Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología-Estación El Carmen, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad del Carmen 24157, Mexico; Facultad de Ciencias de la Tierra y Agua, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Tena 150150, Ecuador.
Escuela de Gestión Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador Sede Esmeraldas, Esmeraldas 080150, Ecuador.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Dec;173(Pt B):113067. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113067. Epub 2021 Oct 20.
This study represents the first assessment of microplastic (MP) contamination in the coastal area of the Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador. MPs were quantified in 14 coastal waters in beaches with different urbanization level and in 10 rivers. The most abundant MP types were transparent fibres, brown fragments, grey fragments, transparent fragments, and black fragments, which together represented 84% of the total count. Coastal waters presented significantly higher quantities of MP than rivers. No difference in microplastic abundance was detected between beaches with higher and lower urban occupation, nor between beaches facing North or West. Our results indicate that MP contamination is widespread, and most likely transported from multiple sources. Our results can serve as a baseline for future MP monitoring in the area.
本研究首次评估了厄瓜多尔埃斯梅拉达斯省沿海地区的微塑料 (MP) 污染情况。在城市化程度不同的 14 个海滩的沿海水域和 10 条河流中对 MPs 进行了量化。最丰富的 MP 类型是透明纤维、棕色碎片、灰色碎片、透明碎片和黑色碎片，它们共同占总数的 84%。沿海水域的 MPs 含量明显高于河流。在城市化程度较高和较低的海滩之间，以及在面向北或西的海滩之间，微塑料的丰度没有差异。我们的研究结果表明，MP 污染广泛存在，并且很可能是由多个来源输送而来。我们的研究结果可以作为该地区未来 MP 监测的基准。
