. In fact, maximum MP concentrations were found in
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November, in offshore stations. Wind was weaker during the November cruise (Figure 3)
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which may have favoured surface stratification and accumulation of plastic at the surface, in
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agreement with other studies that showed how vertical mixing caused dilution of MPs at the
249
surface (e.g. Lattin et al., 2004; Collignon et al., 2012). This increase of MPs in November
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might have also been a signature of a larger-scale seasonal cycle in neustonic MPs following
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the seasonal cycle of vertical mixing (shallower in autumn than in winter). Southerly winds
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occurred in both cruises (Figure 3) which would have a tendency to advect near-shore waters
253
offshore. This could explain the higher MP found in offshore stations in November. A recent
254
study showed that atmospheric fall out is also a considerable land-based source of synthetic
255
fibres thus the southerly winds may have also increased wind transport of fibres from land to
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sea (Dris et al., 2016). Nevertheless, we note that an opposite wind direction from north,
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could also be argued (though less convincingly) as a factor to increase convergence of MPs
258
from the open ocean to these offshore stations. The heterogeneous spatial distribution is also
259
likely influenced by interactions between wind and oceanographic features such as filaments,
260
fronts and eddies, that act to transport MPs and create barriers and convergent regions where
261
MPs accumulates. No relation was found between satellite-derived geostrophic flow and MP
262
spatial distribution (Figure 5). This suggests that other processes besides large-scale
263
circulation govern MP spatial distribution. A high-resolution (1 km2) satellite image of
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chlorophyll-a and sea surface temperature on the 7th of November (Figure 2) reveal some of
265
these large-scale and small-scale oceanographic features. Several large-scale mesoscale
266
eddies (~100km), associated with to the rim current are observed along the coast, pushing
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coastal waters offshore and open waters in-shore. Also, several small-scale structures can be
268
found, such as long and thin (~3 km) chlorophyll filaments, as well lobular and spiralling
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structures. Although the chlorophyll map does not represent MP concentrations, it shows
270
possible barriers and trajectories of coastal material advected offshore. The higher MPs found
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in offshore stations may have been advected from the coast by these small-scale structures, or
272
advected by the larger-scale eastward rim current from more polluted areas upstream.
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4.2. Bioavailability of microplastics
275
The potentially harmful MPs are available to many commercially and ecologically important
276
species (e.g. European anchovy and larvae) that either live, reproduce and/or feed in the
277
neustonic area. Many marine organisms are known to ingest MPs (e.g. Thomson et al., 2004;
278
Ward and Shumway, 2004; Browne et al., 2008; Boerger et al., 2010; Cole et al., 2013) by
279
not being able to differentiate MPs from plankton because of their small size. Laboratory
280
experiments demonstrated that this can result in harm on health and function (Browne et al.,
281
2008; Graham and Thompson, 2009; Cole et al., 2013). During microscopic examination,
282
many plastic particles were encountered in the gut content of ctenophore Pleurobrachia
283
pileus providing evidence that MP can be taken up by zooplankton. Other types of
284
zooplankton that are not filter feeders like ctenophores may be more selective in choosing
285
prey and less likely to ingest MPs. Noctiluca scintillans is a voracious feeder and more
286
abundant in the neuston than in subsurface layers in the Black Sea (Zaitsev, 1971). However,
287
despite a domination of N. scintillans in February (Figure 6), no MP was encountered in N.
288
scintillans food vacuole during microscopic examination. These results indicate that more
289
work (e.g. laboratory experiences) needs to be done to be able to characterise MP neustonic
290
ingestion among different types of zooplankton taxa in the Black Sea. While some
291
zooplankton taxa encountered in the neuston samples in this study were from groups or
292
species exclusively neustonic (such as larvae of some fish species), others are present only in
293
early stages of their life (such as crustacean naupli, micrometazoan larvae), and others (such
294
as copepods and chaetognaths) are present only at night owing to their vertical migration
295
(Zaitsev, 1971). Thus sampling at night would have provided a better representation of
296
facultative members of neuston (such as copepods) and their susceptibility to ingest MPs. In
297
other regions,plastic fragments have been found in the gut content of many planktivorous
298
fishes (Foekema et al., 2013; Davison and Asch, 2011; Boerger et al., 2010). European
299
anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) is the dominant planktivorous fish in the Southern Black
300
Sea, as well the main commercial fish stock of the Black Sea (TUIK, 2015), and can be the
301
most probable to encounter with MPs in the study area.
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Sinking rate of microplastic is known to depend on their size and density (Moore et
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al., 2008). Because of the brackish waters of Black Sea and relatively lower density of
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT surface waters, MPs may sink faster compared to oceanic waters. However, Black Sea is
305
characterised by a permanent halocline (~ 100m) that significantly constrains exchanges
306
between surface and deeper water. This might cause a long-term accumulation of MPs in
307
intermediate layers between surface and halocline which might increase bioavailability of
308
MPs during daily vertical migration of zooplankton, in particular of copepods. They can be
309
harmed either by ingestion or adsorption (e.g. Cole et al., 2013) which can negatively affect
310
their energy balance. Thus, there is an urgent need to monitor MPs in the Black Sea and
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understand their fate and transfer mechanisms within the pelagic/benthic food web.
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5. Conclusions
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This work presents preliminary data on occurrence and distribution of MPs in the SE
315
Black Sea, becoming the first contributor to assess MPs within the scope of Marine Strategy
316
Framework (EC, 2008). Results provide that there is a potential for MPs to enter the pelagic
317
and benthic food webs of the Black Sea. Further work including FTIR examination is needed
318
to provide more information regarding potential origins of MPs. There is an urgency to fully
319
understand how MPs behave in the permanently stratified Black Sea environment and basin
320
wide routine studies are needed to investigate their effects on marine life with emphasis on
321
risks for human health.
