University of Texas Marine Science Institute, 750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, TX 78373, United States of America.
Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Science, 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, AL 36839, United States of America.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 Feb;151:110794. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110794. Epub 2020 Jan 29.
There is an increasing awareness of microplastics within the global problem of marine plastic pollution. In 2018, small plastic pellets or "nurdles" were observed on the beaches of Corpus Christi, Texas. A citizen science project, "Nurdle Patrol," was established by the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve to monitor the presence of nurdles, with volunteer interest enabling this project to expand across the Gulf of Mexico region. This case study describes the sampling methodology, the policy framework, and initial quantitative data from the citizen science project on nurdle distribution along the Gulf coast. A total of 2042 Nurdle Patrol surveys have been conducted by 744 citizen scientists covering shorelines from Mahahual, Mexico to Fort Jefferson, Florida. All 20 of the highest standardized nurdle counts were recorded at sites in Texas. Results can inform decision-maker response across regulatory scales and further research on nurdle pollution.
人们越来越意识到，在海洋塑料污染这一全球性问题中，微塑料是其中的一个重要组成部分。2018 年，在德克萨斯州科珀斯克里斯蒂的海滩上发现了小塑料颗粒或“塑料珠”。使命-阿兰萨斯国家河口研究保护区设立了一个公民科学项目“塑料珠巡逻”，以监测塑料珠的存在，志愿者的兴趣使该项目得以扩展到墨西哥湾地区。本案例研究描述了公民科学项目中有关微塑料珠在墨西哥 Mahahual 到佛罗里达州杰斐逊堡的海湾沿岸分布的采样方法、政策框架和初步定量数据。共有 744 名公民科学家进行了 2042 次“塑料珠巡逻”调查，涵盖了从墨西哥 Mahahual 到佛罗里达州杰斐逊堡的海岸线。在德克萨斯州的 20 个地点记录到了最高标准化的微塑料珠数量。这些结果可以为跨监管范围的决策者提供信息，并为进一步研究微塑料污染提供依据。
