Schoolchildren discover hotspots of floating plastic litter in rivers using a large-scale collaborative approach

Rivers are an important transport route of anthropogenic litter from inland sources toward the sea. A collaborative (i.e. citizen science) approach was used to evaluate the litter pollution of rivers in Germany: schoolchildren within the project “Plastic Pirates” investigated rivers across the entire country during the years 2016 and 2017 by surveying floating macrolitter at 282 sites and taking 164 meso−/microplastic samples (i.e. particles 24.99–5 mm, and 4.99–1 mm, respectively). Floating macrolitter was sighted at 54% of sampling sites and floating macrolitter quantities ranged from 0 to 8.25 items m−1 h−1 (average of 0.34 ± 0.89 litter items m−1 h−1). Floating meso−/microplastics were present at 57% of the sampling sites, and floating meso−/microplastic quantities ranged from 0 to 220 particles h−1 (average of 6.86 ± 24.11 items h−1). As only particles >1 mm were sampled and analyzed, the pollution of rivers in Germany by microplastics could be a much more prevalent problem, regardless of the size of the river. We identified six plastic pollution hotspots where 60% of all meso−/microplastics collected in the present study were found. These hotspots were located close to a plastic-producing industry site, a wastewater treatment plant, at and below weirs, or in residential areas. The composition of the particles at these hotspots indicates plastic producers and possibly the construction industry and wastewater treatment plants as point sources. An identification of litter hotspots would enable specific mitigation measures, adjusted to the respective source, and thereby could prevent the release of large quantities of small plastic particles in rivers. The adopted large-scale citizen science approach was especially suitable to detect pollution hotspots by sampling a variety of rivers, large and small, and enabled a national overview of litter pollution in German rivers

Response of subtropical phytoplankton communities to ocean acidification under oligotrophic conditions and during nutrient fertilization

The subtropical oceans are home to the largest phytoplankton biome on the planet. Yet, little is known about potential impacts of ocean acidification (OA) on phytoplankton community composition in the vast oligotrophic ecosystems of the subtropical gyres. To address this question, we conducted an experiment with 9 in situ mesocosms (~35 m3) off the coast of Gran Canaria in the eastern subtropical North Atlantic over a period of 9 weeks. By establishing a gradient of pCO2 ranging from ~350 to 1025 µatm, we simulated carbonate chemistry conditions as projected until the end of the 21st century. Furthermore, we injected nutrient-rich deep water into the mesocosms halfway through the experiment to simulate a natural upwelling event, which regularly leads to patchy nutrient fertilization in the study region. The temporal developments of major taxonomic groups of phytoplankton were analyzed by flow cytometry, pigment composition and microscopy. We observed distinct shifts in phytoplankton community structure in response to high CO2, with markedly different patterns depending on nutrient status of the system. Phytoplankton biomass during the oligotrophic phase was dominated by picocyanobacteria (Synechococcus), which constituted 60-80% of biomass and displayed significantly higher cell abundances at elevated pCO2. The addition of deep water triggered a substantial bloom of large, chain-forming diatoms (mainly Guinardia striata and Leptocylindrus danicus) that dominated the phytoplankton community during the bloom phase (70-80% of biomass) and until the end of the experiment. A CO2 effect on bulk diatom biomass became apparent only in the highest CO2 treatments (>800 µatm), displaying elevated concentrations especially in the stationary phase after nutrient depletion. Notably, these responses were tightly linked to distinct interspecific shifts within the diatom assemblage, particularly favoring the largest species Guinardia striata. Other taxonomic groups contributed less to total phytoplankton biomass, but also displayed distinct responses to OA treatments. For instance, higher CO2 favored the occurrence of prymnesiophyceae (Phaeocystis globosa) and dictyochophyceae, whereas dinoflagellates were negatively affected by increasing CO2. Altogether, our findings revealed considerable shifts in species composition in response to elevated CO2 and indicated that phytoplankton communities in the subtropical oligotrophic oceans might be profoundly altered by ocean acidification

Revision of the brachiopod genus Amphithyris (Rhynchonelliformea: Platidiidae) with descriptions of two new species

The recent brachiopod genus Amphithyris Thomson belongs to the family Platidiidae and to date comprises five species, A. seminula (Philippi, 1836), A. buckmani Thomson, 1918, A. hallettensis Foster, 1974, A. richardsonae Campbell & Fleming, 1981 and A. parva MacKinnon, Hiller, Long & Marshall, 2008. Like other platidiid genera, Amphithyris has a worldwide distribution, but is mainly found in the southern hemisphere, with the exception of A. seminula which occurs in the Mediterranean Sea. This study is the first revision of the genus Amphithyris. We describe two new species, A. cavernicola n. sp. from the Queensland Plateau, Coral Sea, Australia and A. comitodentis n. sp. from deep waters east of the South Island, New Zealand. A. cavernicola n. sp. represents the first record of the genus from Australian waters, whereas A. comitodentis n. sp. is the first species in the genus recorded from the deep sea. Additionally, we identified the type material of A. seminula in the brachiopod collection of the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin and designated a lectotype for this species. Despite their simple shell morphology and few diagnostic features, we were able to clearly discriminate the (now) seven species by morphological (shell) characters such as absence/presence of a median septum, absence/presence of capillae, shell convexity and/or combinations of these. On the basis of all known records, the present distribution of Amphithyris spp. and a Cretaceous origin of the genus is discussed

