Aquatic Systems Research Group, Department of Ecology and Resource Management, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa.
Aquatic Systems Research Group, Department of Ecology and Resource Management, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa.
Sci Total Environ. 2019 Dec 15;696:133992. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133992. Epub 2019 Aug 19.
Plastic pollution is a growing problem that threatens all habitat types globally. However, relatively little is known about the extent of macroplastics in African freshwater ecosystems. This study explored the distribution and concentration of different macroplastic debris types in Nandoni reservoir, South Africa over four sites (2 high household- and 2 low household-density) and two seasons (cool-dry, hot-dry). Similarities were observed for macroplastic debris numbers and weights across sites and seasons. Although slight insignificant differences in macroplastics abundances were observed, no significant relationships were recorded between household density (i.e. as proxy for human population density) and macroplastic debris abundances. The amount of plastic debris and 'species' (i.e. γ-diversity value) decreased with distance from the shoreline, with the highest amount of plastic debris and 'species' being observed at the shoreline in all sites and seasons. Polypropylene was the most dominant (>45%) in terms of abundance for both seasons and sites. The information derived serves as a baseline for future studies on macroplastic distributions along freshwater reservoir shorelines.
塑料污染是一个全球性的日益严重的问题，威胁到所有的栖息地类型。然而，人们对非洲淡水生态系统中大型塑料的程度知之甚少。本研究探讨了南非 Nandoni 水库四个地点（两个高家庭密度和两个低家庭密度）和两个季节（凉爽干燥、炎热干燥）中不同类型的大型塑料碎片的分布和浓度。各地点和各季节的大型塑料碎片数量和重量都有相似之处。尽管在大型塑料碎片的丰度上观察到了微小的、无显著意义的差异，但家庭密度（即作为人口密度的代理）与大型塑料碎片丰度之间没有记录到显著关系。塑料碎片的数量和“物种”（即 γ 多样性值）随离海岸线的距离而减少，在所有地点和季节，离海岸线越远，塑料碎片和“物种”的数量就越少。就两个季节和所有地点而言，聚丙烯的丰度最高（>45%）。所得信息为未来研究沿淡水水库岸线的大型塑料分布提供了基线。
