National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI), P.O Box 343, Jinja, Uganda.
National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI), P.O Box 343, Jinja, Uganda.
Environ Pollut. 2020 Feb;257:113442. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113442. Epub 2019 Oct 23.
Plastic pollution has been reported in sediment, surface water and biota of freshwater systems especially in Europe, North and South America, and Asia with limited studies focussing on African great lakes. This study therefore investigated the occurrence, abundance and distribution of micro-, meso- and macro-plastic debris along shores and sediment of northern Lake Victoria. The abundance of micro-, meso- and macro-plastics measured as particles/kg dry sediment were in range of 0-1102, 0-218 and 0-100 respectively in shoreline sediment and 0-108, 0-33 and 0-77 respectively in lake sediment. The mean abundance of micro-, meso- and macro-plastic debris at fish landing beaches (75.2 ± 50.0, 16.7 ± 8.1 and 18.1 ± 4.6 respectively) were higher than what was recorded at recreational beaches (1.5 ± 0.6, 3.1 ± 3.1 and 3.8 ± 3.8 respectively). Similarly, mean abundance of micro-, meso- and macro-plastic debris in lake sediment were higher in areas of fish landing beaches (9.5 ± 2.6, 2.1 ± 1.5 and 7.7 ± 4.5 respectively) than what was recorded in areas of recreational beaches (0.7 ± 0.7, 0.2 ± 0.1, and 0 ± 0 respectively). Films, filaments, fragments, foam and pellets were the plastic types, with the shoreline sediment dominated by films (>54%) while lake sediment was dominated by filaments (>55%), across size groups (micro-, meso- and macro-plastics). Spearman's rank correlation indicated strong and significant correlation between abundance of micro- and meso-plastics for total plastic, film plastic and fragment plastic in shoreline sediment. Significant correlation between macroplastics in shoreline sediment and microplastics in lake sediment for total plastics was observed. The FTIR analysis revealed that polyethylene, polypropylene, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Polyamide (nylon), and polyvinyl chloride were the major polymers. These results demonstrated that fish landing beaches along Lake Victoria are hotspot areas for plastic pollution of the lake and should therefore be targeted for management of plastic pollution of Lake Victoria.
塑料污染已在欧洲、北美和亚洲的淡水系统中的沉积物、地表水和生物群中有所报道，而在非洲大湖中，针对塑料污染的研究则很有限。因此，本研究调查了维多利亚湖北部沿湖岸和沉积物中微、中、大塑料碎片的存在、丰度和分布情况。沿湖岸沉积物中微、中、大塑料的丰度以颗粒/公斤干沉积物计，分别在 0-1102、0-218 和 0-100 的范围内，而在湖底沉积物中，丰度分别在 0-108、0-33 和 0-77 的范围内。在鱼类登陆海滩上，微、中、大塑料碎片的平均丰度（分别为 75.2±50.0、16.7±8.1 和 18.1±4.6）高于休闲海滩（分别为 1.5±0.6、3.1±3.1 和 3.8±3.8）。同样，在鱼类登陆海滩附近的湖底沉积物中，微、中、大塑料碎片的平均丰度（分别为 9.5±2.6、2.1±1.5 和 7.7±4.5）高于休闲海滩附近（分别为 0.7±0.7、0.2±0.1 和 0.0±0）。研究中发现的塑料类型包括薄膜、长丝、碎片、泡沫和颗粒，其中岸边沉积物中以薄膜为主（>54%），而湖底沉积物中以长丝为主（>55%），横跨微塑料、中塑料和大塑料这三个尺寸组。Spearman 秩相关分析表明，在岸边沉积物中，微塑料和中塑料的总塑料、薄膜塑料和碎片塑料之间存在很强的显著相关性。岸边沉积物中的大塑料与湖底沉积物中的微塑料之间也存在显著相关性。FTIR 分析表明，聚乙烯、聚丙烯、聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯、聚酰胺（尼龙）和聚氯乙烯是主要的聚合物。这些结果表明，维多利亚湖北部的鱼类登陆海滩是该湖塑料污染的热点地区，因此应作为管理维多利亚湖塑料污染的重点区域。