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Acknowledgements
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This work was partly supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research
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Council of Turkey) (Project No: 113Y189). We are grateful to Dr. Ilknur YILDIZ, Dr. Ahmet
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SAHIN, Mustafa BAKIRCI, and Yusuf Ozden for their help during sampling. We also thank
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to captain and crew of the R/V SURAT ARASTIRMA I for their support at sea.
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Table 1. Sampling stations, their distance from the coast, coordinates and microplastic concentrations Stations G2
Distance (nautical.mile) 2
Longitude (N) 41º 01’ 51”
Latitude (E) 38º 38’ 14”
T2
2
41o 10’ 24”
39o 25’ 23”
o
o
MP concentration (x103 par. m-3) November February 0.31 1.88 1.02
0.41
2
40 59’ 44”
40 14’ 27”
1.24
0.60
P2
2
41o 14’ 27”
40º 54’ 32”
0.48
0.21
K2
2
41o 31’ 48”
41º 30’ 29”
0.39
G8 T8
o
8
41 06’ 07” o
41 15’ 37”
8
o
o
38 34’ 39” o
39 21’ 07 o
2.59 0.16
C8
8
41 04’ 02”
40 07’ 46”
1.38
P8
8
41o 19’ 28”
40o 49’ 09”
3.28
T15
41 35’ 11” o
15
41 21’ 04” o
15
41 24’ 33”
40 23’ 42” o
39 15’ 27” o
40 42’ 52”
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0.98 1.09
0.16
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0.38
2.68
0.19
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Table 2. Mean microplastic concentration (± standard deviation) and zooplankton abundance (± standard deviation) in the inshore (2 miles) and offshore (8 and 15 miles) stations during November 2014 and February 2015.
Zooplankton abundance 3 -3 (x10 ind. m ) November February
2 miles
0.69 (±0.42)
0.66 (±0.70)
4.37 (±2.05)
11.42 (±16.05)
8 miles
1.62 (±1.30)
0.65 (±0.52)
4.43 (±1.98)
2.93 (±1.70)
15 miles
1.34 (±1.89)
0.28 (±0.14)
11.43 (±9.40)
5.64 (±1.36)
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Stations distance
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MP concentration 3 -3 (x10 par. m ) November February
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Table 3. Comparison with previous studies
China, Yangtze Estuary
Mesh size (µm) 32
Mean MP (par. m-3) 500-10200
Occurrence (%) 100
microplastic/zooplankton (par. m-3/ ind. m-3)
SE Korea, coast
50
592-1299
84
Sweden, coast
80
150-2400
NE Pacific (off British Columbia CA) SE Black Sea
62.5-250
8- 9180
100
200
600-1200
92
NE Atlantic
250
2.46
94
Portugal, coast
180-335
0.002-0.036
93
0.04-0.14
Southern California coast
333
5-7.25
100
0.6
Moore et al. 2002
Southern California offshore Sweden, coast
333
3.92
0.3
Latin et al., 2004
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0.01 -0.04
Kang et al., 2015a Norén et al. 2008 Desforges et al. 2014*
Lusher et al. 2014*
0.116
90
500
0.15
100
China, Yangtze Estuary
333
0.03-0.455
SE Korea, coast
330
4.22-44.28
SE Korea
330
1.92-5.51
0.5
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Central-W Mediterranean
0.004-0.086
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Frias et al. 2014
Norén et al. 2008
NW Mediterranean
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References Zhao et al. 2014*
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Study area
Collignon et al. 2012
Lucia et al. 2014 Zhao et al. 2014* Kang et al., 2015a Kang et al., 2015b
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ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Figure 5. Microplastic concentration (x103 par. m-3) and zooplankton abundance (x103 ind. m3
) in the inshore (2 miles) and offshore (8 and 15 miles) stations during November 2014 and
February 2015. Stations numbers are shown in the map of MP in November. Stations where no microplastic was found are represented with a cross. Overlaid on the image are the bathymetric contours at depths of 200 meters (black line) and 1000 meters (grey line). Surface
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geostrophic currents (zoomed from Figure 2) during the sampling period are also shown.
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Figure 1. Map showing countries, major cities (main land-based sources), hot spots of marine pollution (adapted from BSC, 2007), rivers (1-Danube, 2-Dniester, 3- Bug, 4- Dnieper and 5Don) that flow into the Black Sea basin, sampling stations, bathymetry and a basic schematic representation of the Rim Current in the Black Sea.
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Figure 2. Satellite derived Sea surface temperature (SST), Chl-a and surface geostrophic currents during the sampling period in the region.
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Figure 3. Wind speed (bars) and direction (arrows) during the sampling period in the region.
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Figure 4. Relative contribution of fragments, films and fibers to total microplastic
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concentrations during November 2014 (A) and February 2015 (B).
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Figure 6 .Relative contributions of main groups to the total zooplankton abundance during November 2014 (A) and February 2015 (B).
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Highlights Values of neustonic microplastic are reported for the first time in the Black Sea
•
Microplastics (<5 mm) were found in 92% of the neustonic samples.
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The primary types were fibres and no micro beads were found.
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Mean microplastic concentrations were 1.2x103 par. m-3 and 0.6x103 par. m-3 in November of 2014 and February of 2015, respectively
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