Assessing the risk of marine litter accumulation in estuarine habitats

Rivers and estuaries are among the main entrances of litter to the marine environment. This study characterizes marine litter deposits in three estuaries of the Gulf of Biscay, assesses its potential impact in estuarine habitats based on expert elucidation, and develops a methodology to estimate the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin 2019-07, Vol.144, p.117-128
Main Authors: Mazarrasa, Inés, Puente, Araceli, Núñez, Paula, García, Andrés, Abascal, Ana J., Juanes, José A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brackishwater environment
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Environmental risk
Estuaries
Estuarine environments
Habitats
Impact
Interactions
Litter
Litters (births)
Marine debris
Marine environment
Marine litter
Marshes
Methods
Plastic debris
Plastics - analysis
Probability theory
Risk
Risk Assessment
Rivers
Seawater - chemistry
Spain
Waste Products - analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
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Summary:Rivers and estuaries are among the main entrances of litter to the marine environment. This study characterizes marine litter deposits in three estuaries of the Gulf of Biscay, assesses its potential impact in estuarine habitats based on expert elucidation, and develops a methodology to estimate the associated environmental risk. Litter was ubiquitous in the estuaries of study, mostly represented by plastic debris and sanitary waste. High marsh communities acted as litter traps, showing significantly higher litter densities than adjacent habitats. The expected impact was valued to be low but different across habitats and possible litter-habitat interactions. The estimated risk was low but different across habitats and estuaries, determined by the probability of encounter and the expected impact. This study contributes to increase the scarce knowledge available on the threat that marine litter poses in estuarine environments and presents a methodology to help identify those habitats under a higher risk. •Marine litter deposits are characterized in three estuaries of the Golf of Biscay.•The impact in estuarine habitats is assessed based on expert elucidation.•A methodology to assess the associated risk in estuarine habitats is developed.
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.04.060