Seasonal variation of microplastics density in Algerian surface waters (South-Western Mediterranean Sea)


Published: May 6, 2021
Keywords:
Microplastics Pollution Mediterranean Sea Bou-Ismail Bay Algeria.
SKANDER SETITI
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1908-6118
BOUALEM HAMDI
SAFIA CHERNAI
FOUZIA HOUMA BACHARI
SAMIR BACHOUCHE
YOUSRA GHEZALI
GIUSEPPE SUARIA
Abstract

Coastal waters worldwide are widely contaminated with various-size plastics, whose presence in aquatic ecosystems has been shown to produce a wide range of economic and social impacts and harmful effects on marine ecosystems. While microplastics have been reported from many regions of the Mediterranean Sea, very few data exist regarding microplastics concentration inn Algerian waters. In this study, we used a Manta trawl (330 μm) at six sampling stations in Bou-Ismail Bay, Algeria (South-West Mediterranean Sea) in order to provide novel information about the occurrence and composition of microplastics along the Algerian coast. Sampling was performed seasonally at six different sampling stations in 2018, providing additional information about the spatio-temporal variability of microplastics concentrations at the sea surface. Microplastics were found in all collected samples, with highly variable concentrations of 0.95, 0.88, 1.26, and 0.36 items/m3 in Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer, respectively, and an overall mean concentration of 0.86 ± 0.35 items/m3. A classification based on the shape and appearance of microplastics indicated the predominance of fibers (32%), followed by fragments (27%), films (16%), foams (13%), and granules (12%). A qualitative microplastics analysis through Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) revealed that microplastics were mainly composed of polyethylene (68.2%), polypropylene (24.7%), polystyrene (4.1%) and other polymers (3%). These data provide an initial overview of the quantity, characteristics, and spatio-temporal distribution of floating microplastics in Bou-Ismail Bay (Algeria).

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Author Biographies
SKANDER SETITI, Laboratoire de Conservation et de Valorisation des Ressources Marines, ENSSMAL, B919 Campus Universitaire Dely Ibrahim, 16320 Alger, Algeria
PhD student in marine scence
BOUALEM HAMDI, Laboratoire de Conservation et de Valorisation des Ressources Marines, ENSSMAL, B919 Campus Universitaire Dely Ibrahim, 16320 Alger, Algeria
professor
SAFIA CHERNAI, Laboratoire de Conservation et de Valorisation des Ressources Marines, ENSSMAL, B919 Campus Universitaire Dely Ibrahim, 16320 Alger, Algeria
professor
FOUZIA HOUMA BACHARI, Laboratoire des Ecosystèmes Marins et Littoraux; ENSSMAL, B919 Campus Universitaire Dely Ibrahim, 16320 Alger, Algeria
professor
SAMIR BACHOUCHE, Center National de Recherche et Développement de la Pêche et d’Aquculture (CNRDPA) 11 boulevard Colonnel Amirouche, Bou-Ismail, Tipaza, Algeria
PhD
YOUSRA GHEZALI, Laboratoire de Conservation et de Valorisation des Ressources Marines, ENSSMAL, B919 Campus Universitaire Dely Ibrahim, 16320 Alger, Algeria
PhD student
GIUSEPPE SUARIA, CNR-ISMAR, Institute of Marine Sciences, National Research Council, Pozzuolo di Lerici, 19032 La Spezia, Italy
Research Associate
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