Spatio-temporal variation of anthropogenic marine debris on Chilean beaches
Spatio-temporal variation of anthropogenic marine debris on Chilean beaches
Birgit Westermayr Valeria Hidalgo-Ruz, Daniela Honorato-Zimmer, Magdalena Gatta-Rosemary, Paloma Nuñez, Iván A. Hinojosa, Martin Thiel,
Spatio-temporal variation of anthropogenic marine debris on Chilean beaches,
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 126, 2018, Pages 516-524, ISSN 0025-326X,
Abstract: We examined the hypothesis that in an emerging economy such as
Chile the abundances of Anthropogenic Marine Debris (AMD) on beaches are
increasing over time. The citizen science program Científicos de la
Basura (“Litter Scientists”) conducted three national surveys (2008,
2012 and 2016) to determine AMD composition, abundance, spatial patterns
and temporal trends. AMD was found on all beaches along the entire
Chilean coast. Highest percentages of AMD in all surveys were plastics
and cigarette butts, which can be attributed to local sources (i.e.
beach users). The Antofagasta region in northern Chile had the highest
abundance of AMD compared with all other zones. Higher abundances of AMD
were found at the upper stations from almost all zones. No significant
tendency of increasing or decreasing AMD densities was observed during
the 8years covered by our study, which suggests that economic
development alone cannot explain temporal trends in AMD densities.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Fd-1NPb3ym3w8FDZBFOUam2nOp3uR2yl
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.014.(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X17309682)