Plastic Pirates sample litter at rivers in Germany – Riverside litter and litter sources estimated by schoolchildren

Rivers are an important source of marine anthropogenic litter, but the particular origins of riverine litter itself have not been well established. Here we used a citizen science approach where schoolchildren examined litter at riversides and identified possible sources at over 250 sampling spots along large and small rivers in Germany, during autumn 2016 and spring 2017. Litter densities have an overall median of 0.14, interquartile range 0–0.57 items m−2 and an overall average (±standard deviation) of 0.54 ± 1.20 litter items m−2. Litter quantities differed only little by sampling year. The principal litter types found were plastics and cigarette butts (31% and 20%, respectively), followed by glass, paper, and metal items, indicating recreational visitors as the principal litter source. At many sites (85%), accumulations of litter, consisting principally of cigarettes and food packaging, have been found. At almost all sampling sites (89%), litter potentially hazardous to human health has been observed, including broken glass, sharp metal objects, used personal hygiene articles and items containing chemicals. In the search for litter sources, the schoolchildren identified mainly people who use the rivers as recreational areas (in contrast to residents living in the vicinity, illegal dumping, or the river itself depositing litter from upstream sources). These results indicate the urgent need for better education and policy measures in order to protect riparian environments and reduce input of riverine litter to the marine environment

Microbial colonization and degradation of polyethylene and biodegradable plastic bags in temperate fine-grained organic-rich marine sediments

Highlights • Polypropylene and biodegradable plastic bags were incubated in marine sediments. • Bacterial colonization was highest on biodegradable plastic bags. • None of the two bag types showed signs of degradation after 98 days. • Marine sediments probably represent a long-term sink for both types of litter. Abstract To date, the longevity of plastic litter at the sea floor is poorly constrained. The present study compares colonization and biodegradation of plastic bags by aerobic and anaerobic benthic microbes in temperate fine-grained organic-rich marine sediments. Samples of polyethylene and biodegradable plastic carrier bags were incubated in natural oxic and anoxic sediments from Eckernförde Bay (Western Baltic Sea) for 98 days. Analyses included (1) microbial colonization rates on the bags, (2) examination of the surface structure, wettability, and chemistry, and (3) mass loss of the samples during incubation. On average, biodegradable plastic bags were colonized five times higher by aerobic and eight times higher by anaerobic microbes than polyethylene bags. Both types of bags showed no sign of biodegradation during this study. Therefore, marine sediment in temperate coastal zones may represent a long-term sink for plastic litter and also supposedly compostable material

In situ camera observations reveal major role of zooplankton in modulating marine snow formation during an upwelling-induced plankton bloom

Particle aggregation and the consequent formation of marine snow alter important properties of biogenic particles(size, sinking rate, degradability), thus playing a key role in controlling the vertical flux of organic matterto the deep ocean. However, there are still large uncertainties about rates and mechanisms of particle aggregation,as well as the role of plankton community structure in modifying biomass transfer from small particlesto large fast-sinking aggregates. Here we present data from a high-resolution underwater camera system that we used to observe particle sizedistributions and formation of marine snow (aggregates>0.5 mm) over the course of a 9-week in situ mesocosmexperiment in the Eastern Subtropical North Atlantic. After an oligotrophic phase of almost 4 weeks, addition ofnutrient-rich deep water (650 m) initiated the development of a pronounced diatom bloom and the subsequentformation of large marine snow aggregates in all 8 mesocosms. We observed a substantial time lag between thepeaks of chlorophyll a and marine snow biovolume of 9–12 days, which is much longer than previously reportedand indicates a marked temporal decoupling of phytoplankton growth and marine snow formation during ourstudy. Despite this time lag, our observations revealed substantial transfer of biomass from small particle sizes(single phytoplankton cells and chains) to marine snow aggregates of up to 2.5mm diameter (ESD), with most ofthe biovolume being contained in the 0.5–1mm size range. Notably, the abundance and community compositionof mesozooplankton had a substantial influence on the temporal development of particle size spectra and formationof marine snow aggregates: While higher copepod abundances were related to reduced aggregate formationand biomass transfer towards larger particle sizes, the presence of appendicularia and doliolids enhancedformation of large marine snow. Furthermore, we combined in situ particle size distributions with measurements of particle sinking velocity tocompute instantaneous (potential) vertical mass flux. However, somewhat surprisingly, we did not find a coherentrelationship between our computed flux and measured vertical mass flux (collected by sediment traps in15m depth). Although the onset of measured vertical flux roughly coincided with the emergence of marinesnow, we found substantial variability in mass flux among mesocosms that was not related to marine snownumbers, and was instead presumably driven by zooplankton-mediated alteration of sinking biomass and exportof small particles (fecal pellets). Altogether, our findings highlight the role of zooplankton community composition and feeding interactionson particle size spectra and formation of marine snow aggregates, with important implications for our understandingof particle aggregation and vertical flux of organic matter in the ocean