Marine litter in mangroves: composition, magnitude, and impacts

Abstract

Mangroves face a constant entry of marine litter that can alter their natural conditions to solid waste dumps, affecting the ecosystem, organisms, and humans. This work provides information on the main marine litter items and how their composition and magnitude can cause potential negative impacts. The research was carried out as follows: 1) a bibliographic review of the subject, 2) a collection of data in the field and 3) an adaptation of methodologies and international guidelines for the collection of marine litter. Analysis of information collected from environmental indices determined that: (a) the state of cleanliness and the likelihood of being affected by items considered hazardous, (b) a hierarchical and principal component grouping through the composition and magnitude of recorded marine litter, and (c) a sectoral analysis between the two environmental indices. Eleven sites of the fifteen studies evaluated, recorded high densities of marine litter with cleanliness rates between dirty and extremely dirty. These sites are mainly made up of plastic items, of which three sites registered a significant number of items considered hazardous. For this reason, a comprehensive, intelligent, and urgent management plan is required to base on strategies to reduce primary sources, through the adoption and improvement of measures such as education, good management practices, and citizen awareness. A greater number of studies is required for a clearer picture of the subject.

Keywords

• marine litter; coastal ecosystems; correlations; environmental indices; litter management